After a 10-week strike, two youth mental health workers in Hamilton are expressing that union members are heading back to work feeling supported by the community but disrespected by the provincial government. Local 262 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) had been in discussions with the Lynwood Charlton Centre, their employer, for several months. Members of the local are among the first Ontario support workers to reach an agreement after a large number went on strike in the spring.
Despite the Lynwood Charlton workers being mostly content with their new contract, Amanda Fry-Smith and Tamara Putland highlighted that the province, which contributes the majority of the funding for the center, has mostly disregarded calls for increased public funding in the sector. Fry-Smith and Putland, with 20 and 30 years of service at the center respectively, emphasized the significant role the center plays in operating various treatment programs, providing services, and aiding individuals in accessing additional resources for children and youth.
According to the latest annual report, Lynwood Charlton assisted about 2,300 clients in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The center received approximately $8.1 million from Ontario’s Ministry of Health and $1.8 million from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. Around 130 members of Local 262 initiated a strike on May 25, coinciding with approximately 4,000 support workers from various locals across Ontario either going on strike or being locked out during contract negotiations.
The OPSEU’s Worth Fighting For campaign highlighted these job actions on a provincial level. Despite the strike ending after Lynwood Charlton agreed to mediation-arbitration with its workers at the end of July, the workers expressed that their sector faces chronic underfunding, leading to employees taking on multiple roles and experiencing burnout.
As the center’s operations gradually return to normal following the end of the strike, appointments are being scheduled with social service navigators, and treatment programs are gearing up to resume. The workers’ picketing efforts during the strike period helped foster camaraderie among them and connected them with workers from other unions facing similar challenges.
The workers felt that they were not a priority for the provincial government and expressed feeling disrespected by provincial leadership. They also called for an Ontario child mental health strategy to address these concerns and seek redress for issues such as wage caps and underfunding in the sector. Despite the challenges faced, the workers emphasized the importance of community services and vowed to continue advocating for their worth.
