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Volume 2, Issue 4: March 3, 2004

Federation Services Officer: Mary Lou Cunningham

News from the Educational Services Committee

The Educational Services Committee has organized a spring workshop for Thurs. April 1^st with presenter Rosemary Clark, Provincial OSSTF, to inform our members of School Laws and regulations that affect them. Individuals who are in their first five or six years in the educational field or members interested in learning more about new legislation will benefit from this Provincial workshop. A Certificate of Participation will be issued to all who attend.

The Four Points Sheraton, 1150 Wellington Rd. South, London, will be the location. A hot dinner (lasagna, salad, dessert) will be provided with the session commencing at 4:15, a break for refreshments at 5:30 with a "working supper " continuation of the workshop until 7pm.

Registration is free but limited. 

The Human Rights / Status of Women Committee has distributed another resource to all workplaces. Please ask your rep. if you are unable to locate the Ontario Human Rights Teaching Package. This valuable package (with lesson plans) will be of interest to Civics, English, History and Family Studies teachers this semester.

How to Become a No Sweat School, a resource from the Maquila Solidarity network (www.maquilasolidarity.org),will be discussed at the next Human Rights meeting on March 23. Members are encouraged to check out this website for resources for students.

Federation Services Officer: Don Edgar

Spending March Break–out-of-country?

We have had some calls about out-of-country medical coverage during March break. As in recent years, members and their currently eligible dependents are covered by the board plan for out of country trips during the March break. There is no need for plan members to purchase additional insurance unless you wish to. Manulife indicates that members should pay bills of up to $200.00 themselves and apply for reimbursement after returning home. If the bill is going to be over $200.00, you are required to phone Manulife’s 24 hour emergency number at 1.800.265.9977 if traveling in the USA. If traveling outside North America, please call 1.519.741.8450. These numbers can be also found on the back of your benefits card.

OSSTF is served well by three area Labour Councils. The Labour Councils actively support Public Education throughout Ontario, and lobbied on our behalf in the last provincial election. Currently, there is a need for interested OSSTF members to join either the St. Thomas Labour Council or the Oxford Regional Labour Council. If you are interested, please contact Don Edgar at the OSSTF District Office at 659-6588.

Federation Services Officer and TBU Chief Negotiator: Wendy Anes Hirschegger

Some "Need to Know" Information about Certification Rating Statements

Members of the Teachers' Bargaining Unit who are not yet in Group 4 in terms of their Certification Rating Statement should be aware that by moving to a higher Group, they could be earning more money. The more quickly they upgrade, the sooner they will maximize their earning potential, and also maximize their pension contributions. 

Members who have a Letter of Evaluation rather than a Certification Rating Statement because they have teaching credentials obtained outside of Ontario need to be aware of two things. First, a Letter of Evaluation has exactly the same force as a Certification Rating Statement which means that by submitting it to the board, you will be paid at the corresponding Group rate. Second, the Letter of Evaluation has an expiry date; if the expiry date passes, the board could put that member back into a lower Group until they receive a renewed Letter of Evaluation or the Certification Rating Statement from that member.

Members should check the provincial Certification website occasionally to see whether there are changes that might help them upgrade their certification more quickly. The provincial Certification Council has recently completed a review of all of the Three Session Specialists to see whether other courses could and should be added to the list of those which qualify as "in the discipline". 

We have recently discovered that there are twenty-three members who have been working for the board for a while but who have never applied for a Certification Rating Statement and thus are being paid at the lowest Group even though they might qualify for a higher Group. There were also several others who had a Certification Rating Statement but who had never submitted it to the board's Human Resources Department in order to start getting paid at the higher Group level. It is the member's responsibility to ensure that they apply for a Certification Rating Statement, or to have their qualifications re-evaluated if they've taken courses, and to submit the Certification Rating Statement to the Board in order to qualify for higher pay. That said, all of the member of the Teachers' Bargaining Unit who are currently being paid at Group 1 have been contacted by our office in order to provide them with information about how to apply for a Certification Rating Statement or a re-evaluation.

As most of you know by now, Bob Fisher has been hired by the provincial OSSTF office and he started work there on February 2. He is enjoying his new challenges, as you can read for yourself in his "E-musing from Mobile Drive". In the meantime, the jobs of TBU Chief Negotiator and TBU Grievance Officer have been added to my portfolio of responsibilities.

I shall certainly try to live up to the very high standards of work that Bob performed in those roles, but I have to tell you, they are big shoes (figuratively speaking) to fill. In terms of the TBU though, the Collective Bargaining Reps have distributed surveys of the membership to gather their feedback concerning what the negotiating priorities should be for the upcoming round. Most of the surveys have now been received by the district and I assume the ones we haven't yet received are in transit somewhere in the board mailbag. At the next CBC meeting, the district-wide survey results will be considered by the committee and then we will proceed with the development of the negotiating brief. Thank you to all of you who took the time to fill in the survey and provide us with your thoughtful input.

Let us not take thought for our separate interests, but let us help one another.
(OSSTF Motto)

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