representatives, make up the ETFO provin- cial table team. This team includes members of the Provincial Executive, usually the Presi- dent and First Vice-President, as well as the General Secretary, Deputy General Secretary responsible for collective bargaining and se- nior collective bargaining staff. There may also be backrooms set up for staff and mem- bers of the Provincial Executive who review and analyze the proposals of the government and school boards in relation to the union’s bargaining goals and prepare responses.
6. The government is a participant at the central bargaining table. The government’s role in bargaining is dif- ferent than the bargaining agents that repre- sent educators and school boards. The gov- ernment cannot, for example, give notice to bargain. It is, however, required to cooperate in good faith in preparing for and conduct- ing central bargaining. ETFO is the bargain- ing agent for its members, while OPSBA and CTA are the representative agencies that bar- gain on behalf of their school boards. When there are disputes, each party or the gov- ernment has the right to seek recourse with the Ontario Labour Relations Board, which settles disputes.
7. Local bargaining may begin once notice to bargain is given. ETFO locals begin bargaining after mean- ingful bargaining has occurred at the central tables. Because the central list items must be negotiated first, the parties to local bargain- ing do not actually meet until the scope of central bargaining is agreed upon and once approval is given by the General Secretary. These procedures are laid out in ETFO’s Ne- gotiation Procedures, which are approved by the Provincial Executive.
8. The Ford government’s compensation legislation limits the collective bargain- ing process. Bill 124 proposes to impose a three-year sal- ary and compensation cap that would apply to ETFO members as well as other unionized and non-unionized workers in the public sector. Specifically, the Bill imposes a one percent annual cap on any increases to salary rates, and a one percent annual cap on other compensation. Compensation in this case is broadly defined to include salary as well as other payments provided to or for the benefit of workers. The Bill also gives the President of the Treasury Board, in their “sole discretion,” the power to render void a collective agree- ment or arbitral award if it is determined
inconsistent with the Act. The parties would then be required to return to the bargaining table to settle the terms of their agreement.
YOU CAN GET INVOLVED IN THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS
Getting involved in the bargaining process can be an exciting way to learn about how your collective agreement comes to be. Be- yond providing your input in the goal set- ting process, you can also get involved as a steward or as a member of your local collec- tive bargaining committee. At the local level, stewards play a significant role in the prepa- ration stages of bargaining as well as during the bargaining process. Stewards might pro- vide input to the local collective bargaining committee on workplace issues in the lead- up to developing the preliminary submis- sion, keep members up-to-date on the status of negotiations or assist in conducting and participating in strike and ratification votes. Your local collective bargaining com-
mittee might also be of interest. Committee members’ tasks might include research, de- veloping member input processes for iden- tifying bargaining goals and developing bar- gaining proposals. You might also attend general member-
ship meetings that your local has organized to keep you informed on central and local bargaining. Whether your involvement is as a stew-
ard, committee member or informed mem- ber, know that the opportunity to build on and improve existing collective agreements lies in unions’ ability to collectively bargain. This is a right we should not take for granted. Given the Ford government’s destructive
cuts so far to the education sector and other public services, solidarity amongst and be- tween all ETFO groups, unions, public sector workers, community groups, students and their families is our most robust resource. This is especially critical if concessions are put on the table that ETFO cannot accept and an impasse is reached. In this case, for central work-to-rule strike action, the Provincial Ex- ecutive could call for a strike vote, a decision that would not be taken lightly. The ability to strike is an essential piece of the right to collective bargaining. A successful strike vote in and of itself can create significant pressure by the union. In this round of bargaining the right to strike will be important as a means to defend your working conditions and support better learning conditions for all students.n
Kimiko Inouye is the collective bargaining researcher at ETFO.
ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ FEDERATION OF ONTARIO 21
“GETTING INVOLVED IN THE BARGAINING PROCESS CAN BE AN EXCITING WAY TO LEARN ABOUT HOW YOUR COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT COMES TO BE. BEYOND PROVIDING YOUR INPUT IN THE GOAL SETTING PROCESS, YOU CAN ALSO GET INVOLVED AS A STEWARD OR AS A MEMBER OF YOUR LOCAL COLLECTIVE BARGAINING COMMITTEE.”
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