Bargaining eNewsletter No. 4 - President on Global TV, Special Steward Mailing, more

Just over a quarter of Ontario employees are unionized.

ETFO eNewsletter - Bargaining Edition

NUMBER 4 - MAY 7, 2012

ETFO's President on Global Television

ETFO President Sam Hammond continues to communicate concerns in the media about the unprecedented strips to members' collective agreements being proposed by the government.

His latest appearance was on Sunday, May 6th on Global Television Network's public affairs show, Focus Ontario. President Hammond talked about the inflexible stance the government adopted at the Provincial Discussion Table talks in February, as well as its ongoing unwillingness to develop a reasonable negotiation process to tackle the complexities of education funding. He also outlined the severity of some of the cuts that the government has demanded from ETFO members.

You can watch President's Hammond's appearance on the Control Your Future website (President Hammond's interview begins around the 14 minute mark).

Local Preliminary Submission Votes in Full Swing

ETFO collective agreements will expire August 31, 2012, and must be renegotiated. However, before bargaining begins ETFO members within each local must approve their local preliminary submission.

A preliminary submission is a proposal developed by local collective bargaining committees and used by ETFO negotiations teams when they bargain with individual school boards. Before being submitted to the school board, a preliminary submission must be presented to members of the local, who will have an opportunity to ask questions about its contents and ratify (i.e., approve) it through an all-member vote.

Because the preliminary submission is meant to be a reflection of ETFO members' bargaining goals, its ratification is a critical step in the collective bargaining process. To view an ETFO video about the importance of preliminary submission votes, visit ControlYourFuture.ca.

To find out when your local's preliminary submission vote takes place, check the Control Your Future events calendar or contact your local.

Peel Teacher Local Member a Winner

Congratulations to ETFO Peel Teacher Local member Laurie Thompson, who is the first winner of ETFO's collective bargaining newsletter contest! In addition to winning an iPad 3, Laurie will also receive a selection of iPad accessories (wireless keyboard, dock, smart cover, AppleCare Protection Plan).

It's not too late to be a winner. Members who are already subscribers to ETFO's enewsletters have two more chances to win an iPad 3 and accessories. Contest winners will be chosen on May 30th and June 22nd.

If you don't have a subscription to ETFO's eNewsletter, you can subscribe here.

Special Stewards' Mailing: Respect Teachers, Respect Collective Bargaining

In the next 5-8 days, ETFO Stewards will be receiving a special Collective Bargaining mailing at their schools.

It is of paramount importance that every ETFO Steward in the province arrange a meeting with all ETFO members in their school to review the contents of this special mailing.

Stewards who have not received the Collective Bargaining special mailing by Thursday, May 17th should email Lisa Mastrobuono, ETFO Collective Bargaining Communications, at lmastrobuono@etfo.org.

ETFO Locals converge in Toronto at Representative Council

On May 2nd and 3rd, local leaders from across the province met at ETFO's Representative Council. In addition to discussing issues related to the Provincial Discussion Table talks and collective bargaining, the leaders heard from a number of speakers including:

Susan Lambert, President of the British Columbia Teachers' Federation, who delivered a cautionary tale about the devastating impact a provincial government hostile to the teaching profession and to collective bargaining can have on educational achievement and school morale;
Paul Taillefer, President of the Canadian Teachers' Federation, whose national perspective included a review of provinces that have been respectful of educators and their lawful collective bargaining rights, even during challenging economic times;
Jim Stanford, a progressive economist from the CAW, who warned that slashing middle class jobs and public services in order to achieve economic prosperity has failed in other jurisdictions. Stanford pointed out that "the doom-and-gloom projections of the impact of rising debt on Ontario's interest costs are vastly overstated."

To view more photos from the Representative Council meeting, visit the ETFO website.