Opening Statement



Saturday 5 October 2013

Past OECTA President O'Dwyer Seconded to OECTA Secretariat

In response to your enquiries here is the communique that was sent out last week:


 Past OECTA President Kevin O'Dwyer seconded to Bargaining + Contract Services

DATE October 2, 2013

TO Provincial Executive

OTF Governors

Unit Presidents

OTBU Presidents

Provincial Office

FROM Marshall Jarvis, General Secretary

SUBJECT Bargaining and Contract Services Department

Please be advised that Kevin O’Dwyer has been seconded to the Bargaining and Contract Services Department from October 7, 2013 to March 1, 2014.

MJ


See COMMENTS below blog that follows. You can also COMMENT here.


OECTA PE 2013-14. Past President Mr. O'Dwyer is to far right.

COMMENTS:

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another very sad day for OECTA. Are the people on the hiring committee without any knowledge about what this person has subjected us all to, and how he has now slithered away from any consequence of his own decisions. The worst leader in OECTA history is rewarded for taking us all out, removing forty years of gains without letting us have any say, and secretly making us and the PE powerless.

I feel like I am going to throw up. Kevin has won at the expense of the best interest of the members. OECTA has been diminished one more time by the past president and this time the hiring committee was complicit.

PE use your power and do something today to straighten this soon coming shipwreck called OECTA. Two years plus of disasters won't be easy to fix but you can do it if you have the will and courage to serve the best interest of the members.

I agree with the letter from Kate Tagseth on the other page, I have one comment on it that may differ a little. Kevin has inside knowledge of what occurred in the last two years. The problem is that he has inside knowledge on how to disregard the will of the AGM, the will of COP, the interests of the members, and get away with it. Despite this, he now works for us and we are paying him greatly. Sad, so very, very sad.

The letter on the other page from ETFO member Jody, is also very telling and lays out our problems within the labour movement.

Anonymous said...

This goes well beyond disgusting into the realm of sheer evil. Kevin O'Dwyer has done more harm to the teachers of this province -- OECTA and others -- than Mike Harris could have dreamed of in his wildest fantasies.

Promoting him and giving him rich benefits within the union movement is like rewarding a convicted pedophile with a bunch of nursery schools to supervise.

How can anyone take OECTA seriously ever again? The corruption and cultural poison is so deep no election is going to root it out.

Anonymous said...

The PE has the power to fire staff.

Anonymous said...

PE staff appear to be more important to the PE than Oecta members.

Anonymous said...

So let me get this straight.
You are on the Bargaining Committee as the President of the organization.
You produce an agreement for which the members are not allowed a vote.
You yourself get removed by a majority of the membership at an AGM.
Then you remove one of the longest serving, the most vocally opposed to the MOU and arguably the best serving Unit President who is directed by his Unit Executive to support his local membership.
AND THEN, you get a promoted back on to the Bargaining Committee under the guise that you know what you are doing and from which you were removed at the AGM.
All of this sanctioned by the Provincial Executive.
The whole thing is disgustingly obscene.
No wonder teachers get a bad wrap. It is well deserved.
It seems that the PE which was elected to fix things only makes things worse and even harder to fix.
And we are getting legal advise to do these things?
If so we should be paying the lawyers to stay home.

Anonymous said...

The Provincial Executive needs to start explaining to every Oecta member why Kevin O'Dwyer , an AGM defeated president and the creator of Oecta's worst contract ever, has been hired to provide negotiation advice on PDT 2014?

More advice on contract strips?

More advice on how to get sick day banks removed?

More advice on how to decrease Oecta members' benefits and working conditions?

Or how to make sure Oecta members don't get another MOU partDeux vote all over again?

More advice on how to divide Oecta members?

This is insane...the Provincial Executive needs to reverse this hiring decision immediately or show once again they don't care about the rank and file members.

Every week Oecta Provincial's actions make the union look like The Gong Show. Good message to send to the government. They must be laughing at such foolishness. Great way to not unify nor heal the membership too.

