Where do contract demands come from?
The short answer is that they come from the faculty members –
professors, instructors, counsellors and librarians.
Here’s how it works:
Before the contract expires, the union asks members what they
would like to see changed in the next contract.
The Local Demand-set Meeting
To gather member responses, each college union local has a
meeting where any member can move almost any change to the contract. (Pensions
and changes to legislation are not negotiable, but everything else is.)
A member can propose changes to basics such as workload, salary, benefits, and
working conditions; more limited items such as moving allowance or grievance
rights; or areas not yet covered in the contract. Members at the local meeting
vote on the proposals brought forward by their colleagues. Demands that receive
majority support are forwarded to the provincial demand setting meeting.
The Provincial Demand-set Meeting
At the provincial meeting, delegates from every college can
propose only demands that passed at a local meeting; no new demands are
permitted. Provincial delegates vote on proposals that are properly moved and
seconded. Only those demands receiving majority support at the provincial
meeting can be included in the union’s demands in negotiations. Neither the
union centrally nor the bargaining team is permitted to introduce demands of
their own.
The role of the bargaining team
The role and responsibility of the bargaining team – the seven
faculty members elected by their colleagues – is to advance the demands they
have been given and try to achieve them. While not all demands will be
successfully met in the course of bargaining, the team works to ensure
identified priorities are addressed.
Ratification vote
The final say belongs to the members; just as they began the
bargaining process, they also end it. A contract becomes final only when members
have voted to accept it.
For more information on when your Local Demand-set meeting will
be held, contact your Local union representative.
The Provincial Demand-set meeting will be held from March 31st to April 1st,
2012.
For more information please visit www.opseu.org.
Your bargaining team:
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