Boards of Education

BPS All Chairs Summary
January 17 and 18, 2007

Executive Board Summary and All Chairs Website

A motion was duly moved and carried in regards to the approval and circulation of the BPS All Chairs Committee minutes and the formation of an All Chairs website. It was suggested the minutes from each All Chairs meeting be sent to the Chair who would vet the minutes and then email them to the committee members for corrections and approval, hopefully improving the turnaround time. Once approved by the committee based on an email response, the Chair would create an executive summary which would be sent to the Executive Board and be place on the newly created BPS All Chairs website.

Grievance Update

MPAC gave a presentation to the board and they are awaiting a decision to their request for more money for grievances.

Missing Sectors

A list of sectors without a Division executive was circulated. After reviewing the list, it was the opinion of this committee that attempts should be made to facilitate representation by a Divisional executive and thereby have representation at this committee. By consensus, it was recommended that a process should be put in place to find a “better fit” for these bargaining units. This process should not be considered a merger, but a reconfiguration of bargaining units affording them Division executive representation and the opportunity to attend the Divisional meetings at the BPS.

OMERS

The new governance body for OMERS is the Sponsors Corporation. It is composed equally of employee and employer representatives and is responsible for the plan. Any changes, necessitate a 2/3 majority and is based on a weighted vote. OPSEU presently fills a seat on the Corporation, which is an “annual term” that will rotate through approximately 20 smaller worker representative groups. OPSEU is the 5th largest Union by membership contributors and is seeking a permanent seat on the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is responsible for the “day to day” workings of the plan. Changes to the Federal Income Tax Act, allowed for Paramedics to be deemed a Public Safety Occupation and as such resulted in the formation of four Supplemental plans, which will allow for “additional retirement benefits”. It appears that these plans will be individual defined pension plans and will be available as of June 2008. These plans will be self funded based on participating employer, employee contributions, with participation being the subject of collective bargaining. A Pensioner with a supplemental plan will receive two cheques. Past service is an issue and new rules and regulations are being developing. The provincial government has appointed a facilitator to help the Sponsors Corporation meet its mandate.

BPS Conference

• There is a proposal for finances for the upcoming Provincial election. The suggested theme is “Ontario Can Do Better.” The liberals have done some good things but we feel they can do better. “Ontario Can Do Better” will be present in all of our communications. OPSEU will be looking for “Community Allies” and other unions – CUPE, ONA, Canadian Federation of Students etc., to participate in the “Ontario Can Do Better” campaign. There will be a website for “Ontario Can Do Better” to see what sectors and individuals are doing.
• Another proposal going to the board is part time workers issues; $44,000 has been requested. In December the Board approved that part time wages etc. be paid to allow more participation on Union committees. The BPS consists of 51 percent part time individuals. There is a huge differential in regards to; benefits, number of hours of work, etc. The Toronto Star has been publishing articles once every three weeks about poverty and the working poor. This may be an avenue to raise the profile on these issues.
• Electoral reform should be an item for discussion at the BPS conference. There is a 98 percent chance that electoral reform will be a referendum issue. The Citizens assembly will be coming out with their proposal May 15, 2007.
• There was discussion about budgets and literacy issues in terms of helping people understanding how budgets are created and how to ascertain how monies are distributed.
• “Greening” OPSEU has been underway and there will be an individual hired on contract for 1 year. The board is in the process of interviewing candidates.

Convention

• BPS table at convention: A table will be available to present information and answer questions from members. The table will be staffed by Janet Wright, with assistance from the Chairs. The table will be in “operation” during convention hours on Thursday and Friday.
• BPS All Chairs caucus: There will be an All chairs caucus at 7 pm on the Wednesday night of convention, to discuss the resolutions being presented at convention. (Kent room, Wednesday April 18, 1900-2100hrs)
• BPS “am caucus” at convention: There will be a BPS caucus at 8 am on the Thursday of convention. This will allow the All Chairs Committee the opportunity to review resolutions with the BPS delegates. (Osgoode Ballroom East, Thursday April 19, 0745-0845hrs)

Organizing update

The organizing pilot went well. Based on the comments some of the material was rewritten. It is hoped that the Regional Vice Presidents will use the regional educational as an avenue to get members trained. There may be a possibility of the CBS becoming their own sector. This information was confirmed by the Chair. There is a motion in front of the Executive Board, scheduled for presentation by the HCDC on January 24, 2007. This motion speaks to bargaining units being moved from the Community Care and Health Care Support Sectors into the newly created sector. If endorsed by the Executive Board, by-law changes to the above sectors will need to be approved by the respective delegates at the Divisional meetings during the BPS Conference. The BPS All Chairs (see Oct/06 minutes) and the HCDC support this motion and the ensuing by-law changes.

Sector Dues

Sector dues are outlined in the Sector bylaws. These dues assist in the operation of the Sector and help offset expenses not covered by the Sector budget. For example, Sector 1 used their dues to secure a legal opinion on an issue that they wished to pursue, that would require Executive Board approval and funding. The legal opinion allowed for the direction and cost to be clearly outlined and assisted the Sector in achieving their goal. For those Sectors that do not have dues, the BPS Conference is the bi-annual opportunity to amend your by-laws to reflect the dues formula. With the All Chairs orientation manual complete, there are a number of examples that can be referenced. Sector dues are based on Bargaining Unit member numbers and as such, any request for payment should be made to the highest ranking officer in the BU, not the Local.