Anonymous said...

OECTA members need to ask why the Provincial Executive is letting the Oecta Provincial Staff do whatever they want completely uncontrolled no matter what effect it has on members or what it looks like to the public.

Anonymous said...

Talk about making zeros into heroes! OECTA seems to have the concept of meritocracy backwards! Let someone give away the shop and he is rewarded and the one who tries to save the shop is vilified! What is supposed to be a democratic union (responsible to its membership is now clearly an oligarchy!!!!

Anonymous said...

Here's an interesting tidbit about Kevin O'Dwyer's hiring as an Executive Assistant for the OECTA Provincial Bargaining and Contract Services Department : All OECTA school reps received this job posting as part of a mailout including the discipline board's decision.

All resumes for this job were to be submitted to James Ryan, President. So James obviously did know that Kevin O'Dwyer applied as a candidate but did nothing to stop him being hired.

Why did James Ryan run against Kevin O'Dwyer if he obviously approves of how Kevin ran things enough to approve of him being hired to assist (Lord help us) in negotiations in 2014?

James Ryan should explain this hiring decision to all Oecta members.

How does hiring O'Dwyer who made sure members had no vote on the MOU and delivered the worst Oecta contract ever improve the union? Kevin first? OECTA members last?

The buck stops with James Ryan, Provincial president.

What must members and the public be thinking about this Oecta decision?

Kulture Kult Ink said...

Could somebody please share what happened at todays open PE meeting so grassroots arent the last 2 know, or lets say a few weeks from now!

Anonymous said...

I did not think OECTA PE could do anything more harmful to their own members. But yet again, they have. The whole lot of them should be disbanded including James Ryan who I once admired. Just plain insanity and drinking of the koolaid must go on a lot!

Anonymous said...

Is there a vote on the executive at this year's AGM? Let's throw all these" bums" out and get some real leaders with gumption in there. I think we should be focussing on getting some proven strong and trustworthy leaders to run! Otherwise OECTA is dead in the water as no member has any respect whatsoever for OECTA. Can we join other teacher unions as we are getting tired of paying for these useless (worse than useless- harmful to us and our organization) people!

Anonymous said...

Maybe Richard Brock will run for President of Provincial and straighten this mess out! We need our hero back!

Anonymous said...

Kent MacNeill, Angelo Ippolito, Kate Tagseth, David Chiarelli and Richard Brock, once he wins his lawsuit, should all replace the Provincial Executive. Then maybe Oecta would be run in an open, transparent and accountable to members kind of way, operating for the benefit of ALL OECTA MEMBERS, not like it is now for the benefit of former provincial presidents. Will Oecta ever operate justly again?

Anonymous said...

Silence out of fear is a curse. Forced silence is a crime. PE - Guilty as charged. Time to leave?

Dishonesty to achieve your ends will haunt you and those you lied to will find out. Is it over.

Can unity be brought back along with hope and care for all the members. Yes it can. BUT first you have to admit where you went wrong and fix it. Could that be embarrassing for a few? Yes it will, The choice is embarrassing a few or destroying the association. This would take courage and I see none. I see only cover ups and oblique thought processes,

James Ryan and PE, it is your call. Will it be truth and justice or cover ups and destruction.

Anonymous said...

Look its time to get over your blame everything on O'Dwyer phase. Yes Kevin made a mistake with the MOU. Prior to this he had a solid record. He is a skilled and talented individual; politics shouldn't ban the best person from getting a job.

Anonymous said...

Skilled and talented at contract strips, no votes for members, etc.

Anonymous said...

Defending Kevin O'Dwyer is Pathetic. Hiring him is worse.

Anonymous said...

Who else applied in this hiring?

Anonymous said...

It is not politics that is being put as a concern about this hiring. It is the choice to exclude the unit presidents from vital information, the conscious decision to disregard all inquiries about concession bargaining, and choosing not to give all members a vote. Kevin made those choices. That can't be escaped.

Anonymous said...

