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April 4, 2002
Talks continue with a media blackout
Both sides are still at the table. We can’t tell you anything about the talks.
Convention plans support rallies
Thursday
Rally for justice in the courts
Members will gather at noon when the Convention breaks for lunch and join a protest at the 361 University Ave. courthouse.
OPS court workers are underpaid, on contract with no benefits and no job security.
Yet during the strike they are deemed essential to the Ontario justice system.
Judges got a 43 per cent pay raise and Crown Attorneys got a 30 per cent pay raise. Where’s the justice for essential court workers?
Friday
Maximize the pressure on the Tories and their friends.
The Convention will again use the lunch recess to demonstrate in support of the striking members of the OPS. It is an opportunity for members from other sectors of the union to get involved in the big strike.
Sunrise Picket Lines
The Dawn Patrol is available for early bird delegates, alternates and observors. They are encouraged to spend from 7 to 8:30 a.m. on picket lines relatively near to the Sheraton Centre.
Some of the lines close to the Convention hotel are Local 528, the Ontario Human Rights Commission at 180 Dundas St. W., the composite Local 527 at 400 University Ave. and the Queen’s Park Cluster at 900 Bay St.
“The combination of our huge strike and our Convention is an opportunity to attract some media attention,” said President Leah Casselman.
“Our Convention is always a time of reconnecting and looking at the challenges ahead. What better focus than the fight the OPS has taken on to rebuild public services in this province?”
The Convention runs to Saturday.
Words of support
CUPE applauds
We write on behalf of the 500,000 members of CUPE to express our support and solidarity in your current struggle with the Ontario government.
The attack of the right wing across the country is increasing, and this is evidenced by the huge concessions being asked of your members. We are confident that your history of perserverance and commitment will help in winning a fair collective agreement.
Please know that CUPE applauds your courage and commitment. Together we will win.
- Judy Darcy, National President
- Claude Généreux, National Secretary-Treasurer, Canadian Union of Public Employees
For all Ontarians
Congratulations on the stand your members have taken against the years of concessions, cutbacks, privatization and other damaging policies of the Harris government.
Your fight is for all Ontarians. We stand with you in this fight.
- William Harford, President, Durham Region Labour Council
OPSEU strike media
Walk Softly…But Carry a Big Picket Sign!
Editorial by Charles Faust, Strikeback, Local 724, Nipigon
The mediator has called both parties back to the table. After three weeks stoking burn barrels and combating a barrage of negative press, it is easy to get ones hopes up. But this is not the time to start burning picket signs. This is the time to strengthen our lines and step up our
resolve to get the deal we deserve.
How committed is Management Board to finding common ground? With the premier-designate waiting in the wings for two more weeks, where is the mandate to get a deal? The “news blackout” has not yet been extended to include the government’s estimated $200,000 a day advertising campaign.
On the other hand, if the government wants a deal, it is a relatively simple matter: remove the three big claw-back issues and negotiate the rest.
• Leave our pension alone. It’s our money and it’s working well the way it is.
• Forget “pay for performance” and put the money up front.
• Scrap plans for “term classified” positions. We need to build careers, not mortgages.
As long as these issues are on the table, there will be no agreement. Most of the other issues have some room for negotiation.
If both sides are willing to look at them there should not be any deal breakers there.
We’ve shown the government we know how to mobilize. Let’s show them we know how to hold the line for the deal we deserve. There are bound to be ups and downs on the road to an agreement like this. Be cautious about becoming overly optimistic with the news of renewed bargaining.
Walk softly, but carry a big picket sign! The only final offer is the one we accept. Until then, there is always a better offer out there.
The smart move is to increase the pressure
from the Queen’s Park Picket Line, Locals 502, 503, 505, 508, 509, 513, 579 and 580
OPSEU members on strike at Queen’s Park welcome the resumption of negotiations.
Let’s remember, however, that the latest OPSEU ad is correct when it says: It takes two to tango.
To date, the employer has crowded the bargaining table with a series of proposed take-aways. The employer has also blatantly tried - through its own advertising - to appeal to members over the heads of your Bargaining Team.
This suggests that the smart move for us is to increase the pressure on the employer, not ease up.
We saw it in 1996, in 1999, and again in 2002. Our employer responds only to strength. It cares nothing for the good will of its employees. It actively encourages members to be strikebreakers and seems to welcome the poison that strikebreaking brings into our workplace.
Hampton wins friends in Dryden
from On the Line, Local 727, Dryden
Even if you’re not one of his supporters you have to appreciate [NDP Leader] Howard Hampton braving the local air connections and the elements to show support for our cause.
One only wishes he represented more seats and had more pull. Haven’t heard or seen Dalton McGuinty - perhaps there’s no civil servants in his riding or in the plans of his party.
Brilliant flashes from our lines
from the Northern Picketers
Sidewalk Chalk: Fun for kids, they suggest in Elliot Lake. The idea has real possibiities for grown-ups too.
from On The Line Again
A Sudbury worry: Will police have to show up at the OPSEU convention to protect union members from Tory pickets?
Check the web: www.opseu.org has the latest on everything.
Original approved for publication by Leah Casselman, President
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