AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CEO OF EXTENDICARE

April 24, 2019

Mr. Guerriere,

In your April 22, 2019 letter to Extendicare employees, you addressed the advocacy campaign by SEIU Healthcare—the union standing up for your employees. Our union is proud to fight for them.

In your letter, you call our ads “negative” and “aggressive” but what you don’t deny is the stories—because they’re true.

You say these ads “target companies” but you don’t deny that they simply expose a business plan that is founded on providing inadequate resources to care for the elderly.

You are paid millions in compensation, yet you oppose paying your employees wages that would allow them to live a middle-class life.

Your shareholders are paid tens of millions, yet the Extendicare management team refuses to hire more staff to address the understaffing crisis in your facilities.

Further, you wrote about the “inspiration” workers give you and your “appreciation” to them. Yet, when frontline healthcare professionals raise issues of understaffing you ignore them. When they speak up about the difficult conditions that you and your management team have created you, again, dismiss their concerns.

Workers deserve better. And seniors deserve better.

If you’re truly concerned with who is to blame for negative stories and reputational risk to the Extendicare brand, then look no further than your management team.

SEIU Healthcare will continue our open invitation to all Ontarians to join us in calling for you to stop your greedy business practices. You can—and should—start by hiring more frontline staff and addressing resident isolation and workplace violence that is caused by understaffing.

This June, it’s time you show families what you really value by investing more profit in frontline care.

Sharleen Stewart President, SEIU Healthcare

SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL 1

P 905-695-1767 TF 1-800-267-SEIU F 905-695-1768 125 Mural Street, Richmond Hill, L4B 1M4 SEIUHEALTHCARE.CA