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March 29, 2002
‘Super Thursday’ slows real estate biz to a crawl
“It’s become an insane asylum here.”
- Toronto real estate lawyer John Stiff, on the situation in Ontario’s Land Registry offices.
What will Ontario Tories be talking about on the long weekend?
When they’re not talking about Ernie, there’s a very good chance that the party of wheeler-dealers will be talking about all the high-dollar land deals that aren’t happening
because of our strike.
Real estate transactions depend on the work of OPSEU members in Land Registry offices across the province. Most offices, run by managers, have already cut their hours to three hours a day because of the strike, but quite a few of them got next to nothing done March 28.
On a day billed as “Super Thursday,” OPSEU members in several cities targeted Land Registry offices for total or near-total shutdown. Offices in Toronto, London, Sarnia, St. Thomas and Windsor were clogged with strikers.
“The timing of our strike could not be better in terms of an impact on real estate transactions,” said OPSEU president Leah Casselman. “This is the kind of pressure we have to intensify to get back to the bargaining table as soon as possible.”
Watch for “Super Tuesday” on April 2 as trade unionists across the province join our picket lines for a Day of Solidarity.
Use the labour board, court says
Judge McFarland has rejected an employer motion to have the courts enforce Essential Services Agreements. She ordered the dispute back to the OLRB.
This means that we are dealing with these questions as labour matters rather than in court.
The courts tend to be less sensitive to labour relations issues. Courts can’t appoint a labour relations officer, and they don’t hold the same kind of informal hearings.
They are not as familiar with workplace reality.
In this case it was the employer’s last-minute attempt to ensure that ODSP cheques were issued to people with disabilities.
In essence, they were forum shopping because they thought they might do better in the courts, and they were caught out.
Manager charged with contempt
OPSEU has filed a charge of contempt against Bob Thomas, Superindent of Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre.
OPSEU claims he neglected to tell the court that it was a management decision not to move inmates to court on the day in question, which left the false impression that OPSEU was at fault.
The news from everywhere
Moose hunt threatened
Sudbury Staff rep Denis Boyer has warned that if the strike continues, the province’s moose hunt could be in trouble.
This year’s moose tag allocation draw could be postponed or even cancelled.
“While licences can be purchased in stores, no staff are available to process the applications or conduct the lottery,” said Denis.
“Things are starting to get iffy. We’re running out of time to issue licences and get them processed.
“The longer the strike goes on, the more critical it becomes.”
On the hunting front, Local 727 president Carl Bleich noticed while picketing a Tory vote location that a lot of bear camp owners were signed up party members.
“I found it incredible that one issue would draw folks to a party, without standing back to look at the big picture,” Carl wrote.
Corpay situation
Most members had the first three days of the strike deducted from their March 28 pay. If you had more taken off, check in with your SACG. Grieve. We’ll straighten it out.
Camp eggs
eggs
oranges (one for every 2 eggs)
Halve the orange and scoop out the flesh. Crack an egg into each half shell and put the orange cup into the coals. Eat the orange pulp while the egg cooks.
Thanks to Dryden’s strike paper.
On the menu
Moose jerky in Sioux Lookout.
Pause to appreciate
“Consider this. Some of the firewood we burned this week was donated to us by homeless people.”
- Queen’s Park Picket Line, the newsletter of Locals 502, 503, 505, 508, 509, 513, 579 and 580.
A sad loss
Members of Local 467, the Quinte Detention Centre, were shocked at the sudden death of one of their colleagues last week.
Julia Harshaw-Wannamaker, a nurse at the detention centre, will be sadly missed by family, co-workers and friends.
Thanks Mom
New Local 201 steward Patrick J. Fry-Smith is proud of his mother’s letter to the St. Catharines Standard:
It does not take a team of auditors and an expensive report to tell you what is wrong with the Hamilton ambulance dispatch centre. Simply speak to any one of their dispatchers. They will tell you that - armed with a computer-aided dispatch system like the Niagara fire department’s, a
radio system like Niagara Regional Police, higher wages and more staff - Hamilton’s dispatch centre could well exceed the expectations of Niagara Regional Chair Debbie Zimmerman.
