Janis Leering: The Mirror
09/10/02 00:00:00
Employees at the jail will be going to the polls on Wednesday, after an application was made to bring a union into the facility.
The Central North Correctional Centre opened with five inmates on Nov. 9, 2001, and has been slowly expanding to its full capacity over the past year.
"We made an application for a union at noon on Wednesday," said Dan Marshall, organizer for OPSEU.
"The application is to let the staff know we are ready to vote on the decision in five days."
Before the vote can take place, Marshall said he needs to hear from at least 40 per cent of the workers to know they are interested in the possibility of bringing the union into the workplace.
"There will be three polling stations in the jail, the votes are always held at the workplace."
There are more than 200 employees at the jail, and Marshall said workers in clerical, maintenance, correctional officers and programming will be voting next week.
"Kitchen and first-medical staff are on a different contract."
Marshall has been in the Penetanguishene area for seven months, talking to employees who were concerned about working conditions, he said.
