ImpacT at the Table
Bargaining information for OPSEU
members at the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation
Issue 1 • November 25, 2011
Bargaining begins
The team gets down to work
“Some gains, but more work ahead.”
That was the headline from our last bargaining bulletin on
April 28, 2010. The past nineteen months have flown by, and we are now back at
the table with the employer. The work that was ahead, is now here.
Your team was at the table with the employer Nov. 21-23. We
have laid the groundwork for our proposals on our next collective agreement, and
had some positive exchanges with MPAC on mutual interests and ideas.
We still have a long way to go before we can get our
contract to a standard that we feel is acceptable. However, we have forward
momentum, and that is always a positive sign.
At this point, the team will not be releasing any details
on what exchanges are going back and forth at the bargaining table. The employer
has agreed to the same thing. That is a fairly standard practice when it comes
to bargaining. It will only be at the point when the forward momentum stops that
we will inform you of where we are at with respect to your contract demands, and
what progress (or non-progress) we have made at the table to that point.
We are back at the table with the employer Nov. 29-30 for
our next bargaining session. We appreciate your continued support, and will keep
you posted as talks progress.
Don’t forget Black
Tuesday
Don’t forget to wear black on Tuesday to support your
bargaining team. Some groups have already sent pictures in for support, and we
would like to publish your pictures in our next edition of Impact At The Table.
If you have a photo of your group in black to support
bargaining, please send it to one of the team members at the emails listed.
It’s time to send in
your Holiday Letter
With the festive season approaching, it won’t we too long
until that jolly old elf starts making his rounds, rewarding all employees
who’ve been good for the last year...or in this case, the last two years.
We have attached a letter you can sign and send to your
manager asking him or her to help make your holiday wishes come true.
Please take the time and get those letters in. No one wants
any coal this year!
Dear MPAC,
With the festive gift-giving season fast approaching, I
want to make sure I get in the good word so I won’t be disappointed for the
holidays.
I have been a very good employee these past two years. I
took a wage increase of zero and zero for two years, and that sure made MPAC
look good to YOUR bosses!
I did that for you without even having any labour
disruptions. In fact, I have tried my best to keep MPAC completely out of the
public eye so none of our bosses would get caught in an uncomfortable situation.
Instead, I have met and even exceeded my Key Performance
Indicators, which was a great help to all my favorite managers who got their
bonuses for the hard work I did.
Throughout all of this, I have remained professional,
courteous and got the job done!
This year, because I’ve been so good, I would like to
ask that you pay special attention to my wish list. After all, I feel I deserve
some extra attention after a couple of years of making sacrifices for the
Corporation. I sure would hate to get distracted with messy labour relations
issues in the new year, especially when we are going to be so busy.
Your friend,
___________________
A Very Good Employee
Stay in touch!
To ensure a speedy response to your questions, your
leadership team has divided up all MPAC offices in the province. If you have a
question or a comment, please contact the bargaining team member responsible for
your office. Contact us by e-mail at work or at home, as follows:
David Lynch, Chair: Bracebridge, London, Mississauga,
Ottawa, Barrie, Brockville, Cornwall, Pembroke, Trenton, Bancroft & Kingston
E-mail: opseu409@yahoo.ca; david.lynch@mpac.ca
Peter McClenaghan, Vice Chair: St. Catharines, Goderich,
Chatham,
Sarnia, Windsor, Kitchener & Brantford
E-mail: pmcclenaghan2020@yahoo.com ; peter.mcclenaghan@mpac.ca
Everett Kelly: Oshawa, Pickering, Richmond Hill, Toronto &
Peterborough
E-mail: evkelly@rogers.com; everett.kelly@mpac.ca
David Fong: North Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins,
Thunder Bay,
Kenora, Fort Francis & Dryden
E-mail: visor243@nt.net; david.fong@mpac.ca
Steve Kovacs: Milner (CCC, CPF, LPU), Owen Sound, Hamilton
& Parry Sound
E-Mail: stevekovie@hotmail.com; steve.kovacs@mpac.ca
Mirla Alvarado-Fenn, OPSEU Staff Negotiator
E-mail: malvarado@opseu.org
ImpacT At the Table is produced by the
bargaining team for the Property Assessment Division of the Ontario Public
Service Employees Union and authorized for distribution by Warren (Smokey)
Thomas, president.
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
100 Lesmill Road, Toronto, Ontario M3B 3P8
www.opseu.org
