Founded in 1973, the Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) is the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

that represents 60,000

registered nurses A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...

and allied health professionals working in hospitals, long-term care facilities, public health, community agencies and industry throughout the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. ONA has more than 14,000 nursing student affiliates; all members of the Canadian Nursing Students' Association who study in the province. ONA is a member of the Canadian Federation of Nurses' Union (CFNU), and thereby affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). ONA is also a member of the

Ontario Federation of Labour The Ontario Federation of Labour is a federation of labour unions in the Canadian province of Ontario. The original OFL was established by the Canadian Congress of Labour in 1944. It was merged with the rival Ontario Provincial Federation of Lab ...

(OFL). ONA's head office is located in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario. Regional Offices are located in Hamilton, Kingston, London, Orillia, Ottawa, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timmins, and Windsor.

2019 strike and contract negotiations

On March 7, 2019, members of the ONA voted unanimously to strike due to the fact that the proposed Windsor-Essex County Health Unit proposed only a 1% raise. Following several weeks of negotiations, the union won an annual 1.5% pay raise for three years, for a total of 4.5%. In addition to the wage gains, the union won increased family medical leave and a provision to prohibit discrimination based on

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...

, or

gender expression Gender expression, or gender presentation, is a person's behavior, mannerisms, interests, and appearance that are associated with gender, specifically with the categories of femininity or masculinity. This also includes gender roles. These cate ...

References

Canadian Labour Congress Trade unions established in 1973 Nursing organizations in Canada Healthcare trade unions in Canada Trade unions in Ontario {{Canada-trade-union-stub