Opening Statement



Thursday 22 August 2013

President Brock's OECTA Hearing!


News Flash!

OECTA Halton Elementary President Richard Bad Boy Brock has been removed from office and stripped of his members rights and privileges for 2 years as a result of his August 22 Discipline Board hearing.

The Director of the Halton Catholic Board [?], the Halton local executive and membership have been advised by OECTA General Secretary Marshal Jarvis of the decision, in that order.

I am releasing the notice letter since it is now public information on my Sept. 5 blog. Please stay tuned for more.


OECTA Halton Elementary President Richard "Bad Boy" Brock stands up for teachers at the spring 2013 OECTA AGM. Now? He's been dismissed! Stay tuned!

Aug 30 News Watch: Here's the protocol for the release of the results from President Brock's discipline hearing: Out of common decency at the very least one would expect he'd be notified personally first so he will know and can notify his executive, unit membership or whomever as he might choose. After all, it is about him. OECTA Provincial is required to publicly release the info in its next news publication after the decision has been made. Stay tuned. The news black out still remains in effect as of 11:15 am Friday Aug 30.

Aug 23 News Update:

On August 22 everyone present at President Brocks hearing was told that any + all information pertaining to the case was "sealed". That was not done on Richards request, so it certainly wouldn't have been done to help him, despite whatever other malarkey might eventually be used to cover up the cover up.

You will recall that the July 5th OECTA Provincial Executive ratification vote remained confidential for months after the controversial decision was made. Likewise the names and votes for the Council of Presidents "endorsement" vote, [that didn't have any bearing on the MOU which had all ready been ratified]. After the voting info [the names + how they voted] was officially released few could find it anywhere readily apparent, until it was reposted as public info here on this blogsite.

Quite clearly the secret veil of the OECTA "Code of Silence" still remains firmly in place. In Richard Brocks case for whom and for what reason? And for how long are we supposed to wait to find out? It truly boggles the mind!

Here's the story to date:

Is this the OECTA News story of the summer? The year? Today August 22nd, while most everybody is away or not paying attention Halton Elementary President Richard "Bad Boy" Brock will appear before an OECTA kangaroo court hearing. He will ostensibly be tried for speaking out against the OECTA MOU last summer when he did not support the Provincial Executive's unilateral MOU ratification vote.


One has to wonder about the who and why's of anyone insisting on doing so long after the fact! Did Richard not just do what many members believed was morally and principally necessary and right?  By take a brave stand rather than enable OECTA in it's folly through his silence, as his members hard earned contract rights were stripped and given away?

For the past while I have been reposting the blog archives from last year. The silence and inchoate anger back then was obviously deafening! The nefarious OECTA Code of Silence was firmly in place as our members were simply told what Provincial OECTA had decided to do. Was that anyway for an association which is supposed to be representing and working for its members to operate? Let alone one who had just broken solidarity with the other teachers affiliates? During a crisis situation in our collective fight against the provincial Liberals + their blatant strike to strip our hard fought contract rights and benefits away?

Will Richard now be told to make an apology? Did you know he could be barred from further holding public office as President of OECTA Halton Elementary after over 20 loyal years of executive service, all because he dared react on principle? What sort of precedent would that set for any remaining semblance of freedom of speech within OECTA?

Who would even consider forwarding or supporting such a vile + ridiculous complaint? Why? How did it ever get this far? Won't the wedge issue being created just continue to split the union apart along the support lines for or against the contentious 2012 OECTA MOU? At the very time when our newly elected President James Ryan and the incoming OECTA 2013-14 executive tries to rebuild our union solidarity within our union + with the other teacher affiliates? At this most critical juncture in time as we enter the latest round off provincial table discussions for our next contract? Does this sound like sour grapes to you? It sure does to me! Perhaps even a case of some OECTA'ers drinking too much red OLP Kool-Aid ... 

We wait with bated breath to learn more about the charges and the names of all involved so we can better understand the latest OECTA debacle. Also the outcome of this ridiculous trial! Good luck Richard Bad Boy Brock! Thanks for continuing to fight the good fight on behalf of all our provinces teachers!

COMMENTS?
 

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

You really should get your facts straight before you blog.

Kulture Kult Ink said...

Hmmm. Perhaps I've hit a few raw nerves? Admit I am generalizing a bit for now while on the road but I did talk to a few key inside sources to get this. And I stand by all my blog archives. If missing something please fill us in.

Anonymous said...

Will the results be published? Who polices the Discipline Committee? Who is sitting on it right now? Has James Ryan done anything to intervene and resolve this dispute? Healing the rifts in the union?

Anonymous said...

Right David. Sounds like a kool-aid drinking member had a little too much of the kool-aid. That's our problem going forward. Too many members are okay with whatever happens. At my school (an ETFO group) wants nothing to do with conversation around the pounding we took. The heads have not come out of the sand. The upcoming negotiations (Read Bill 116) should be interesting.

Anonymous said...

I hsve the utmost respect and admiration for Richard Brock who is not afraid to stand up for what is right despite the opposition. I certainly hope those who are less forthright/honest will not succeed in their attempt to damage him! Richard, you are my hero!!!

Anonymous said...

Who will now prosecute the unit presidents who launched the trial of Bad Boy Brock and engaged in the willful promotion of institutional bullying?