The current offer from the government for dispatchers is 8 per cent. It would take more than 35 per cent to get them wage parity with the other dispatchers.
- Jane Smith
Cold enough fer ya, eh?
70 above
Texans turn on the heat. Canadians go swimming.
60 above
Floridians look for longjohns. Canadians plant gardens.
50 above
Californians shiver uncontrollably. Canadians sunbathe.
40 above
Italian and English cars won’t start. Canadians drive with the windows down.
32 above
Distilled water freezes. Lake Superior’s water gets thicker.
15 above
Philadelphia landlords turn up the heat. Canadians have the last cookout before it gets cold.
0 degrees
People in Miami all die. Canadians lick the flagpole.
20 below
Californians fly away to Mexico. Canadians get out winter coats.
40 below
Hollywood disintegrates. Canadian Brownies sell cookies door to door.
60 below
Polar bears evacuate the Arctic. Canadian Scouts postpone Winter Survival until it gets colder.
100 below
Santa Claus leaves the North Pole. Canadians can’t thaw the keg.
297 below
Microbial life dies in dairy products. Canadian cows complain about farmers with cold hands.
500 below
Hell freezes over. The Leafs win the Stanley Cup
More snippets from our mailbag
Here’s what we do
When Mike Harris eliminated 15,000 civil service jobs, he failed to mention what these people did.
They inspected your water, inspected your food, ran your jails and psychiatric hospitals, ensured vehicle safety, and many other essential jobs. Mr. Harris forgot to tell people that when he eliminated these jobs, there would be repercussions, such as the tragedy in Walkerton,
reduced supervision of parolees, and increased violence in jails and psychiatric hospitals.
Would a fiscally responsible government, like the Tories claim to be, spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on television, radio, and newspaper ads touting their offer? No, they would return to the table they left on March 12th, and negotiate a collective agreement.
- Dave Duncan, Local 122, Goderich
On strike for public safety
I’m not just fighting for my rights. I’m fighting for the rights of every OPSEU member - including strike-breakers, “free-riders” and those who loathe unions - as every member will reap the rewards from our battle.
I’m on strike not because I feel I have the right to, but because I have the moral duty to.
We’re on strike so laid-off members can reach early retirement instead of waiting until they’re 65 to have an income. We’re striking to improve the lives of all contract employees who should be receiving full-time pay and benefits in permanent positions. We’re frontline workers on
strike trying to prevent another Walkerton. We’re on strike for the safety of the public, and the right to be treated with respect and dignity.
We are a coalition of citizens voicing our concerns about the Ontario government’s blatant disregard for the safety and welfare of the people in our communities. We just happen to be holding our demonstration on an OPSEU picket line where we’re also on strike for the protection of
the general public.
- Florence Chow, Local 737, Inside Striker
Faulty numbers
On March 24, Management Board Chair David Tsubouchi made several “mistakes” in describing the government’s offer to its employees.
The government offer does not guarantee a 10 per cent increase over the next three years for all employees. The offer is 1.95 per cent for each of the next three years. This totals 5.85 per cent. There is an additional 1 per cent in the first year, but only if full-time employees
sell out part-time employees.
This “stab-in-the-back” concept is beyond contempt.
The final 3.15 per cent based on pay for performance (P4P) has strings attached. The “P4P” is actually a range, between zero and 3.15 per cent. Many employees would be offered nothing. And the P4P is completely at the discretion of the manager, without any process at all for appeal.
This is clearly an opportunity to punish some and reward favourites. And finally, P4P would only be available to employees already at the maximum pay rate for their classification.
The wage offer is really only 1.95 per cent for each of the next three years. Striking public service employees do not see this as “fair and reasonable.”
- Colin Bowling, Local 713, Kenora
Hands off our pension
Hello Mr. Tsubouchi:
I refer you to a pension payout made last year by Moore Corporation of U.S. $14,000,000 to one person, a severed CEO, from the Moore employees’ pension fund.
