Over 700 activists attend OPS Divisionals:  We want a fair contract, Thomas says

On Nov. 15, OPSEU President Smokey Thomas welcomed more than 700 activists to the Ontario Public Service biannual Divisional Meetings, held at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel

His rousing address focused on the current round of OPS bargaining. “The McGuinty government told us they wanted to do things differently this time,” Thomas told the delegates. “Unfortunately, their opening position looks like the same takeaways we’ve seen since the Mike Harris days.

“We want to send them this message: We are here to bargain a contract, but we have learned a lot from the past two strikes. If this government is out to bargain a strike, let them make no mistake: they will get a strike the likes of which they have never seen before.” Thomas received a standing ovation from the delegates.

The current OPS agreement expires Dec. 31 and bargaining towards a new contract continues at a special bargaining centre in Scarborough.

Eric Morin, chair of the Central/Unified bargaining team, said the team was very unimpressed with the employer’s opening offer. “We didn’t come to the table to bargain concessions. We came to bargain improvements.” He also asked for members to go back to their workplaces and keep up support for the teams. “Plan an event every week. It can be bake sales, a solidarity walk, pizza lunches.”

Corrections Team Chair David Kerr also stressed how important member support is to the teams. “In my opinion, this will be our toughest round yet. We’ll need the support of everyone in the union and members back home. You can count on our support to get the best collective agreement we can. We need your support in your workplaces in order to do that.”

On Nov. 15, delegates from the different Ministries elected their new Ministry Enforcement and Renewal Committees (MERC) and Provincial Health and Safety Committees. Nov. 16,  MERC members attended a Collective Leadership seminar, while the rest of the delegates participated in one of three workshops: Strategic Thinking during Bargaining; Effective Political Lobbying and Media Relations. Members in the media relations course visited the other workshops with bargaining messages that were developed in the course.