Message from the Chair

A cautious victory

On Monday, July 12, readers of the Globe and Mail were greeted by the headline “Ontario Supercorp dead in the water.”

In an exclusive interview with the Globe, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan stated that he had “unequivocally” ruled out the partial selloff of the province’s biggest four Crown corporations which included, of course, the LCBO.

First, we need to congratulate ourselves. The members of LBED have been tireless in fighting the privatization of the LCBO. Every day, we have been getting out the message to the public that the LCBO, which generates billions of dollars in profit for the province, must remain in public hands.

And our efforts appear to have paid off. Once again, plans to sell off “the golden goose” have been set aside.

I wish I could say it ends here. Unfortunately, history has shown that this isn’t the case.

This edition of the Echo had a much different lead story last Friday. The headline read “Wear your ‘Keep it Public’ buttons every day!” and the story focused on keeping up the pressure to convince the government to stop the LCBO selloff. As the Echo was set to be distributed Monday morning, we learned the good news, and put the edition on hold.

Yet, our headline is still relevant. There are a couple of reasons for “A cautious victory” as this story’s headline. First, the idea of selling off the LCBO isn’t new, and never seems to entirely go away. Harris floated out the idea in the 90s. It was a bad idea then. Now McGuinty has tried the same thing. It’s still a bad idea. Every time an Ontario government is strapped for cash, they turn a hungry eye on the LCBO. Every time they do that, we have to remind them once again that it is bad for the employees, our customers and the people of Ontario, who stand to lose billions of dollars in annual dividends that go to pay for health, education and other public services.

The second reason we are being cautious comes right from Duncan himself. In his interview with the Globe, he made a very cryptic and disturbing comment. He said the government would likely be proceeding on the restructuring of “smaller assets,” but that would involve “hundreds of millions of dollars,” not “tens of billions.” Duncan would not confirm what those assets are.

So what is in store for us down the road? All we know is that the sale of the LCBO has been shelved…for now. Is it time to stand down and be quiet? I think not.

I ask that you continue to wear your “Keep it Public” buttons every day. Continue to tell our customers, friends and neighbours that the LCBO must remain in public hands. Continue to send a message to our employer that we will not let up, will not back down, and that we will continue to be ready to fight any privatization plans.

There is only one thing that is for certain: This isn’t the first time a misguided government has tried to sell off the LCBO. And it certainly won’t be the last.

And when it rears its head again, we will be waiting. And ready.

Cross-Canada support for LCBO workers!

Unionized provincial liquor employees from across Canada say they strongly support OPSEU’s fight to keep the LCBO in public hands.

At a special meeting in Toronto of the liquor board employees’ component of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) – the umbrella organization for provincial public sector unions – delegates unanimously endorsed, by resolution, the position of OPSEU to oppose the full- or partial privatization of the LCBO.

The special NUPGE meeting was convened following media reports that the McGuinty government is studying the partial privatization of key public assets, including the LCBO, Hydro One, Ontario Power Generation and the Lottery and Gaming Commission. The Liquor Board Employees Division (LBED) of OPSEU felt our members could benefit from the advice of liquor board employees in other provinces who have faced the possibility of privatization.

“It was extremely gratifying to receive the support of our brothers and sisters in other provinces who have had to deal with their governments threatening to privatizing liquor and wine sales,” said LBED chair, Denise Davis. “The biggest lesson we learned is that privatization can be defeated provided we mobilize strongly and campaign loudly against these sorts of privatization schemes that other provinces have tried to implement.”

The group shared idea for methods by which to draw public and political attention to the threats represented by privatization of spirit and wine sales.

The two-day meeting in late May brought together more than 40 representatives from all provinces, with the exception of Alberta which fully privatized its publicly-owned spirit, beer and wine stores in 1993. The move to a private liquor retail system in Alberta drove down wages and benefits and resulted in less social responsibility enforcement.

Bargaining Unit Work

What does it mean when we ask:  “What is bargaining unit work”?

Believe it or not this can be difficult to explain as our daily tasks vary so much from individual to individual, worksite to worksite, or depending on what area of the province you work in.

Let’s start with describing what the term ‘bargaining unit’ means. This term is used to describe a group of workers who are recognized by both their company (employer), as well as by an organized labor union. These groups of workers pay dues that are normally deducted from earnings, which sometimes entitle them to rights afforded by the collective bargaining process over and above laws and legislation. Some rights may include salary and benefits, job security, pension plans, negotiated wage increases, policies and practices for worker health and safety, better working conditions, bereavement leave, etc. Any worker that pays dues is therefore a bargaining unit member

Bargaining unit work can be described as work, tasks or duties that are normally or regularly completed by bargaining unit members normally or regularly during the duration of their scheduled shift.

A huge issue at the bargaining table last year for members of the liquor board employees division of OPSEU concerned management performing work that was normally or regularly performed by bargaining unit members resulting in smaller scheduled shifts for casuals and some not being scheduled at all. Thankfully, our bargaining team secured language in this round of negotiations that stated:

This letter shall serve to confirm that it is not the practice or the intention of Management to perform work that is typically performed by bargaining unit employees to avoid the scheduling of that work to bargaining unit employees.

 However, management reserves the right to perform such work as it deems necessary in the interest of customer service, operational efficiency, safety, emergency or other bona fide reasons.

