OECTA Speaketh: Me Too???

Hear ye! Here ye! I know. We are all excited and will be watching hockey, hockey and more hockey! The weather across much of Ontario is great! When not busy with school we will be engaged in spring idylls like an outdoor patio, maybe seasonally chores such as getting our gardens and yards ready for the summer ahead, or whatever else so tickles your fancy. It is quite understandable. As teachers we have been though the year from hell with the MOE and the MOU's.

However, please note: It is not over yet! Our ETFO colleagues wait with baited breath to see what Sam Hammond + their team can do in the affiliates ongoing discussions with the Ministry behind closed doors. Our OECTA colleagues might think we are beyond all that now. Like it or not, it's over, we have contracts. Then there's the OECTA MOU "Me too" to garden pick the new goodies from the OSSTF MOU or an ETFO MOU should it follow soon.

Tch! Tch! Not so fast. Not only have we royally p.o'ed and alienated our brothers and sisters from the other affiliates across the province, but the much touted + smug little "me too" clause might very well not turn out to be any bed of roses. Far from it!

Please note: Another typically pithy update has been sent to the local units from OECTA Provincial this week. The following three points are made:

1. The Association has identified and approved certain aspects of the OSSTF MOU agreement that OECTA members will be able to access.

2. The Association is waiting for confirmation from the government to make these certain aspects available.

3. Once confirmation from the government is received information will be provided to the general membership regarding specific details of each aspect achieved through the ‘me-too’ clause.

It is signed of course:

Sincerely

Kevin O’Dwyer

Provincial President

You can check the notice for verification purposes here , but believe me there is little more to read. We thank our colleagues at OECTA St. Clair Elementary for so quickly posting the latest info for our erudition. Maybe your own unit is doing so too? So, what's the hurry? What's the big deal???

You probably think this sounds quite tedious or innocuous as you reach for the channel changer but wait!!! Remember my blog on "Comparing the OSSTF + OECTA MOU"? The comparison chart and study materials I posted are not a matter of minor intrigue. They highlight the OSSTF MOU issues of "Me Too" interest, and provided an official analysis for each. The comparison chart is here @ Compare. My blog with the other study guide materials can be easily accessed here @ Study.

Think of the comparison chart like briefing notes for a provincial executive meeting prior to the announcement above. Consider: Which "me too" clauses would OECTA Provincial, based on the month or so they have had to study the OSSTF MOU, now decide to act on, or forward to the local units for decisions and further actions?

Ask yourself which would require reopening your local collective agreements? Ask your unit officers or staff rep, what problems have we encountered in implementing the OECTA MOU [or you can start by asking anybody who is finishing up the 120 day short term leave, or had to apply for WSIB and is now applying for LTD how that is going too!].

Your attention should also be drawn to the saving plans OSSTF has agreed upon in the MOU which requires utilizing the spirit of understanding and cooperation that they enjoy with the public school boards. Ask if the same prospects will be so rosey with our own Catholic boards?

Also look at the OSSTF ERIP [Early Retirement Incentive Plan] $5000 bonus. You might think huh, why didn't we ask for that? I want that too! Then you will need to also ask yourself, well then how can these "me too" changes be made? Who will do what? If the process involves more CB at the local level, what help will we get should the timelines be short and the going get rough!

Questions! Questions! Questions! Think of it this way: The OECTA MOU is an apple. The OSSTF MOU is an orange. Both are fruity, but that is where the similarities end. OSSTF has managed to get an MOE that allows them to find their own cost savings within many of the MOU terms, a request that the Broten MOE would not allow when OECTA Provincial signed our MOU on July 5th. 

Sure OSSTF can find savings and make changes for this and that as outlined in their MOU. How will we do that now short of major changes to the OECTA MOU, including adding new language it totally lacks? Will that not also mean a return to the local Collective Bargaining table to reopen each of our OECTA contracts and begin negotiations anew? Furthermore, how long do you think this will take? How much help can we realistically expect? How much do you even know or understand about the changes in the OSSTF MOU also?!?

It's an interesting situation, one that many OECTA members might falsely be envisioning as wine and roses. Wine can intoxicate and you can get pricked by a thorn on the rose.

Another analogy: Last July 5th OECTA provincial saw an opening. They shot! But did they score ... ?

One more? Aye matey! Swab the poop deck! Thar she blows!!!

Might I unofficially suggest it's best to review my "Comparison" blog materials and get talking to your elected officials and reps at the local + provincial level asap!

Let the spring 2013 OECTA MOE follies begin ....

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