Occasional Teachers' Bargaining Unit Newsletter:

Volume 4, Issue 1 (October, 2005)

A New Beginning...

It seems like the year has just begun, but already we are half way through October! I have timed this first Occasional Teacher Bargaining Unit (OTBU) newsletter to come out now so that I can share comprehensive information about some key matters, and get some feedback from you.

I recently attended two information sessions at the board office for new-hire occasional teachers. The first session was in the auditorium , where in 1958, when the building was the proud home of Sir Adam Beck Collegiate Institute, a young ( I was 3 at the time!) Joe Wilson was a callow grade nine student! I enjoyed meeting with new members of our proud profession and great union. Talking to them reminded me of how complicated it is to get started in teaching, and of how important OSSTF is to our members.

I will be trying to get out newsletters on a fairly regularly basis, though this is a cumbersome way of getting word out to our membership . We lack the easy and direct access to its members enjoyed by the Teachers Bargaining Unit (TBU). When it is imperative to reach all members (see “Collective Bargaining” below), I will be sending information out by mail, since it is the closest to a guaranteed way to reach all members.

I hope you have been able to visit the District 11 web page. I will be trying to get information on the OT section on a regular basis, since this is a much more timely method of communication. When you are in a school, be sure to consult the OSSTF bulletin board for recent updates. If there is an OSSTF meeting where you are working, ask the Branch President if you can attend (we are in a different bargaining unit, but members of the same OSSTF District). The District newsletter is available on-line, and the two provincial publications, Update and Education Forum, can usually be found at a school, or at the District Office. There are also a few copies of the OSSTF pocket planner at the District Office.

Contact and Support Information

If you need more information or support, don’t hesitate to contact me via the District 11 office (659-6588; fax: 659-2421; e-mail: JoeWilson@osstf11.com). The Federation Services Officer assigned to our Bargaining Unit is Dave Russell, but all the FSO’s are available for assistance. If you haven’t yet visited your refurbished District Office - drop by for a look! It is YOUR OSSTF District Office and union hall!

Your OTBU Executive

I’m delighted to announce that we have our most complete Occasional Teacher Executive in years. Our Vice-President, elected to the post at our spring AGM, and finishing off a two year term expiring in June of this school year, is Joy Hyde. Our Chief Negotiator is Geoff Shilleto, also elected at last year’s AGM. Geoff is well known among the more experienced veterans of the predecessor District 4. He was one of the first to serve on full -time release in the District 4 office as Executive Secretary, with particular responsibilities in negotiations and contract maintenance. His experience will serve us very well, especially in our continuing negotiations.

Our one glaring need is to have an executive member who is not retired. All three of us are committed to serving all members of our bargaining unit, but it is very desirable to have a non-retired executive member to help ensure that we have a comprehensive appreciation of the needs of our members. Experience is not necessary, and I strongly encourage our younger members to give this possibility strong consideration. OSSTF is a wonderfully progressive union, and many of us who have actively served it feel that this is among the most positive of experiences for teachers. The open position is for Secretary-Treasurer, but under the constitution we can create a position of “member-at-large”. By our constitution (which is available on the District web-site), vacancies on the executive are to filled by the executive. I am likely the president of the only bargaining unit most of whose members are eager to leave it as quickly as possible - to join the TBU! If you join our executive, I am quite aware that it may not be for long! Please contact me via the District Office if you wish more information.

The Structure of your OSSTF

I thought it might be timely to give an overview of how OSSTF is structured (see the District Website for more detail); occasional teachers sometimes feel out of the loop in terms of how their union is organized. First of all, though we are titled a “federation”, we are and always have been a union. Our provincial executive is elected to two year terms at our Annual Meeting of the Provincial Assembly (AMPA). Our own Ken Coran, former District 11 president, is serving as one of our provincial Vice-presidents. There is also an appointed Secretariat, employees of the union rather than elected “politicians”, whose responsibility is to serve the many needs of our members, most importantly in Collective Bargaining and member representation, but also in many other areas, such as communications, Education Services (PD), Political Action, Excellence in Education, liaison with groups such as other unions - and much more!

