Delegates to the OPSEU Corrections Divisional meeting May 13-14 rolled up their sleeves and dealt with a lot of issues over the two days.

Day one kicked off with Barry Scanlon giving a full report from the OPSEU Corrections Ministry Employee Relations Committee (MERC). Barry reported on the two per cent benefit pay for unclassified members, unclassified position roll-overs, the newly created legal defense fund for members, continuous service date grievances and the status of talks at the ministry "transition" table.

Barry also brought delegates up to date on the status of the ongoing anti-privatization campaign. He said current activities such as direct mailings, council resolutions and radio advertising are having a huge impact on the government. Barry urged members to continue applying pressure inside the workplace as well as campaigning to the public.

Daryl Pitfield, member of the Corrections provincial health and safety team, reported on such achievements as outside escort procedures, uniform issues, implementation of the Ministry’s no smoking policy and the stress management document for Probation and Parole.

President Leah Casselman addressed the delegates on Saturday morning. President Casselman explained how proposed government changes to the Public Service Act would affect members, and reported how the "reasonable efforts" clause of the collective agreement is saving thousands of jobs across the public service. She said she expects the government to try to get rid of the reasonable efforts language in the next round of bargaining, and asked members to start preparing to defend it.

Her remarks led to a short educational exercise around the Network for Better Contracts. Participants were able to provide input on the actions required to get the most out of their next round of bargaining.

The "Autonomous Corrections" initiative, which would see the corrections division bargain an entirely separate collective agreement, was hotly debated as members tried to work out the mechanics of the process. In the end, delegates voted to move ahead with autonomy, and directed the MERC team to have the process ready for government negotiation by Dec. 31. The delegates also passed motions to expedite shift premium grievances, implement a systemic response to harassment and discrimination, and to give full support to Brother Bill Leggott from the Whitby Jail, who is campaigning to implement a "25 and out" pension for corrections.

Day two of the meeting was dominated by elections for the MERC team and the Health and Safety team. Voters showed their satisfaction in the current team members by re-electing them all for another two years. Your members for the 2000-2002 MERC team are: Barry Scanlon, Chair; Dave Graves, Vice-Chair; Mark Kotanen, Member; and David Kerr, Member, Probation and Parole. The 2000-2002 Health and Safety Team members are: Daryl Pitfield, Chair; Nick Tefoglou, Vice-Chair; Rick Kloostra, Member; and Brian Wilson, Member, Probation and Parole.

The divisional meeting was a productive two days. Hats off to all those who attended, especially those who put in the extra hours and "debated" issues until 4 a.m. Sunday in the hospitality suite.

Life, health, drug and dental coverage for unclassified members in the Ministry of Correctional Services is close to becoming a reality. This coverage, which includes a drug card, is an initiative of the OPSEU Joint Trusteed Benefit Fund. Soon, ballots will be sent to the home address of each unclassified member in the Ministry. On the ballot, members will be able to vote on whether they want to have a benefits package, and which package of benefits they would like to pay for. All unclassified members are urged to update their addresses at the regional office. Local presidents will be sent extra ballots if you do not receive one. It is imperative that all unclassified members vote on this very important issue, so don’t be left out.

Soon we will just call this "The Mason Report." Yes, once again Len "Resolutions ‘R Us" Mason of Local 737 (Thunder Bay Jail) has proven that neither time nor distance can stop a determined activist. This week, Len has brought the following municipalities on board: Town of Hearst, Town of Longlac, Township of La Vallee, Town of Cochrane and the Township of Chapleau. Those five, along with four that were previously omitted from the list, brings the total municipalities in favour of public correctional services to 76.

Len’s "magic package" that he has been sending to these distant municipalities is now available at OPSEU Head Office. Call Don Ford at ext. 442 if you would like one. Just a reminder: if each local could get three more municipalities each, our count would be pushing 200. Lets get to it folks!

Our fearless minister created quite a stir last Friday when he called a press conference and demanded that the two women responsible for the death of a Toronto police officer be housed in separate federal institutions. That’s the way to stand up to the big boys, Rob! The only thing is, these same two women were housed in the same unit of the Toronto West Detention Centre for the entire time they were on remand. Whoops! We don’t recall you mentioning that to the reporters. Knowing the minister’s fondness for accurate statements, we are sure that someone will come to his rescue and point out this little omission.

Sarnia city council expressed "sorrow, not anger" at the now famous "threat" letter from Corrections Minister, Rob Sampson.

Sarnia council discussed the March 29 letter from the Minister, and, in a letter to Sampson dated April 25, told the Minister that they would not "respond in kind." Sarnia’s letter to the Minister re-iterated the council’s stand against private corrections, and invited Sampson to come a Sarnia city council meeting to explain his position.

Don’t hold your breath, folks.

On Tuesday, May 23 at 7 p.m. Iroquois Falls will hold a town hall meeting on the closure of the Monteith Correctional Centre, at the Lions Club Hall, 239 Church Street. Guest speakers include Ken Graham, Mayor, Iroquois Falls; MPP David Levac, Liberal Corrections Critic; Liberal MPP David Ramsay, Timiskaming-Cochrane; and Doug McDougall, OPSEU Executive Board member.

On May 25, OPSEU Local 530 (Toronto Jail) will host an anti-privatization demonstration from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. NDP MPP and Corrections Critic Peter Kormos is scheduled to speak. All locals are urged to attend