Opening Statement



Thursday 6 December 2012

Urgent! OECTA PDT Task Force


I thank my readers for forwarding this very important OECTA PDT Task Force notice to be posted here on my blog in case you weren't aware of it. It seems like a lot of our members weren't. The Task Force Chair Liz Stuart [York President] comes highly recommended as does fellow member Kent McNeill [President Sudbury Elementary]. I am not sure who else is on the Task force. The Task is very timely. Unfortunately the remaining time line is very short. See below:




To have your voice heard please read the following and complete the survey. Responses will be consolidated and sent to the Taskforce Chair Liz Stuart. Survey will close on Friday, December 7th at 12:01 PM
Provincial Discussion Table Task Force 
The Council of Presidents has created the Provincial Discussion Table Task Force to review, study and provide recommendations to the Association. The Provincial Discussion Table Task Force has been established as a result of the members’ desire to create a provincial bargaining structure that addresses a major concern regarding the opportunity to vote on provincially determined bargaining outcomes at the membership level.
Our Handbook makes clear that OECTA favours local bargaining. However, since 1999, when the Catholic school trustees agreed to shelve their right to tax, and the government took full control of funding education, the government has been moving in the direction of provincial bargaining. It is now clear that we have to align these realities through the language in our Handbook, which does not currently provide direction on this issue.
In the absence of clear language, the Provincial Executive and the Council of Presidents have created a process, in good faith, to engage in provincially and politically driven bargaining. A delicate balance was achieved during those years, when the money was available to increase education funding, which benefited our members. However, in 2011-12, the financial landscape in Ontario changed dramatically. 
When the 2012 negotiations with the government did not provide the same level of benefits enjoyed previously, members questioned the bargaining process. It was the same process that OECTA engaged in the 2004 and again in 2008 that produced a framework agreement, which members accepted. The only difference is that this time, while the process was the same, the results were different. 
The task force is reviewing the request for a provincial bargaining structure that addresses the members’ wish to vote on provincially determined bargaining outcomes at the membership level. This is a welcome and significant step forward in our development as an Association as it will establish a process, formalized in the Handbook, that ensures specific representation of the membership during OECTA’s bargaining discussion with the government and/or the trustees.The outcome will become part of the Handbook and the Association will need to consider ways in which this process can dovetail with local bargaining, to which OECTA is committed.
The task force will bring its recommendations to the February 2013 Council of Presidents’ meeting. With the support of the Council of Presidents, these recommendations will be discussed and debated on the floor of the AGM. If carried by the AGM, resolutions will become part of the Handbook. Going forward, the Association will need to consider ways in which this process can dovetail with local bargaining, to which OECTA is deeply committed.
          The member survey is at: OECTA Task Force Survey [deadline was 12:01pm Friday]

Lots of interesting info and opinions in the Comments section below.....................

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

SLAM those barn doors shut at the OECTA Animal Farm after all the cows are gone! Look at all of them scrambling to save their jobs inside the barn!

Kulture Kult Ink said...

Yes, it's a done deal. Now we can close the door so it won't happen again. Gee thanks! Reality -what a concept!

Anonymous said...

David thanks again...OECTA members...get the task force to adopt the OECTA Bill of Rights to protect us in the future...send emails to Liz, Kent and the task force...send them to James Ryan too...or it may be too late!

Anonymous said...

OECTA Collective Bargaining Task Force members: Chair Liz Stuart (York), Al Anderson (Windsor Elementary), Len MacDonald (Brant, Haldimand, Norfolk), Angelo Ippolitto (Huron-Perth Elementary), Mike Simsler (Renfrew), Kent MacNeil (Sudbury Occasionals), Carlo Palermo (Simcoe-Muskoka Occassionals), Kevin O'Dwyer (Prov Exec/Dufferin Peel Secondary), Chris Karuhanga (Prov Exec/St. Clair Elementary).

Anonymous said...

I have already responded but take note, that the questions are not very clear. I went on a tangent actually. If you can post the emails of the said individuals noted, that would be great. I basically said that there needs to be a MAJOR cleaning of house and to fire the lot that voted in favour of the MOU. Remember, this was passed by a vote of 5 - 3, leaving a margin of 2, to which now we hear that Karahunga is now regretting this vote. So because of two people, we have this crisis. I am ashamed. Someone on the other post mentioned Jesus...he would be weeping in terms of how things have turned out. I do my job and I do it well. I am here for the kids. I am ashamed at the politics involved and the waste of money and resources at provincial

Anonymous said...

Disingenuous at best to suggest that the "process was the same". The two previous rounds at the "Provincial Discussion Table" involved (reasonably) fair representations of the positions of the parties involved, frank discussions around the economic realities of the day and the (varied) agendas/goals of the government and Federations and a general tone of respect. None of these aspects were present in the Government's shotgun-to-the-head approach this year. IF OECTA's leadership truly believes that this "process was the same", then they are clearly out of touch with reality and should immediately resign. If not, then they should stop making excuses for their embarrassing capitulation and immediately resign. I'm guessing that they see things from another perspective. Rise up OECTA membership - and give these guys the kick in the pants that they have truly earned.

