Union to hold solidarity rally outside Villa Marconi to protest job cuts, employer intimidation

OTTAWA — The residents of Villa Marconi are running out of clean laundry, and it is due to negligent policy making by management. In June, members of CUPE 4793 held an information picket outside the long-term care facility on Baseline Road to call out the callous layoffs in the laundry and environmental services department. Since then, management has cut hours for union workers and launched a campaign of retaliation and harassment against union members.

Workers have been sent home from their scheduled shifts to be replaced by agency contractors, faced intimidation and harassment from management if they pushed back. “These union-busting tactics are an insult within an insult,” said Sherry Wallace, CUPE’s Long-Term Care sector coordinator. “The employer has refused to meet with the union to negotiate a fair collective agreement for years and now are making these cuts to services which leave the residents at risk.”

Due to the cuts, laundry has begun piling up in the home. Residents are going without clean clothing and clean linens due to management’s understaffing in the laundry room. PSWs and other primary care workers are being forced to leave their primary care duties to try and make up the difference. This is causing increased stress on the already over-extended staff.

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“It’s unsustainable,” said Charmaine Sutton Archer, President of CUPE 4793. “These cuts hurt workers and residents. The employer needs to fix their mistake.”

The rally will run from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Thursday August 20 outside Villa Marconi. Media spokespersons will be available for comment.

Who: The members of CUPE 4793, allies, and supporters What: Villa Marconi: Stop the Intimidation! Solidarity Rally for CUPE 4793 When: Thursday August 20, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Where: 1026 Baseline Rd, Ottawa, ON K2C 0A6