PLEASE, Mr. Tsubouchi, in a world where non-accountability runs rampant, and the ENRON pension fiasco burns: Hands off our pension!
- Rodger Lucas - Local 546
Negotiate with us, not the public
Dear Mr. Tsubouchi,
As I understand the process, negotiation involves offers and counter-offers across the table.
The two teams then search for common ground. Where ready agreement cannot be reached, negotiations in good faith take place. Points of compromise are debated and accepted.
I have given my negotiators the authority to make decisions at the table. 44,999 other members have done the same. Our negotiators do not carry the weight of 45,000 people on their shoulders, they are supported on the shoulders of 45,000 people.
If your offer is so fair, why don’t you join our negotiating teams at the table? Don’t waste my tax dollars on TV, radio and newspaper ads. You are negotiating with OPSEU, not the general public.
- R. Dakin
Strike Heroes
All are heroes
In North Bay, we believe that everyone participating in this strike is a hero and an inspiration in their own unique way.
From the solitary inside striker who feels the continual pressure of management, to the single picketer who holds up a manager for nearly an hour while knowing that an injunction is in place and their action could land them immediately in jail.
From the 64-year-old woman who months before the strike offered her job so a brother or sister could keep theirs. This same woman walks the line every day with purpose and determination and then on a Saturday climbs on a bus for 12 hours of protesting in Toronto. To those who are on
LTIP who call every day asking if there is something they can do.
From the sister who is eight months into her pregnancy and refuses to stay away from the line, to the countless members who are blind and/or disabled and feel pain with every step.
From the sister who was in tears at the beginning of the strike because she didn’t know where she was supposed to picket and didn’t want to let anyone down, to the 120-lb. sister, who on her own, held up a truck carrying 15 tons of sludge from an OCWA plant.
From our leaders who work countless hours but keep smiling and leading every day, to those who volunteer to be at the picket line for 12 to 16 hours a day when their commitment ends after 4 hours.
From those who struggle to keep their households going on a third of their normal pay to those who have donated their strike pay to the local hardship fund.
From the members who show up early every morning to light the fire barrels, to those who walk in minus 25 degree temperatures without complaint.
From the nameless thousands who walk the line everyday not knowing when or how it will end. Walking for a cause they believe in, only to return to a place where they will remain nameless and misunderstood but knowing only that it is their duty to serve.
So please no more stories placing individuals in the limelight. At OPSEU we are all heroes with every step we take. We are a product of our collective efforts, we are a UNION.
- Eric Morin, Local 635, North Bay
Brad Mesich
From the Sioux Lookout Bulletin comes this nice story about a “picket line angel.”
It was the first day of the strike and Lydia Carlbom, 75, was facing a driveway full of snow - a driveway she had already shovelled three times that day. As she picked up her shovel to dig in yet again, a voice interrupted her. “Ma’am, would you like some help?”
She would love it, so “Brad” who was walking by with his picket sign took up the shovel and cleared the driveway from beginning to end. Carlbom was grateful, “especially when people are still so wrapped up in their own troubles.”
The Bulletin tracked this story down to Brad Mesich, a probation officer in Local 703. His reaction? “I think there should be more of that.”
And since then, he and his wife Heather have welcomed a new daughter, a sister to Jack and Maddie.
Leslynne Hector-Barclay
Leslynne Hector-Barclay, whose mother died last Sunday, has still been on the line every day. “I find comfort with old friends and new friends there. We know what we are fighting for and it helps me get through the day,” she explained.
The DT Choir
The locals from the Downtown Cluster also have a choir of about 15 voices which travels from line to line in downtown Toronto singing union songs.
FRONTlines is taking two days off. There will be no Saturday or Sunday editions. The next edition will be produced for Monday, April 1. Any breaking news will be posted on the website.
Check the web: www.opseu.org has the latest on everything.
Original approved for publication by Leah Casselman, President
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