Strong Gains for Whispering Pines Employees

DATE: August 15, 2011

Barrie, ON—Employees of Whispering Pines Retirement Residence, represented by Health Care and Service Workers Union, Local 304, voted unanimously in favour of a new three-year collective agreement, which provides a general wage increase of seven percent for all classifications over the term.

In addition, the agreement provides special wage adjustments for cooks, housekeepers, dietary aides, and personal support workers; an increase to employer pension contributions; enhancements to the benefits package; and improvements to vacation time and scheduling.

“We are pleased we were able to negotiate a strong agreement,” says Ken Dam, Ontario representative with the union and lead negotiator. “Trudy Reynolds and Tracy Gray did an excellent job advocating on behalf of the membership and achieving much-needed wage increases and other improvements.”