Hamilton worker receives CUPE Ontario Health and Safety Award

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 28, 2015) - Blowing the whistle on her hospital employer for inadequate health and safety protocols for Ebola has earned Kathy MacKinnon, a Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) health care aide the CUPE Ontario Health and Safety Award at her union's convention in Toronto this week.

MacKinnon was nominated by members of CUPE Local 7800. For 25 years, she has served on local and joint health and safety committees representing more than 3800 members at six hospitals and five satellite sites in Hamilton Health Sciences.

Her nominees pointed to her work around asbestos in the Children's Hospital (formerly MacMaster University Medical Centre), which contains more than 300 acres of asbestos. She spent years fighting the employer, resulting two years ago in charges and fines totalling $19,000.

Also on her lengthy list of contributions to worker health and safety, last September she cut her vacation short because the local found the employer was not prepared to adequately protect workers dealing with patients with Ebola-like symptoms.

CUPE is Ontario's community union, with 250,000 members providing quality public services we all rely on, in every part of the province, every day. CUPE Ontario members are proud to work in social services, health care, municipalities, school boards, universities and airlines.