District President's Memo

September 6, 2005

President's Message

Welcome (back) to the 2005-2006 school year! I hope that all of you had an enjoyable and relaxing summer!

First of all, I’d like to remind you that the District website contains a wealth of information. There are sections for each bargaining unit and district committee as well as links to the online district magazine Education Matters Online, and all non-confidential communication from the district or the bargaining units to the members. If there is something you need to know and you can’t find it there, please call the District office and one of us will help you locate it.

Next, I’d like to give you a couple of reminders in order to help make this year a good one for you.

•Make sure that all of your work and relationships with others is professional and above reproach. All members are expected to treat each other and all other board employees with courtesy and respect. It is absolutely unacceptable to make disparaging remarks about others or to make adverse reports about other employees to administration.

•The First Class email/ conference system is owned by the board. Please make sure that all communication that you participate in on this system is board business. Do NOT conduct personal business using First Class or using board computers, this includes accessing email from a personal external email account on a board computer. Doing so could put you unnecessarily at risk.

•As an OSSTF member, you have the right to union representation at any meeting regarding your conduct or competence. Click here for more information.

We hope that all of you have a good start to this new school year!

Moving or Changing Your Name?

Help us keep our membership list current. If you change your name or address or phone number, PLEASE email, fax or phone in your new information to the District Office; also indicate which Bargaining Unit you belong to: Teachers, Occasional Teachers, PSSP, or Continuing Education Instructors.

OSSTF and The United Way

OSSTF, labour and the United Way share this positive vision: “Together we can build a better community, the community in which we live, work, play and raise our children.”

Again this year, OSSTF is proud to endorse and support our community United Way campaigns, which begin soon in our schools and workplaces. Please be generous in your personal donation and in your support of the many United Way special events.

Offence Declarations

All Thames Valley employees who were working last year and are still working this year were to have completed on Offence Declaration prior to September 1. If you have not yet done so, DO SO IMMEDIATELY. Occasional Teachers who have not completed their Offence Declaration will have their employee numbers de-activated until it is completed. This means that you will not be contacted by TVARRIS for supply teaching.

Negotiations in District 11 and Across the Province

Last June, negotiations for the secondary teachers were completed and the contract ratified. The rough draft of that contract is now in our hands for proof-reading. We hope that we will be able to get it back to the board by the end of this week so that it can be put on the Employee Portal shortly thereafter.

We will be completing negotiations for the Continuing Education Teachers and the Occasional Teachers this fall, hopefully as soon as possible We have contacted the board for bargaining dates.

The negotiations for the Continuing Education Instructors are also incomplete. Despite good progress on non-monetary items, there is considerable work to be done on monetary items on the table. The board and the union last met on May 3. We have requested additional bargaining dates from the board but so far none have been scheduled.

The contract for the Professional Student Services Personnel bargaining unit expired on August 31, 2005. The collective bargaining committee has completed a negotiating brief and “notice of intent to bargain” has been sent to the board. It is expected that negotiations will begin shortly.

Across the province, all of the Teachers’ bargaining unit contracts have been completed and have been ratified. This was largely due to pressure placed by Education Minister Gerard Kennedy on boards of education to complete them by the end of June. Because of this pressure, boards did place their emphasis on teacher negotiations and far less emphasis, if indeed any at all, on support staff collective agreements.

Now that four year deals for teachers are in place until August 31, 2008, we expect that emphasis will now be placed on completing the negotiations for all remaining collective agreements in TVDSB and across the province. If Minister Kennedy wants continued “peace and stability” in the public school systems, he must now place equal pressure on boards to complete the remaining 44 support staff negotiations.

Indeed, a strike was narrowly averted in Thunder Bay for the support staff. Negotiations had broken off and a strike was to begin on Monday August 22, but at the last minute, the board invited the union back to the bargaining table at 10:00pm on Saturday evening August 20. This proved fruitful; the negotiations were completed and a strike averted.

The District 23 ESS Bargaining Unit has officially commenced strike action as of Tuesday, August 30. After 12 hours of last minute bargaining on Monday, no successful resolution was reached. The issues are job security and compensation.

The D23 ESS bargaining unit represents 210 members which includes office clerical, library technicians, computer technicians, educational assistants and child and youth workers in the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board. Their previous contract expired on August 31, 2003.

I have spoken with D23 ESS President Sherry Mancuso and expressed District 11's support for their bargaining unit. Whenever possible, I will be stopping by their picket lines on my way home from work to walk with that group.

New “Employee Assistance Program” Provider

Effective 2005 September 01 staff requesting EAP services are asked to contact Wilson Banwell Human Solutions. Their program is called 'Resilience' and is part of the Health for Life program from Manulife Financial.

The new toll-free number to access the EAP is 1-866-644-0326.

Marion Drysdale 2006 Contest

The Marion Drysdale contest is a writing and creative arts competition which is open to all public secondary school students in Ontario.

There are 6 writing categories (including one for Adult Learners) and 2 creative categories. Each school or workplace may submit ONE entry per category to the district office for judging at the district level. Click here for contest criteria and entry details.

The 2006 Marion Drysdale Theme is “Thinking Globally”: Thinking Globally can mean many different things to different people. Look beyond your own borders. Question where we fit within the global community. Consider political, economic, environmental, health and social justice issues or reflect upon unity, harmony, equity and awareness. Thinking Globally can include mistakes of the past, tragedy and beauty of today, and hopes or fears for the future.

Upcoming District 11 Meeting Dates

Sept. 7: Occasional Teachers’ BU Executive
Sept. 8: Educational Services Committee
Sept. 15: District Executive Council
Sept. 20: Professional Student Services Personnel BU Executive
Sept. 22: Teachers’ Bargaining Unit Executive
Sept. 27: Human Rights / Status Women Committee
Oct. 3: Continuing Education Instructors’ BU Executive

Call for Submissions for Education Matters Online

Submit news articles, feature articles, recognition articles, announcements, photographs, etc. by email or on disk to the Communications / Excellence in Education Rep at your Branch/ Worksite or by email or on disk to Wendy Hirschegger at the District Office by Friday September 23, 2005.

Click here for previous issues of President's Memos

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

Disclaimer