Vaccinate Security Guards!

UFCW Canada Local 333, Ontario’s union for security guards, is fighting for forgotten frontline workers in the province’s security industry. Our union is asking the Government of Ontario to protect the health and safety of security workers on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic by prioritizing security guards on the province's COVID-19 vaccination list.

Since day one of the pandemic, security guards have been working hard to protect the Ontario public in hospitals, long-term care (LTC) homes, grocery stores, liquor stores, shopping malls, and residential condominiums. Despite their essential work and consistent exposure to the public, however, the province has forgotten security guards when prioritizing eligibility and timelines for vaccination against COVID-19.

In January of this year, Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared he would contract security guards to provide safety and security to residents and staff at LTC homes in the province. But it seems that he neglected to consider vaccinating these workers. By and large, security guards are contracted to work in care homes, most retail stores, funeral homes, hospitals, and other government facilities. And they should not be overlooked when prioritizing frontline workers for the coronavirus vaccine.

Canada’s federal government has also contracted security guards in Ontario to investigate and enforce COVID-19 quarantine rules for Canadians required to quarantine. These guards will be doing home checks to ensure compliance, yet the Government of Ontario is ignoring these workers when it comes to prioritization for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Tell Doug Ford that now is the time to recognize security guards as essential frontline workers. Send a message to the Ford government asking the province to Vaccinate Security Guards! to keep security workers, and the public they serve, healthy and safe during COVID-19.

#VaccinateSecurityGuards

Dear Premier Ford,

Your government has made it clear that you want to protect Ontarians from COVID-19. Earlier this year, to safeguard the health and safety of residents and staff at long-term care (LTC) homes, your government made the necessary move of hiring security guards to screen and protect those working and living in LTC residences.

Private businesses have hired security guards to enforce provincial rules to screen the public for COVID-19 at entryways for commercial enterprises, government offices, and other facilities. Security guards even control access to hospitals, police stations, and municipal buildings.

During this pandemic, you can surely recognize that security guards have played an essential role in providing safety and security to frontline workers and the Ontario public. You are often photographed flanked by security guards, working alongside workers at LTC homes, retail locations, grocery stores, liquor stores, shopping malls, and residential places. While the government is prioritizing other essential frontline workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, security guards appear to have been overlooked in this prioritization.

Mr. Premier, I hope that the exclusion of security guards from the province’s COVID-19 vaccination list was simply an oversight, and that your government will now do the right thing by prioritizing security guards for the COVID-19 vaccine – just like you have done for other frontline workers across Ontario. I am asking you to please Vaccinate Security Guards! to keep security workers, and the public they serve, healthy and safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

Sincerely,

Vaccinate Security Guards!

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