Sudbury to lose $6.5M with hospital laundry workers layoffs: report
City hall reports on economic impact of laundry layoffs before discussing similar contract for paramedics
A recent city report says Sudbury's economy is set to lose around $6.5 million per year once 42 laundry workers are laid off mid-March.
Sudbury hospital officials announced last year it would end its laundry contract with Sudbury Hospital Services and start a new one with Mohawk Shared Services, based in southern Ontario. They said the move would save the hospital $500,000 per year.
City council voted back in January to study how Sudbury's economy could be affected by the change.
Coun. Michael Vagnini made the initial motion to study the impact of the laundry worker lay-offs.
"You know, we talk about bringing new businesses in," he said.
"Isn't it just as important to bring new businesses as it is to save what we have already?"
Hospital 'inconsiderate of community'
Kelly Campbell has been a SHS laundry worker for nine years. News of the report's findings didn't surprise her.
"If HSN is inconsiderate of our community, I don't feel our tax payers should be considerate of their needs," says Campbell.
She says the public should stop donating to the hospital.
This entire process has been incredibly stressful, Campbell says.
There are 42 people who will lose their jobs by the end of March, 38 of which are unionized.
Campbell says she and her coworkers have yet to hear a clear explanation for the cuts.
"We just wanted HSN to say this is how much the transportation is going to cost, how much our service will cost. This is how you're not comparable," she says.
"Because as a team, we don't believe that we're not comparable to the price they'll pay. Some of us have a suspicion that they're trying to make a profit off the linen, instead of keeping it in our community under non-profit."
The economic report will be presented during the city council meeting next week.
Ironically, that's when councillors will debate whether another local laundry contract should be moved down south.
A report prepared by the deputy chief of emergency services recommends the city's paramedic services switch their laundry contract to Mohawk Shared Services to save money.