Contract talks start Sept. 30

Contract bargaining between the Ontario Property Assessment Corporation and OPSEU starts Sept. 30 in Toronto.

On Aug. 10, the Ontario Labour Relations Board certified OPSEU as the bargaining agent for 1,900 OPAC staff members. That paved the way for the Aug. 28-29 demand-setting meeting, where 50 delegates from across the province mapped out strategy and elected the bargaining team for this round.

"We’ve come a long way to get to this point," said North Bay property assessor Will Presley, elected chair of the team. "In 1996, we went on strike for job security protections. That paved the way for decent treatment when we were divested. In 1997, we lobbied municipal politicians to keep the property assessment function in one piece. In 1998, we got organized and used our strength to win job offers and decent working conditions for all our members.

"This round of bargaining is the last step in the transition," he said. "With strong membership support, we are going to make our first OPAC contract a very, very good one."

Wages and job security top list of demands

Members – both those who filled out this summer’s survey and those at the demand-setting meeting – agreed that wages and job security are the top issues in this round of bargaining.

"Staff at OPAC have been through four years of uncertainty and stagnant incomes," said team chair Presley. "We need strong job security language so members know where they’re at, and we need a meaningful pay hike. The last time we had a raise, Brian Mulroney was still Prime Minister."

Other issues on the table for this round include:

• Pension issues
• Contracting out;
• The rights of contract staff;
• Health insurance;
• Benefits;
• Hours of work;
• Compressed work week;
• Vacation;
• Sick leave;
• Paid Educational Leave;
• Time off for union business; and
• A grievance procedure.

Settling grievances

OPAC did agree to a complaints procedure in the job offers received by members who came from the OPS.

Got a complaint? Follow the procedure: put your complaint in writing, and demand a meeting with the Chief Administrative Officer, Bob Richards. Some complaints have already been resolved in this way.

The complaints procedure holds few guarantees, however. The employer does not have to follow any particular time lines. You do not have the right to union representation at meetings with the employer. You do not have the right to arbitration.

In the months ahead, your bargaining team will need strong support from all members to make sure we get a strong, enforceable grievance procedure to ensure that all staff are treated fairly at work.

We’ve come a long way…

Key events in property assessment in Ontario

March 31, 1996: OPSEU strike in the Ontario Public Service ends; new job security language requires the government to make "reasonable efforts" to find jobs for OPSEU members whose work is divested out of the OPS, "on terms and conditions as close as possible to the then existing terms and conditions of employment…."

January 16, 1997: Minister of Finance announces that property assessment will be downloaded to municipalities. Later that year, OPSEU publishes "Expert Opinion" and "Focus on property assessment," two documents used in an extensive lobbying campaign to maintain quality property assessment by keeping it under one roof. Municipalities agree with OPSEU.

Dec. 18, 1997: Bill 164 receives Royal Assent, creating the Ontario Property Assessment Corporation. First issue of The Advocate is published.

March 29, 1998: OPSEU members in property assessment meet in Toronto to elect the Assessment Transition Team. Over the next nine months, the team pushes for quality job offers to all members, forcing the government to meet its obligations under the OPS collective agreement.

May 7, 1998: OPSEU Executive Board creates a new OPAC Division for the union.

Nov. 30, 1998: OPAC agrees to hire all classified employees at 100 per cent of current salary; unclassified employees are hired on contract. Vacations and benefits are maintained. Pension plan leaves the OPSEU Pension Trust and goes to the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS).

Dec. 31, 1998: The work of the Property Assessment Division of the Ministry of Finance is transferred to OPAC.

Jan. 11-12, 1999: Seventy per cent of members at OPAC vote for OPSEU as their bargaining agent.

Aug. 10, 1999: Ontario Labour Relations Board certifies OPSEU as bargaining agent for most workers at OPAC.

Aug. 28-29, 1999: About 50 OPSEU delegates attend the demand-setting in Toronto and elect their bargaining team.

Nov. 7, 1999: Founding meeting of the OPSEU OPAC Division.

The next step: A new collective agreement completes the transition from the OPS to OPAC.