Locally, we are all part of District 11, which has four separate Bargaining Units (which means we negotiate separate Collective Agreements and have separate constitutions and organizational structures.). The largest unit is the contract Teachers (TBU), with ours being the second largest. The other two are PSSP (Professional Student Services Personnel), which includes such people as school psychologists and attendance counselors, and the Continuing Education Instructors, which includes all those who teach non-credit courses, such as adult English as a Second Language, Literacy and Basic SKills, Drivers' Education and International Languages. (At the time of writing , the Con Ed Instructors have reached an impasse in their contract negotiations. Please support these OSSTF colleagues, who provide very valuable services within this board, but unfortunately do not receive the remuneration and working conditions they deserve.)

Our District is served by a District Constitution, and by regular meetings of District Executive Council, which meets seven times this year, and is comprised of the District President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, the Provincial Councillors, the Bargaining Unit Presidents, and the BU District Councillors (allotted to BU’s based on numbers: we have one ). The four Federation Services Officers also attend, but are non-voting. This is because they are appointed to two year terms to serve the membership of the district (including you!) , in a similar way to the provincial Secretariat.

I should mention also that the key OSSTF representative in each school is the Branch President, who represents that school or work place at meetings of the TBU Council. Though you are not a member of their bargaining unit, I am sure you will find the Branch Presidents very approachable, knowledgable and supportive.

Collective Bargaining

We are among the Bargaining Units who have not yet settled with the Board, which means we are operating under the conditions of the previous collective agreement. Note that since we have linked our remuneration directly to the salary grid in the TBU Collective Agreement, you should already be being paid at a daily rate equal to category one, level 0 on the TBU pay grid - which means a pay raise ! We are continuing to try to tie our collective agreement to the TBU collective agreement, in line with the provincial and local OSSTF initiative to tie our bargaining units more tightly together, possibly as a merged single bargaining unit. This would increase our leverage with the board, and recognize how tightly linked to the TBU our welfare and working conditions are. The board is willing to look at possibilities in this regard, but with no guarantees.

The major improvements we are looking for are:

• 100% benefits for qualifying LTO’s
• carry-over of sick days for LTO’s
• getting the Letter of Understanding about information being available at schools for OT’s into the Collective Agreement

Our next scheduled negotiation day is October 26. Geoff Shilleto is our Chief Negotiator, and we are being assisted by Karl Dean, our Provincial Secretariat representative, and by District President Wendy Hirschegger and FSO Dave Russell. We are hopeful of making substantial progress.

When we get a tentative agreement instructions for our ratification process will be sent out to you. This process involves an information session to explain the tentative agreement, and to outline the voting procedure.

Representation

Your union is here to represent you. We live in challenging times, and you may find yourself in a situation where you need OSSTF representation.
If so, ASK FOR IT!! If you think it may be necessary, or you’re unsure, you likely do need our support and assistance. Call the District Office and ask for Dave Russell or one of the other FSO’s (Mary-Lou Cunningham, Colleen Canon and Nancy McDougall). If you have more general questions or issues, contact me. One routine channel we have for resolving issues is regular OT Labour-management meetings, where we meet regularly with Human Resource Services personnel to try to arrive at satisfactory resolution of problems or issues. We almost always do.

Taking care of Business

As the more experienced of you know, the board does a good job of giving timely reminders about any necessary things to be done by occasional teachers - such as updating the Criminal Offence Declaration and indicating a desire to remain on the supply list for the following year. It is vital that any such reminders are acted on to ensure that your status is not jeopardized. Note that many of these requirements are imposed on the board by legislation. OSSTF is always informed of this sort of thing. If you have questions about such matters, your best contacts at the board office are likely Kevin Kirkham (452-2015) or Theresa Stoyle (452-2200) . The appropriate department for most teacher enquiries is Human Resource Services, 452- 2012. I think you will find everyone there responsive and helpful. If you need clarification or are not satisfied with the response you get, contact the District Office (659-6588) with FSO Dave Russell being the best person to contact.

