June 27, 2002

Tell the boss to
PAY UP NOW!

You’d think that after a 54-day strike the Ontario government would want to get the OPS back to normal as quickly as possible.

We wish. Almost two months since the strike ended, OPSEU members have not received the pay increases OR the retroactive pay they’re owed. That’s not good enough. We want our money – now.

In talks with OPSEU, government reps have said they can’t process the new pay for OPSEU members until they finish doing it for members of AMAPCEO (middle managers) and PEGO (engineers). They’re saying Oct. 7 is the earliest date you can expect any of what you’re owed.

Wrong answer! The government had no problem writing big cheques to hundreds of scab managers who did OPSEU members’ work during the strike. Some of those cheques totaled over $50,000. They got their money – we want ours. Now.

The employer says they simply can’t do the work any faster. Quite frankly, that’s not our problem. If they need more people, they should hire more people.

Unfortunately, collective agreements do not enforce themselves. OPSEU has filed a policy grievance to demand speedy payment of the new pay and retro pay – with interest.

That grievance will be resolved a lot faster if OPSEU members put pressure on the boss, from the workplace up to Queen’s Park.

Here’s what you can do:

· Through your steward, file an individual grievance. The grievance should state that the employer has violated Article 79.1, which says the contract must be implemented in an “expeditious” manner. “Expeditious” means “quick, fast, speedy, prompt, efficient, swift, rapid, brisk, fleet, punctual, instant.” Don’t have a steward? Volunteer. Get your co-workers to elect you. Organize a “PAY UP NOW” action in your workplace. Talk to your local president about local actions.

· Give your boss a piece of your mind. Walk right up and tell him or her that you’re not interested in excuses. Tell him or her to PAY UP NOW.

· Phone your MPP. Tell Tory MPPs to PAY UP NOW. Ask opposition MPPs to put pressure on the Tories. A full listing of MPP contact information is at http://www.ontla.on.ca/Members/mailing_addresses/index.htm.  Don’t know your MPP’s name? Find out at http://www.electionsontario.on.ca.  

· Phone David Tsubouchi. The Chair of Management Board seems to think he’s not responsible for enforcing the collective agreement. Make him do it. Demand accountability. Reach Tsubouchi by phone at (416) 327-2333, fax at (416) 327-3790, or e-mail at dave_tsubouchi@ontla.ola.org.  

· Plan other actions. Enforcing a contract requires the same commitment as negotiating one. Use your imagination. Where possible, invite your local news media to witness the action.

If you don’t demand your money, this employer will assume you’re content to wait until they feel like paying. Take action now to get your money fast.

A salute to our Corpay members

Demanding your appropriate pay rate, and your retro, is not an attack on our Corpay members. They have not even been directed to begin processing the new pay rates for OPSEU members.

As Local 669’s president Peggy Vipond and past president Diane Challupe wrote to Frontlines,

“The Corpay clerks in North Bay were all on the picket line with the rest of us.... They realize that members want their retro. So do they. Remember that it is members like you and I doing that work. Also remember that the Corpay members are also the ones seeing the fat cheques managers are receiving for all the work done during the strike. Try looking at a cheque for $25,000 to $75,000 in extra pay for a few weeks and know you walked the line for 8 weeks.”

Demanding that you be paid appropriately, and expeditiously, is a signal to the government that there aren’t enough people doing this work. It’s holding the employer accountable.

“Elite’s disdainful view of unions defies reality”

There is a new link on the OPSEU web page to an excellent column by Toronto Star writer Jim Coyle

Under the heading Elite’s disdainful view of unions defies reality, Coyle notes that Toronto’s outside workers walked on strike on the seventh anniversary of the Mike Harris government’s swearing in. Coyle looks at the Harris legacy on labour relations in this province, and applauds unions for “admirable, if quixotic, efforts to stave off the more deleterious impacts of the economic Darwinism that is globalization.”

Worth a read. It’s at www.opseu.org.  

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