A union representing thousands of Winnipeg healthcare workers has merged 20 of its local chapters for staff at facilities across the city into a single, 7,000-person collective, according to an article on the CBC News website.
Workers from the Canadian Union of Public Employees voted last year to form CUPE Local 204, bringing the locals from 20 healthcare facilities together. The new collective includes workers at longterm care homes, community clinics, the Health Sciences Centre, and Grace, Concordia and Seven Oaks hospitals.
Last year, the Progressive Conservative government passed a bill to reduce the number of healthcare bargaining units in the province.
Once the law goes into effect, it will cut 183 healthcare bargaining units down to seven, substantially reducing the number of collective agreements or contracts with employees.