Note that the board tries to take care of these routine requirements via the board website. If you are not registered for a First-class board email (to be used for board-related business), go to the website and follow, via the help-desk (452-2005), the instructions to get registered. Once registered, you can access various information and forms via the employee portal.

The most recent requirement is to complete your WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) test. Note that all new hires likely have done this, and others updated last year. It may seem unnecessary for most teachers, but it is required under provincial labour legislation, and is designed for your safety. If you are not sure if you need to update, contact Theresa Stoyle. This requirement must be fulfilled, so don’t try to avoid it!

To test it out on-line, and because I needed to update, I recently went through the process. It takes about 20 minutes or so, so allow sufficient time. Once you have completed the test, you can send Theresa your TEST ID Number.

One key aspect of this process is that, unlike with contract teachers, who can do it on work time at their school, OT’s must do it on their own time. Therefore, we negotiated a payment of $25 to be put on your pay once you are registered as having completed the process. If you do not have access to a computer, or need assistance of any sort with the WHMIS process, call Theresa or Kevin.

Professional Development

OSSTF has long enthusiastically supported professional development for teachers. This is managed locally through the District Educational Services Committee. You are eligible for any OSSTF District 11 PD funding assistance which may be available for this year. Contact Laurie at the District Office for the form. Keep your eyes open for District 11 sessions to support new teachers and educational workers.

You also are able to attend board PD Day activities as long as there are openings. Unfortunately, you do not get paid for doing so, unless you are a Long Term Occasional Teacher and the PD Day falls within your LTO assignment. Many Occasional Teachers establish close enough relations with a particular school or department that they end up attending PD activities with them. Occasional Teachers are also welcome to attend the TVDSB New Teacher Conferences (sign up on the Employee Portal).

One matter I want to pursue at Labour-Management meetings this year is enhanced PD opportunities for OT’s. Many of you are eager to get contract jobs, and it is all-win situation if you are up-to-date in terms of in-service provided to keep teachers current with new curriculum directions, board initiatives, and so on. It may help if there were some PD or in-service sessions designed specifically for OT’s. With that in mind, please fill out the brief survey below and return to me, either by mail, fax, or email (see contact information above).

Important reminders...

1. I believe the TVARRIS system is working well - but let us know if you have any problems with it that can not be resolved by talking to the appropriate board personnel.

2. Consult the Board and District 11 Websites for pertinent information and updates. Both are packed with much useful information.

3. Good luck in your attempts to get as much work as you can. Remember that it is an active process: try to get around to schools to introduce yourself to department heads and principals. Leave good contact information (brief resume; business cards). Make sure you do EXACTLY what the teacher asked (creativity is good in teaching, but not in “interpreting” the instructions left you!); leave good notes, and try to do some follow-up. Make clear you would appreciate being on the school or department’s preferred list for TVARRIS calling (the way to get much more work). Show a willingness to be a prompt, enthusiastic and reliable contributor to the school and department.

4. WHMIS training and test!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Final Thoughts

I hope we are moving in to a more stable time in education. The previous Tory government was very confrontational and disrespectful to teachers and education workers, and clearly wanted much less public money devoted to maintaining a strong public education system. The Liberal government has got a long way to go to turn its words and promises in to real action and progressive change, but at least they will talk with us, and they have made some positive moves.

Unfortunately, the latest factor restricting new hires is declining enrolment, but we are all hopeful that before long more jobs will open up. I hope that you will all be able to move ahead with your career in education without having to worry about the collateral issues that have affected our profession so strongly in the past decade. I feel that the TVDSB is a progressive board and a very good employer. I am proud of the professional dedication and unflagging support of teachers and educational workers - and of public education itself - that is the proud heritage and on-going commitment of OSSTF. We are here to help and support you. I hope that this new school year is a good one for you, one that finds you making real progress toward your personal career goals.

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

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