OECTA members :

"I want MY OECTA union to BAN the "ME TOO" clause in all future negotiations."

Send this statement to the Provincial Executive listed below:

j.ryan@oecta.on.ca

c.karuhanga@oecta.on.ca

a.hawkins@oecta.on.ca

w.grafton@oecta.on.ca

m.tombari@oecta.on.ca

a.donihee@oecta.on.ca

e.mcmahon@oecta.on.ca

j.pauletig@oecta.on.ca

Anonymous said...

Talk about putting the fox in charge of the hen house! Good luck OECTA members!

Anonymous said...

With the MOU Kevin put Kevin first, members last. Never forget that!

The Provincial Executive/Staff just continue to show their complete arrogance and disrespect of Oecta members by hiring Kevin O'Dwyer.

Oecta Provincial's actions speak louder than words.

Why is Kevin O'Dwyer treated like a hero while Oecta members living all the cutbacks he negotiated treated like zeros by their Provincial leadership?

Anonymous said...

Oecta ,as a union, needs some new "checks" to ensure no one on Provincial ever again gets absolute, unchecked and unaccountable power.

So send this email to everyone on provincial:

"My OECTA publishes a transparent accessible yearly Sunshine List to all members of every Executive Provincial members' pay/salary/sick days/compensation package.

We as dues paying Oecta members who pay all the bills to run this union have no report of this information.

I am an Oecta member and I want Provincial to publish a yearly Provincial Executive Sunshine Pay List.

Stop the secrecy and ZERO accountability now.

The newsletter @OECTA could contain this report."

Contact them at:

j.ryan@oecta.on.ca

c.karuhanga@oecta.on.ca

a.hawkins@oecta.on.ca

w.grafton@oecta.on.ca

m.tombari@oecta.on.ca

a.donihee@oecta.on.ca

e.mcmahon@oecta.on.ca

j.pauletig@oecta.on.ca

Anonymous said...

Oecta members need to phone, mail, or email each Provincial Executive member and ask him or her: "Do you get more than 11 sick days a year as part of your payment package, paid for by my union dues?" When you get an an answer, please post their answers on this blog for open accountability and transparency to every dues paying Oecta member. Thank them for building trust in our union.

Anonymous said...

Only two Provincial Executive members are seconded (president, first vice president) and their salary details are published in the OECTA handbook. They get 11 sick days and have to take unpaid days like every other teacher. The other provincial executive members are ALL classroom teachers and receive no financial compensation for their executive service.

Provincial secretariat and support staff are paid according to their collective agreements which are public document registered with the Ontario Labour Relations Board and yes you can get them.

Want no me too's in the next provincial agreement? Talk to your local president and get him or her to push for no me too's in OECTA's initial proposal. If there is a Me too in the provincial agreement vote it down. Remember this time every OECTA member gets to vote on the ratification of any provincial agreement.

Its time to look ahead to the future.

Kulture Kult Ink said...

Unfortunately most info from OECTA is too little too late. Members have to visit here or go find it themselves elsewhere in many cases, depending upon how transparent + open the local unit is in sharing information. You will find little or nothing on the official provincial website, least of all in a timely manner, even if you use the much touted private members area. This does not build trust.

If you are hoping for changes at AGM 2014, just realize, it comes after the fact, just like last year, and may even be too little too late.
The summer surprises are a regular affair now; the MOU, the Brock dismissal. Now this fall there's the Personnel Committee appointment too. Its pretty hard to ignore.

If your president rocks the boat, well look at what happened to Richard. An example has been set and its not an encouraging one.

Hope for the best, expect the worst and you won't be disappointed. The credibility gap is too wide now and the trust just isn't there to proceed otherwise. There have been no changes that would suggest otherwise, if anything its just getting worst. It sure would be nice to see some concrete changes that would suggest otherwise. That would be a good start for laying the groundwork to looking forward to the future. Seems OECTA is still just getting broadsided from the past.

