"Mr. Public Relations" has struck again.

This time, Orillia is on the receiving end of Corrections Minister Sampson’s endearing letter to councils that have opposed privatized corrections.

As reported in the Mar. 17 Lock Talk, Sampson sent a letter to the County of Simcoe telling them that no future correctional investments would occur in their area due to Simcoe’s opposition to privatization. As predicted, Orillia council was absolutely appalled.

In press interviews, Orillia council members described the minister in glowing terms such as "disgraceful," "intimidating," "harassing," "punitive," "vindictive," and "immature." Councillor Tim Lauer said Sampson’s letter was beneath the dignity of a provincial minister. "I don’t want this kind of correspondence coming down the line," he said.

Apparently, it is the intent of the minister to send this letter to every municipality that opposes privatized corrections in Ontario. It is now our duty to ensure that every council in the province gets on board so that Sampson uses up his stamp supply.

After all, every council should have the opportunity to see Rob’s warm and fuzzy side for themselves.

Congratulations to the folks at Local 122 (Bluewater Youth Centre) and Local 438 (Rideau C.T.C.) for their continuing hard work in the community. As a result, the town of Goderich and the township of Augusta are now opposed to privatized corrections in Ontario. In the meantime, we have learned that Oro-Medonte Township and Springwater Township have also passed resolutions in support of Midland/Penetanguishene. Can Rob Sampson’s welcome letter be far behind…?

A demonstration against private jails is taking place at the Ontario Correctional Institute on Wednesday, March 29, 2000 from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Local 229 president Iain Hutton says the members are fed up with the ministry toying with their lives.

"We provide professional, efficient service in this province," Iain said. "It’s time for our members to stand up for what they believe in."

All correctional locals are invited to attend. OCI is located in Brampton on McLaughlin Road, west of Highway 10 just north of Steeles.

At a local meeting March 23, Local 135 passed motions directing that their acting managers return to the bargaining unit in support of the provincial campaign. Thanks go to Dominic Bragaglia and Brian Chauvin for their continued efforts in fighting the government agenda.

Once again the employer is jerking OPSEU members around on the scheduling issue.

The Ministry is taking the position that they will not negotiate staff complement during schedule talks. As a result, the Ministry has instructed Superintendents to eliminate built-in relief from all schedules. The Ministry also says that if OPSEU locals do not negotiate under these terms, they will impose eight-hour shift schedules.

This flies in the face of everything we have worked for to ensure conversion of unclassified members to classified positions. The union will continue to fight on this issue. Next week we will be asking locals for detailed information on unclassified usage, leaves, and complements. To date, we have converted more than 280 Correctional Officer positions, thanks to information from the locals.

These are tough negotiations. Don’t get bogged on the complement issue. We’ll fight that out centrally.

If you negotiate, get the best Compressed Work Week you can. Do not negotiate anything that violates the collective agreement or endangers the health and safety of members. All CWW agreements will be vetted centrally.

Corrections Minister Rob Sampson is an avid reader of Lock Talk, reliable inside sources say. So Rob, how do we get tickets for your $200-a-plate fundraiser in Mississauga April 4? A bunch of us will be in town.