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Welcome to your new union!

A message to all members of the Liquor Board Employees Division of OPSEU

Dear sisters and brothers:

We are absolutely thrilled to introduce the third edition of this book. On Jan. 23-24, 2006 over 100 members of the Liquor Board Employees Division (LBED) met in Mississauga at a Local Assembly. The Assembly accomplished several things:

• We discussed ways to build strong locals and a strong province-wide organization within OPSEU to represent LCBO employees;

• We made improvements to the proposal to create new locals (approved Jan. 25 by the OPSEU Executive Board and included in this book);

• We made plans to hold local elections and get our locals up and running in time for the OPSEU Convention that is coming up on April 20-22.

This book contains the information you need to make yourself at home in OPSEU. We look forward to working with you.

In solidarity,

Leah Casselman	Jo Ann Fisher
President, OPSEU	Acting Chair, Liquor Board Employees Division

 

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Strong locals in a strong union

Last June, LCBO employees voted for a new union. They chose OPSEU – the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.

LCBO employees wanted a union that could do more. OPSEU offers:

• 19 fully-staffed regional offices;
• a staff of 300 people, including specialists in bargaining, grievance-handling, pensions, benefits, health and safety, human rights, and more;
• office space and equipment for OPSEU locals at regional offices and at 12 membership centres;
• tons of experience in mobilizing union members to get what they need; and
• a strong voice at local labour councils and in larger labour bodies.

OPSEU balances strong central coordination with local autonomy. OPSEU locals have more money and more responsibility than in the OLBEU model.

OPSEU locals can do more on their own, and they have more influence on central activities. In OPSEU’s democracy, locals hold the keys to power.

Implementing the plan

Every new local need two things to get up and running:

1) elections; and
2) money.

Elections for stewards and Local Executive Committees must be held first before OPSEU can release money to the locals. OPSEU staff representatives will be authorized to spend a limited amount of money, as needed, to help new locals run elections. This money will be drawn from the quarterly local rebates currently being held by OPSEU Accounting.

Once they are set up, the new locals will receive quarterly dues rebate cheques. The first cheques will cover the period from June 22, 2005 to Dec. 31, 2005.

Steward training will begin once locals are in business.

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The front door: OPSEU locals and how they work

The purpose of establishing Locals of the Union is to encourage participation of all Members in their Union.

— from the OPSEU Constitution

For OPSEU members, locals are the front door into the life of the union.

Chartered by the Executive Board, locals have the autonomy and the resources to do pretty much anything they think is important. The OPSEU constitution says that locals may:

• negotiate local collective agreements;
• process grievances;
• establish joint labour-management committees on local working conditions;
• spend their own money;
• join local labour councils and other organizations;
• take part in social and community activities;
• elect delegates to the OPSEU Convention, other important meetings, and union training;
• help craft union policy; and
• take part in the collective bargaining beyond the local level.

Types of locals

There are three types of locals in OPSEU:

• In single unit locals, all members work for the same employer at the same location.
• In multi-unit locals, all members work for the same employer but at different locations.
• In composite locals, members work for more than one employer at one or more locations.

Local funding

OPSEU locals are funded by a quarterly dues rebate system. In January, April, July and October, OPSEU Accounting pays each local according to the following formula:

• For the first 50 members, the local gets $21.07.
• For member above 50, the local gets $9.36.

No local gets less than $397.98 per quarter. Composite locals receive an extra annual allowance of $117.05 (for locals with up to 50 members) or $234.10 (for locals with more than 50 members).

Rebate levels are revised each year based on the union’s overall revenues.

A typical OPSEU local with 250 members would get $11,702 a year in operating funds.

In contrast, an OLBEU zone with 250 members got $1,437.50 a year.

Local elections

Shop Stewards are the front-line voice of the union in the workplace. Each local decides how many Shop Stewards it needs. Each Shop Steward must be elected by a clear majority of members in his or her area.

Members must be Shop Stewards to be elected to Local Executive Committees (LECs). Each LEC has a President and at least two other officers (Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Secretary-Treasurer, Chief Steward, etc.).

In single unit locals, all Shop Stewards are automatic members of the LEC. In multi-unit or composite locals, members elect one or more Unit Stewards (from among the Shop Stewards) to sit on the LEC.

Local elections take place at well-publicized membership meetings. In special cases, the President of OPSEU may authorize polling stations at different locations.

Delegate entitlements

Locals elect delegates to OPSEU Convention, and many other key meetings, according to the following formula:

• Up to 150 members: 1 delegate
• 151 to 300 members: 2 delegates
• 301 to 500 members: 3 delegates
• 501 to 800 members: 4 delegates
• 801 to 1,100 members: 5 delegates
• 1,101 to 1,500 members: 6 delegates
• 1,501 to 1,900 members: 7 delegates
• 1,901 to 2,300 members: 8 delegates
• 2,301 or more members: 9 delegates

Delegate entitlements are based on signed-up members, not the total number of employees in the local.

Local bylaws

OPSEU locals may pass their own bylaws as long as they do not violate the OPSEU Constitution and are approved by the President of OPSEU. Locals that do not pass bylaws are governed by the bylaws in Article 29 of the Constitution.

Local numbering

The OPSEU Executive Board assigns local numbers. The first digit in the local number indicates what region the local is in.

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New locals for LCBO employees: guiding principles

When the Transition Committee began its work, it became clear that simply converting OLBEU zones to OPSEU locals would not work. OPSEU’s regional boundaries and network of regional offices are unrelated to OLBEU structures. In creating new OPSEU locals, the committee considered the following:

1. Geography A “local” is, by definition, local. Keeping local members close to each other makes it easier for them to work together.

2. Community of interest. Workers who do the same kind of work, or who work for the same employer, have a lot in common. Keeping these people together makes for stronger locals.

3. Size. Under OPSEU policy, locals must not be smaller than 100 members except in special circumstances.

4. OPSEU regional boundaries. OPSEU Executive Board Members are elected by region, and many campaigns and activities are organized regionally as well. Locals and their members must have a regional “home” to participate fully in the life of the union.

5. OPSEU regional offices. For the best possible service from their union, and to get access to resources, every local and its members needs to be as close as possible to an OPSEU regional office.

6. OPSEU membership centres. Locals a little farther away from an OPSEU regional office should be reasonably close to an OPSEU membership centre to access office space and equipment.

The Transition Committee faced a big challenge. In some cases, these principles contradict each other. Shaping new locals always meant finding ways to balance opposing principles.

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