‘Worth fighting for:’ More than 300 OPSEU workers strike at three Leeds-Grenville service agencies

More than 300 unionized workers at three Leeds and Grenville community agencies officially hit the picket line Monday morning after contract talks broke down over wages and funding concerns.

The agencies include Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Mental Health (LLGAMH), Brockville and Area Community Living Association (BACLA) and Children’s Mental Health of Leeds and Grenville (CMHLG); the strike began at12:01 a.m. on the morning of Monday, May 25 as part of the “Worth Fighting For” campaign.

Several weeks of talks between the union and the agencies officially broke down after OPSEU members at all three organizations overwhelmingly voted for strike authorization at an April 14 vote.

In a release over the weekend, OPSEU staff representative, Alex Lane, said that “house leader Steve Clark announced that the agency had received an additional four per cent increase to base funding, or an additional $441,000. On this announcement, OPSEU and LLGAMH agreed to meet Saturday, May 23 and try [to find a resolution] prior to a strike that will be felt across Leeds Grenville.

 “Sadly, the agency has other uses for this funding and offered staff an additional five cents over their previous offer.”

According to Lane, this funding was simply a re-announcement of previous funding from January and the offer given by LLGAMH was even lower than what was offered two years ago.

He also said that Lorena Crosbie, the CEO of CMHLG, failed to provide availability to the mediator for final talks with OPSEU before the strike deadline hit.

Wages have been the driving issue for union staff, arguing that their pay is 10 to 15 per cent lower than counterparts in the primary care system. The other sticking point has been prolonged underfunding from the province over the last 20 years, partly due to staff never being reimbursed after Bill 124 was deemed unconstitutional.

“Imagine your family trying to live on the same amount of money that they did 20 years ago,” said Liza Zufelt, Local 441 president.

According to an internal survey conducted by LLGAMH, 85 per cent of its staff were struggling to keep up with the cost of living.

Besides LLGAMH, the other two employers also have not budged on members’ demands, leading all three agencies to strike.

“They would rather not negotiate,” said Lane.

During the strike, services at CMHLG are completely halted and at LLGAMH, they’re significantly scaled back to only high-priority services.

“During the strike action, LLGAMH will continue operating high-priority services for clients from group homes, treatment homes, the HART Hub and certain psychiatry and psychotherapy supports,” the agency said in a post.

“For a lot of these folks now, their only option is to go to other communities to get services, or got to the emergency room,” said Lane.

“But unfortunately, that’s going to put pressure on our emergency rooms because the mental health services just aren’t here.”

LLGAMH provides over 25 programs across Leeds and Grenville.

At LLGAMH, the union has placed much of the blame on CEO Kim Gifford.

“When community members and vulnerable clients face service cancellations and delays, you only need to ask CEO Kim Gifford on why her staff aren’t worth fighting for,” said Lane.

The union has also been highly critical of local MPP Steve Clark for not doing enough to secure more funding for the local agencies.

Besides securing more funding, Lane wants Clark to get on the phone with Kim Gifford, Lorena Crosbie and Sandra Summers and tell them “to do better.”

“Right now, Steve has the choice to be a champ, or a chump,” said Lane.

For now, the union is handing out water and treats to homeless clients at their location on Front Street. They also have NARCAN on-site in the case of overdoses.

“Recognizing that the union’s actions have an impact on client care, LLGAMH provided clients with information about its triage line for urgent concerns. If a client or a community member is experiencing a crisis, please call the Crisis Line at 9-8-8 or the Emergency Service at 9-1-1,” the agency said.

“At this time, the strike action will not affect the HART Hub construction at the Leeds Grenville site. The project continues to progress as scheduled, with an opening in summer of 2026.”

It is unclear how long the strike will last.