December 2001 Article 6

Your teams are talking to you...

In the workplace

Your OPSEU Local is responsible for two-way communication in your workplace. Your Local is working to expand its network of information stewards. 

By mail, by e-mail, by web site

Table Talk is mailed out to all OPS members for whom we have correct mailing addresses.

If you have co-workers who have not received this issue, it is because we do not have their address! Get correct addresses to your Local Executive Committee members. They can forward them to your OPSEU regional office to be input into the OPSEU database.

At critical times, bargaining happens fast. Mail isn’t always fast enough to keep you up to speed. Your OPSEU bargaining teams have been publishing weekly newsletters since September. The Real Deal is the official publication of the Central Team; the Correct View is the newsletter of the Corrections Team. You can read them in the OPS bargaining section of our web site at www.opseu.org, or we can send them to you by e-mail or fax.

Get on the list!      

To receive bargaining bulletins directly, e-mail a message to lwilliams@opseu.org or fax it to Lesley Williams at (416) 443-1762. Please include your name, correct mailing address, and local number (if you know it). Indicate that you want to be on the OPS list. Please indicate if you want to receive the Real Deal, the Correct View, or both.

For e-mail addresses, both home and work addresses are good. For faxing, you must have a secure fax on a dedicated line, i.e., it can’t be a fax that someone has to answer first.

Your teams are listening to you

It’s not enough for the bargaining teams to send out bulletins and newsletters. Two-way communication means helping members get their views and opinions to the table.

Your bargaining teams take their cues from you. Earlier this year, OPSEU members kicked off OPS bargaining by working, in their locals, to create demands for this round of bargaining. Here are some of the other ways your teams are listening to you:

Member Opinion Polling

Professional polling gives our negotiating teams a scientific tool to listen to members throughout the bargaining process. If we have your correct phone number, you may be called to respond to future polls. Please do so!

 “Plug Yourself In”

This on-the-ground mini-poll has been distributed to every OPSEU local in the OPS. It has reached thousands of members and replies are still coming in. Information from “Plug Yourself In” is compiled and goes directly to our bargaining teams.

The OPS Mobilization Video

Together, OPSEU members have an amazing story to tell. An OPSEU camera crew has been interviewing OPS members in various areas since Sept. 22. By bringing members together to talk about their issues, this video will help OPSEU members listen to each other. It should start to reach OPSEU locals at about the same time as this Table Talk.

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