It's your union, you are the union. Or are you? If not you need to fight to reclaim it for yourself and the members at the grassroots.
A helluva lot more people are doing so this year, it could be a good sign, but the association still has a long way to go to being credible, trustworthy, and in touch with its grassroots, the members who pay the bills and elect representatives to work for them, not the other way around. There is still a major disconnect. Ignore at your own peril and that of your union.

Just my thoughts. But I do put my name to them.

Take it or leave it as you may.

Anonymous said...

David- you are totally correct in your analysis of that comment of how OECTA is so open and transparent in their information given to members.
The Oecta HANDBOOK? I've taught for 25 years and no one from Provincial or my unit (Halton elementary) has ever sent me a hard printed copy of the Handbook, or the unit handbook? Why not? We have no grievance forms available at the school sites-why not? No one ever tells us how to run for office-Provincial or otherwise-convenient?
Also, in the past school year, several unit bylaws were passed limiting only the top two Executive members to be able to run for the office of Unit President with ZERO unit membership input into that decision.
Seems that with the @OECTA newsletter Provincial can instantly distribute openly information they want members to get- but not all the information we should get as dues paying members.
And then there's our unit problems.
Furthermore, the hiring of Kevin O'Dwyer by Provincial after he was defeated by the will of the AGM ,which is supposed to rule OECTA , sends out an interesting message doesn't it?
Lastly, why no one member-one vote for OECTA members like OSSTF and ETFO? Scared of member input and direction?
OECTA has a long and winding road to restore trust at all levels. Until then, OECTA can't and won't move forward. If it stays the way it is currently operating, OECTA doesn't deserve to move forward.

Anonymous said...

This sure shows what kind of leaders we have today. A president who negotiates the MOU contract strips unto members, doesn't allow members to vote on it before it becomes binding, and then leaves teaching to avoid the MOU working conditions that he imposed on members. Wow! Actions do speak louder than words.

Anonymous said...

And all the while, Kevin O'Dwyer's salary and benefits are 100% paid for by the OECTA members he forced the cutbacks onto. Great Provincial PE and Staff leadership there too. We'll remember that no one intervened to change that hiring decision.

Anonymous said...

Hey OECTA members! Y'all tired of teaching under the MOU cutbacks? Apply to be an OECTA Provincial Staff member and watch your pay go up because they are all MOU-free. There's a Rainbow in Toronto...

Post a Comment

Communist Girls ARE More Fun!

Communist Girls ARE More Fun!
See below ...

Communist Girls Are More Fun #1

Communist Girls Are More Fun #1

Communist Grrrls are More Fun #2

Communist Grrrls are More Fun #2

Communist Grrrls Are More Fun #3

Communist Grrrls Are More Fun #3

Communist Girls Are More Fun #4

Communist Girls Are More Fun #4

Art at the Paris Louvre: What does it mean?!?

Art at the Paris Louvre: What does it mean?!?
A careful analytical study!

Help! I Have No Arms!

Help! I Have No Arms!
Please scratch my back.

I can't find my underwear!.

I can't find my underwear!.
Have you seen them!

Weee! I can fly!

Weee! I can fly!
Look! I can crawl thru walls!

I have a headache!

I have a headache!
And a broken nose.

I have a square hole in my bum!

I have a square hole in my bum!

Here try this, it's very good!

Here try this, it's very good!
No. You have a bird face.

I have an ugly baby!

I have an ugly baby!
No I'm not!

Let's save all our money + buy pants!

Let's save all our money + buy pants!
OK but I need a new hand too!

Oh no! I got something in my eye!

Oh no! I got something in my eye!

You don't look well.

You don't look well.
No. My head hurts +I have a sore chest.

Would you like a bun?

Would you like a bun?

Chichen-Itza: Lost Maya City of Ruins!

Chichen-Itza: Lost Maya City of Ruins!
The Temple of Kukulkan!

Gotta love it!

Gotta love it!
Truly amazing!

Under Reconstruction!

Under Reconstruction!

Temples + Snakes!

Temples + Snakes!

The Snake!

The Snake!
It runs the length of the ball field!