Kulture Kult Ink said...

Yes! Also note that before they were getting things for us. This time they were giving them away. Not the same at all! In the spirit if not the letter of the law, OECTA Provincial should've taken the deal to us as the membership for ratification. It was not anybody elses to give away or make deals with. Big difference!

Anonymous said...

Yes, they DO see it from a different perspective, a perspective of scoring cheap political points at the cost of selling out their own membership. They see it from the perspective that they are able to make press releases crowing about the 'peace' in Catholic Schools across the Province in an attempt to make cheap political points at the expense of the public system who are in a lousy labour situation partly because we put them there. It is, in my opinion, an ALL TIME LOW for OECTA and the poster above is correct - the leaders should resign immediately.

Anonymous said...

Interesting comment last night from Glen Murray on tvo's 'The Agenda'. He mentioned that the OECTA deal was signed "under some duress". Hmmmm....what does that mean, Mr. O'Dwyer?

You can see it here:

http://theagenda.tvo.org/episode/185717/the-race-to-replace-dalton

Anonymous said...

Not denigrating the PDT Task FORCE but what is this- the A-Team? O'Dwyer should not be sitting on any task force. How can you get REAL MEMBER INPUT/FEEDBACK when you call the Task Force, don't advertise it at all to members, and then say you have til DEC.7 at 12:01 pm? Make sure no one in membership can respond to it. NONSENSE. Something needs to be done to control PROVINCIAL President and Executive now! Or more of the same.BESIDES David, who cares about OECTA members? Electronic voting NOW! I pity the fool who doesn't complete the survey with no time given to complete the survey.-MR. T. REAL CHANGE involves REAL MEMBERSHIP PARTICIPATION.

Kulture Kult Ink said...

Yes! This is bizarre. I doubt most members even knew about it.

angryoectateacherOTTAWA said...

The Ottawa unit passed it out on Monday or Tuesday. Whi is O'Dwyer on this. He needs to. It's a conflict of interest for him to be on this when HE caused this crisis. Lord, help us and help him see the light so he can take the advice of us rank and file and RESIGN! David, by the way, love the FOX NEWS reference!

angryoectateacherOTTAWA said...

Oops.... Should have read he (O'Dwyer) needs to go! (In the post above).

Anonymous said...

When will OECTA step up? Are you all too afraid to lose public funding that you will take any contract given to you? OSSTF,ETFO and CUPE will fight your fight because you don't know how to. I look forward to an Ontario that has one, only one publicly funded school system.

Anonymous said...

Provincial Agreement History

1993 Social Contract signed by Clair Ross
2005 Gerrard Kennedy issues letter after OCSTA refuses PDT.
2008 PDT signed by Elaine MacNeil, James Ryan, Greg Pollock, Jeff Heximer, CB Dept, and OCSTA
2010 Wain Restraint Talks OECTA walks away from the table
2012 MOU signed by Kevin O'Dwyer, Chris Karuhanga, Marshall Jarvis and Laurel Broten.

Anonymous said...

Immediate Electronic voting for OECTA members on everything...take back control of this union. Also, write letters to the editor,etc. this bizarre union behaviour needs to be published everywhere!

Anonymous said...

Better still contact the news room to get the real OECTA scoop from us. Get a W5 piece on this abuse of power at Provincial. Someone needs to please pitch this to the media, especially now that we have been dictatored into not protesting this Bill/MOU. Someone mentioned Animal Farm. Indeed!

Anonymous said...

Here's an easy protest-mail/email copies of the OECTA Bill of Rights to your Unit Presidents, Steve Paikin/TVO Agenda and Leslie Robertson/John Tory/Focus Ontario/Global TV. We need to spread this information around!United we Stand, Divided We Fall!

Anonymous said...

Until the Bill of Rights gets passed into law by OECTA membership, we will have no check on the power of the OECTA Provincial Office, even though we pay all the bills, but got no vote on the MOU. Stop wasting our money! Solidarity! How about a generic form letter, David, that members could send as letters to the editor/media outlets to get the membership based anti-MOU message out to the public beyond your fantastic, democracy saving blog?

Anonymous said...

A possible generic note to mail/email to media outlets/letters to the editor?

Dear Editor/Insert Name:

There is a part of the ongoing Bill 115/MOU/PDT conflict that no one is writing about. It is the growing dissatisfaction of rank and file OECTA members who did not get a vote on the MOU and disagree with it altogether.
This anti-MOU sentiment is shown daily on David Chiarelli's TSU Blog and in OECTA's Bill of Rights.
The vast majority of OECTA members are against the MOU.
Can this growing part of the big story be reported on?

Yours Truly,

An OECTA Member Against the MOU

Kulture Kult Ink said...

Go for it.

Anonymous said...

David

Nowhere in the LRA does it say that TEACHERS are exempt from the all member ratification vote requirements for EVERY ON union. Also nowhere does it say that OECTA Provincial is ABOVE the law. I rest my case! This MOU is illegal!!!

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