Kulture Kult Ink said...

Interesting how their names and votes are "sealed"! How is anyone to respect or honour any of this crap? Does OECTA work for the members, or do the members work for OECTA?

BTW more on James later. Suffice to say he is none to happy about any of this but as president he will have to honour the procedures and represent all the members. He will/ has had a few things to say about all this though. But of course everything is now "sealed".

Many folk revel in using the letter of the law to enforce the rules, in which they are very efficient, but that does not mean they get nor respect the spirit of the rules which as in this case is more important. I doubt the BS Bad Boy Brock faces meets the criteria for the latter. There has been a major paradigm shift and I dare say many of the rules no longer apply in principle, just as a form of manipulation.

Win or lose, the "sealed" silence will not help Brock but those who like to play games with the rules. Gee, haven't we been through this before our contracts were stripped for us and solidarity with the other teachers badly torpedoed?!?

This totally sucks!

Anonymous said...

Why is everyone standing by and letting dear Richard get railroaded? Is evil winning within our union? Catholic union, my butt! Sounds more like a Satanic one!!!

Kulture Kult Ink said...

President Brock had a distinguished line up of speakers there for his defence unlike last time when he was alone at the hostile hearing. Maybe they figured nobody would find out or be able to help Richard in the summer while everyone is away. Now the "sealed" announcement has been imposed. What a nefarious plot!

Anonymous said...

I thought it was illegal to have secret kangaroo courts in Canada? Is our union aping banana republics or authoritarian dictatorships yet again? I thought that Kevin O' Dwyer was out of the picture!

Anonymous said...

Whose face is on the Koolaid? It looks like....K...

Kulture Kult Ink said...

It scare me that OECTA is becoming secretive and resorting to paternalistic top down decision making just like our school boards and the church. Has it come full circle to embrace the very sense of entitlement and manipulation it used to fight against? Hopefully this is the last grasping dying breathe of the MOU regime but don't expect it. OECTA remains a very divided union.

IMHO President Richard Bad Boy Brock should be given a medal, not treated like this.The latest kick in the nuts is especially despicable coming under the cover of summer when he and the rest of us should be relaxing before the real battle ahead against the provincial government during the upcoming contract year.

Anonymous said...

Where's our new Provincial President taking charge and stopping this fiasco? Man, it irritates me as a dues paying OECTA member that money is being spent from my dues to pay for this hearing/three-ring circus...all based on egos fighting each other. When will OECTA get its act together? Grudges don't mend unions. Members are forgotten again...just like the MOU. If Richard Brock is proven "innocent" what will happen to the "other side"? Will they be subject to another hearing? Discipline for some but not all? Anyone care about the OECTA members who never get into these disputes, do their jobs every day, and continue to be innocent bystanders paying all the bills? Disgusting.

Kulture Kult Ink said...

Technically one could argue President Brock did not act to support and further the work of the provincial executive when he opposed the MOU. It will be a sad day indeed if he gets anything less than a medal for that.

It's a real crime that his accusers get to hide behind an OECTA news black out again this year while they try take him down for being one of the few last remaining gun slingers who shot straight from the hip in saying that the MOU and the way it was ratified was wrong from the get go, regardless of the constitutional pretzel logic that was used to force it upon us. Not to mention evoking the OLP Bill 115 at the OLRB to shoot him down the first time he tried to take them to task, along with the other OECTA presidents and members who were brave enough to say enough is enough, these executive decisions are wrong.

President Ryan has not been silent on any of this. It's real dirty that the news black out silences this info too. Matter of fact it would be real interesting if we knew who has being saying what, both for and against Richard Brock, and what each thinks should/ shouldn't happen but you can read between the lines to figure out just how desperate and despicable this whole plot is.

Its another sad day for OECTA indeed.

Anonymous said...

Another wake up call for all union members...don't follow any leaders blindly...ask questions...none of this heals the union or builds trust in the membership. Could it be any clearer that OECTA needs an OMBUDSMAN?

Anonymous said...

The way I see it, James Ryan should stay the decision and have the process reviewed. He does have the information that the process was flawed and everyone reading these comments has basically said so, but there is a code of silence and it seems it also comes from the Provincial President at this point. Hopefully he will do the right thing that he was elected to do!!!

Anonymous said...

This issue with Mr. Brock is not the MOU, as the discussion thread suggests. The real issue is the fact that he, and his executive under his tutelage filed for "intervenor status" in support of the respondent. The application filed by Mr. Brock, states"The Halton Elementary Unit would like to file "Intervening Status" on the application from the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association versus Durham Catholic School Board in support of the Respondent.......". The action itself is a serious breach of Union Solidarity.

Anonymous said...

You must not know Brock very well - He was the first person at an AGMs to waste many hours of time over some legal technical detail in the handbook and considers himself very knowledgeable about OECTA legal matters such as the constitution and bylaws. I say this to illustrate the point that when he willfully violated OECTA rules by asking for intervener status he knew very well he was breaking the rules by appointing himself defacto head of OECTA - many presidents felt the same but none decided to act as if they were the president of the provincial union except Brock. I'll be very interested in seeing you publish this comment without blocking it, and yes I'm a real OECTA member - M. Whinton

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