Ontario Teachers Winter Contract Guide!

Welcome to my independent "teacher free speech" winter guide to news + views links for the ongoing Ontario all affiliate [AEFO, ETFO, OECTA, OSSTF] teacher contract talks! Earlier related links are provided below. My Blogsite Acronym Guide is @ Here! 

March 15, 2015

OSSTF announces 7 units will be prepared to strike by the end of April: Peel, Durham, Halton, Ottawa, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, K-W! 10,000 teachers will be involved!

OECTA to begin strike rallies April 7, with strike votes being held April 23-24th. Why so late? No way OECTA will be the 1st with an MOU deal this time, watch to see!

March 3-8, 2015

OECTA President James Ryan indicates "clearly and unambiguously" that the affiliate does not support the "regressive" initial contract offer it has received from management [OCSTA/ MOE]. Further meetings are set for March 9, 10 and 11th. Similar responses are expected from the other affiliates. Story @ Star

Initial Proposal details are here @ OECTA and @ OCSTA

Information concerning the Management side (OCSTA Trustees’ Association and Government) proposed changes to the Collective Agreement at the Central Table: Some of the impacts of the employer’s initial proposals to OECTA TSU members are presented here:

1. All existing superior provisions from our hard-won local agreement are replaced by central terms and shall not continue

. For TSU this will mean loss of UPB day access

· Loss of family illness days etc.

· Current ODA schedule for dental plan payments at risk

· Loss of bereavement days for in-laws, grandchildren, aunt, uncle, fiance

2. Wage Reductions (not all members will be affected by all)

· $0 – no salary increases for 3 years

· Loss $2,000/year – delayed grid movement to 97^th day (over 3 years)

· Loss potential $50,000/4.5 years for those injured at work by reductions to WSIB       top-up

· Loss $25/day from reducing Short Term Sick Leave and Disability plan from 90%        to 85%/day

· Loss $500 for non-renewal of Attendance Recognition Plan

· Increased LTD premiums as application required after 30 days of illness

3. Hiring Practice

· Fair Hiring Provisions and Regulation 274 revoked

· Teachers displaced as a result of principals and vice-principals returned to  bargaining unit – with their seniority intact

· Mandatory reduction from full-time to part-time if a teacher is unable to return to work due to illness or injury

4. Loss of Rights

· Loss of “Teacher Professional Judgement”

· Board can compel Independent Medical Exams with a doctor of the Board’s    choosing to qualify for sick leave

5. Leaves Restricted

· Board permission required for ALL leaves

· Loss of UPB days including for medical appointments

· Loss of days for attendance at court

· Loss of days for teachers’ own graduation

· Sick days not automatically renewed at beginning of school year

6. Claw backs

· Removal of all Collective Agreement language related to Dual Credits / E-learning

· No early Retirement Incentive

7. Grievance Process

· Creation of a central Dispute Resolution Committee made up of 3 representatives of the union, 3 representatives of the employers and 3 representatives of The Crown (NOT equal representation).  The Crown maintains the right to give or with hold approval to any proposed settlement between the employer and employee bargaining agencies.

Feb 12

ETFO Provincial CB dates are Feb. 5, 6, 23, 24/ March 2, 23, 24. Local bargaining is scheduled for on or about Feb. 23 in various locals.

Feb 8, 2015

Expect a provincial benefits plan to be in the works. The big question then becomes who runs it? The province? The boards? The unions? Interesting OECTA angle: if it's the unions or province then health + benefits are no longer an issue for it's LGBTQ members.

Feb 5, 2015

In lieu of much detail about what's actually on the teacher union provincial bargaining table, 5 months after your contracts have expired, one might be well advised to keep an eye on the terms being rejected in the OPSEU talks: wage freezes, cutbacks, concessions and the like. Teachers too? More @ Read the Tea Leaves?

Jan 25, 2015

OECTA President James Ryan disputes claim internal turmoil over renewal of the General Secretary's contract threatens to divert attention from the ongoing provincial bargaining process @ Sun

Jan 23, 2015

Conciliation on January 9th [see below] resulted in all matters but 2 being agreed upon as being within the scope of provincial bargaining. A ruling on #1] seniority as the basis for all teacher transfers and #2] teaching assignments/ surplus provisions [changes in employment status resulting from fluctuation in student enrolment] is pending from the OLRB Chair. 