OPSEU BPS conference Nov. 5-6

Now that property assessment is no longer part of the Ontario Public Service, OPSEU members at OPAC are entitled to send delegates to the annual conference of OPSEU members in the Broader Public Service. Under the theme of "Representation Renewal," this year’s conference will focus on ways to make collective bargaining work better for members. The conference begins Friday, Nov. 5 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.

Meet your bargaining team

Serving on a bargaining team is one of the toughest – and most important – tasks union members can take on. The OPSEU team elected at the demand-setting meeting Aug. 29 consists of five members of the former Assessment Transition Team – the folks who planned the strategy and fought for good jobs during the OPAC transition – and two new members.

Team chair Will Presley, from OPSEU Local 633 in North Bay, has been a property assessor for 24 years, starting his career in the Guelph and Thunder Bay assessment offices. In the OPS, he served on wage negotiation teams, Ministry Employee Relations Committees, and Classification committees. Will is a member of the OPSEU Executive Board.

Vice-chair Jennifer Reid began work in the Property Assessment Division over 20 years ago and has worked in various positions, including Assessment Clerk and acting Neighbourhood Functional Assessor, her current job. Jennifer has been a steward and chief steward and is now president of OPSEU Local 105 in London.

Peter Thompson, a unit steward in Local 133 (Windsor), has been a property assessor since 1990. Active in OPSEU since 1991, Peter served four years on the OPSEU Provincial Human Rights Committee.

Bill Henry, of the Barrie Assessment Office, was elected founding chair of the OPSEU Assessment Transition Team in 1998. Bill has been president of Local 322 since 1975 and served as an OPSEU representative on the Ministry of Finance Employee Relations Committee.

Larry Deschenes works in the Kingston Assessment Office. He has 22 years experience in assessment and has served on two OPSEU negotiating teams. He is a past co-chair of OPSEU’s Ministry of Finance Health and Safety Committee and spent nine years as president of OPSEU Local 463. Larry is a new member of the team, elected Aug. 29.

Tina Faibish began work in the Toronto Assessment Office as an Assessment Clerk in 1991 and has been an acting PA 3 since last year. Tina became an OPSEU steward in 1994. She has been vice-president of Local 534 since the 1996 OPS strike and was the union rep on the Ministry of Finance Education Committee from 1996 to 1998.

Peter Thachuk, a Property Assessor 4 in the Toronto office, has worked in assessment since 1982. An active member of Local 534 for many years, he has a background in Alternative Dispute Resolution. Peter is a new member of the team, elected at the demand-setting meeting Aug. 29.

The team is assisted in bargaining by Brian Gould, a professional negotiator with the OPSEU collective bargaining department.

Keep in touch!

Over the last year, over 100 OPSEU members in OPAC offices across Ontario have served as contact people to keep the lines of communication open between members and the elected Assessment Transition Team. The system has worked well. The new bargaining team will communicate the same way. Got a question? Ask your local contact. Haven’t got a local contact? Get in touch with your nearest bargaining team member:

Will Presley, Chair, Local 633, North Bay (705) 499-2213 (cell)
presleyw@efni.com

Jennifer Reid, Vice-Chair, Local 105, London
(519) 657-4870 (h)
(519) 681-0050 (w)

Peter Thompson, Local 133, Windsor
(519) 969-1801 (h)
(519) 254-3771 x 219 (w)

Bill Henry, Local 322, Barrie
(705) 728-3480 (h)
1-800-461-4230 x 256 (w)
E:whenry@interhop.net

Larry Deschenes, Local 463, Kingston
(613) 531-8334 (h)
(613) 545-4475 (w)
Local463opseu@email.com

Tina Faibish, Local 534, Toronto
(416) 691-0223 (h)
(416) 327-1742 (w)

Peter Thachuk, Local 534, Toronto
(416) 266-8830 (h)
(416) 327-1690 (w)

Ontario Public Service Employees Union
100 Lesmill Road, Toronto, Ontario M3B 3P8
web site: www.opseu.org e-mail: opseu@opseu.org

Original authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, president.

OPAC Bargaining Index | Bargaining Main Page