For inclusion in the Memorandum of Agreement and not in the Collective Agreement.

We all need to pay closer attention to the work we do daily and identify what work is normally or regularly performed by bargaining unit members in your particular worksite. Ask yourself: was a casual not scheduled and, instead, the manager is picking up the slack? 

Is it the busy season and your manager is picking or handling cases regularly throughout the day?

Does it seem like your department is always short handed and management is pitching in more often rather than schedule the hours?

If the answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’ then you must bring the circumstances to the attention of your union steward or a member of your local executive in order to protect the integrity of our collective agreement. Once contacted your local president will advise the employer’s district manager or regional director to ensure that the practice is stopped.

We all look forward to secure work in order to provide for retirement. If we continue to allow management to perform our duties and not protect the work we do, we are allowing them to erode the very security that provides for our families weekly and our future retirement.

Just as your seniority is a way of life in the union… so should bargaining unit work.

Protect your work and the work of your brothers and sisters! 

Colleen MacLeod, Chair, Communications Committee

 

Collective Agreement Update

As delegates representing liquor board employees learned at the OPSEU convention in May it can often times take longer to edit a collective agreement than it took to negotiate it in the first place!

The result is that there’s a whole lot of foot-dragging going on with our so-called ‘new’ collective agreement.

We did not receive a full draft from the employer until mid-January of this year. Your edit committee immediately discovered numerous problems, ranging from minor typographical errors to salary grid anomalies, to changes that had not even been originally negotiated. Through a series of face-to-face meetings we have finally been able to resolve these with the employer.

At our last meeting on June 14 the problems with the draft collective agreement appeared resolved. The employer is now doing a re-formatting to fix some pagination and paragraph problems

But we are still faced with some outstanding issues, including the date of ratification. The union ratified the tentative settlement on July 14, 2009. The employer ratified on July 17, 2009. That should have settled the

However, the employer also maintains that the negotiated changes do not come into effect until approval is received via an Order-in-Council (OIC) from the provincial government. The union strongly disagrees with this position, especially since the OIC was not issued until August 28, 2009 – a delay of more than six weeks! Numerous grievances have now been filed by individual members who have been disadvantaged by the delay.

The union is challenging the employer’s position in this matter.

In the meantime, we have agreed to prepare and distribute an interim copy of the collective agreement for reference in the workplace. Other than the date of ratification, the interim copy will reflect the agreement of the union and the employer on the content.

Interim copies will be so marked, in letter-sized (8 ½” x 11’) format. One copy of the agreement will be sent to each store or department and one to each manager and to each OPSEU steward. A date for this distribution has not yet been agreed. Locals may wish to duplicate the Interim copies for their members.

Once the date of ratification issue has been resolved, the contract will be printed in the usual pocket-sized format and distributed to all employees internally.

Submitted by members of the edit committee:

Vanda Klumper, Denise Davis, Dora Robinson, Rob Field, Joyce Hansen

June 15, 2010:  A new day, a new law and new protections!

Workers across Ontario woke up on June 15, 2010 protected by the new workplace violence and harassment amendments to Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). While employers were always required to take reasonable precautions to prevent workplace violence and harassment, the new requirements are more detailed and prescriptive.

Effective June 15, employers must have a policy and program for both workplace violence and harassment, perform risk assessments that identify hazards facing workers and provide a copy to the joint health and safety committee (JHSC), or health and safety representative, and provide information and training to workers on the workplace violence and harassment program.     

The LCBO has adjusted existing policies to ensure they meet the new legal requirements.  The provincial health and safety committee has been discussing the new policies and procedures with the employer, and have been provided with most materials.  On June 9, the LCBO reported to the provincial labour management committee that policies have been corporately reviewed, amended and would be re-issued.  The LCBO reported that a cross-section of stores completed surveys to identify risks.  On June 14, 2010, the LCBO sent an email package to all LCBO managers with a request to share materials with LCBO employees in meetings arranged for the purpose.

The provincial health and safety committee is very happy that the corporate safety department at the LCBO will oversee the workplace violence portion of the changes.  The diversity management department will continue to oversee the workplace harassment and discrimination policies.  We think that it makes sense to have these departments focusing on the part of the law they have expertise in.  The committee also supports the LCBO’s plan to review the risk assessment every year and looks forward to offering suggestions in those reviews.

Overall, the provincial health and safety committee believes that the program includes the required elements, is clear and easy to follow, and provides specific guidance and information for workers.  Work will continue at committee meetings evaluating and providing more detailed feedback on the program.    

The provincial health and safety committee urges all LBED members who have not participated in a meeting where information about the new violence and harassment policies and program was shared to ask their managers to plan a meeting as soon as possible.  Health and safety representatives and JHSCs should also expect and ask for copies of the risk assessment performed in their store or facility.  

The provincial health and safety committee has been invited to provide feedback to the employer on the new program.  We’d like you to participate.  We are asking you to send us your comments and observations about the new policies and program.  We’d also like to hear any concerns you may have so we can incorporate them as we move forward. 

The law now officially recognizes that workplace violence and harassment are NOT okay on the job.  The LCBO has developed a program for prevention as well as reporting and tracking incidents.  Now it is up to all of us to do our part to make sure that reporting happens, to be aware, and to make sure that the program is more than just a great plan in writing.            

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