Continuing provincial negotiations are now scheduled for Feb. 10, 11, 27, 28, March 9, 10 +11th.

Jan 19, 2015

Some further notes: The OLRB case number is 2465-14-M. Briefs were submitted by Dec 19th 2014, followed by the Jan 9th 2015 hearing date below. OSSTF, ETFO + CUPE were to receive the briefing copies on a without-prejudice basis. The briefs address why the parties either propose [OECTA] or oppose [OCSTA] the issues being dealt with at central bargaining.

A teleconference was held on Thursday Jan 15 with the next scheduled hearing on Monday Jan 19th. All info from the conciliation remains confidential to the best of my knowledge. 

Jan 9, 2015

OECTA/OCSTA OLRB Hearing: My unofficial report as an observer: The reps and legal council for the Catholic teacher union, school board trustees and government met with Judge Fishbein for submissions on Friday. President James Ryan, 1st Prez Ann Hawkins + 2nd Liz Stuart, the provincial CB team + General Secretary Marshal Jarvis were in attendance for OECTA. On the surface, all was cordial between the key parties involved in the case; much more noticeably than other OLRB hearings I have attended between various groups in the past. Regretfully CUPE was denied a request for intervenor status based upon a Pharmacy Plus case submitted for Fishbein's consideration and had to leave. 

The hot button issues under contention are listed below. After meeting privately with the legal councils Fishbein announced that all further proceedings are to remain confidential as an OLRB "conciliation" process based upon "outcomes" begins. Each party left for separate conference rooms to prioritize the issues to be discussed. 

Recourse to an OLRB hearing to determine what falls under the scope of "provincial bargaining" in the current round of collective bargaining has been mandated through the provinces new CB act for all three of our Ontario teacher union associations. ETFO has not requested a hearing. It's negotiations remain ongoing. OSSTF's case begins Apr 1 while their talks also continue. However, OECTA's negotiations are on hold until the issues at the OLRB table are resolved. Nor will an OECTA provincial strike vote be held until after the hearing is over. It would seem OECTA won't be first to nail an agreement unlike in 2012. That could be prudent considering the difficult position that put the union in during the 2012 talks.

The hearing will continue this Friday at 9:30 am.

Backgrounder: Info on new CB Act and OECTA Provincial CB team @ Here

Other updates: ETFO talks resume Jan 21+22

Jan 2 2015

OECTA OLRB [Ontario Labour Relations Board] hearing dates are set for 9:30 am January 9 + 19th 2015. They will be held at:

2nd Floor, 505 University Ave, Toronto

The hearings are due to a lack of agreement upon 5 items which OCSTA [Ontario Catholic School Trustee Association], the employer does not want included within the scope of provincial bargaining: These issues are:

1. All matters relating to sick leave (the employer insists on excluding attendance management programs);

2. Seniority as the basis for all teacher transfers;

3. Teacher working conditions and workload as they relate to Individual Education Plans (IEPs);

4. All matters relating to health and safety issues; and

5. All matters relating to staffing provisions.

OECTA Provincial is following due process in referring the matters in dispute to the Labour Relations Board. CUPE, ETFO + OSSTF have sought intervenor status at the hearing. Provincial bargaining can resume after the issues are clarified by the OLRB.

OSSTF's first OLRB hearing date won't be before April 1, 2015.

See you there!!!!

RELATED LINKS:


Your teacher free speech all affiliate self directed study guides have a plethora of info and links to documents + pretty much everything else you will need to make any sense of what's going on yourself.

Here's the guide from this fall @ Here! [Link fixed!] 

Here's the guide from last summer! Remember, we are STILL without a contract. See @ Summer

Remember Bill 122 [the new teacher collective bargaining act]? Here's a study guide @  Bill 122

CB? MOE?? ETFO?!? OECTA?!?! OLRB?!?!? OSSTF?!?!?! My Blogsite Acronym Guide is @ Here! 

Further links to follow!

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