Updates On Union along with Number of Suspensions Since Transition House Opened

Pete Fisher
12 hours ago
• Categories: Local

(Today’s Northumberland file photo)

Today’s Northumberland looked into a few items concerning Transition House.

Workers voted for a union last month.  And there have been approximately 60 people who have been suspended for various lengths of time for substance use, bullying, aggressive or disrespectful behavior and even racism.

Since the staff at Transition House have voted to be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, Today’s Northumberland has been trying to find out how many staff will be represented by the union.

On February 25, 2025, Director of Organizing UFCW Canada Local 1006A Lesley Prince stated there was a “overwhelming majority” of workers who voted for the union.

Since that time, Today’s Northumberland has tried to confirm the number of employees at Transition House.

When asked about the number of employees, Director of Transition House, Ike Nwibe initially stated, “the information we have provided reflects what we know at this time. We will share any relevant updates with the public as they become available.”

But as of March 5, 2025, Nwibe stated there are 19 Transition House employees that will be represented by UFCW Local 1006A.

“However, this number may change as new staff join or existing employees leave. Note that the negotiation process takes time, and the number of Shelter Services Workers when the process is finalized is what we were hoping to confirm with the public at the right time.”

A number of statistics have been released about Transition House since it first opened, but Today’s Northumberland asked Nwibe how many people have been suspended from services.

“Regarding service restrictions, these occur for various reasons, with the duration determined by the nature of the incident or behavior. We have recorded approximately 60 individual instances of service restrictions, primarily related to substance use on-site, as well as aggressive or disrespectful behavior, racism, and bullying.”