September 22, 2000
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll hurl
It’s not Wayne’s World - it’s Rob Sampson!
You will laugh because the message is completely
ridiculous. You will cry when you find out how much it cost. You can guess
the third part.
Just when we thought Corrections Minister Rob Sampson
couldn’t lose any more credibility as a Minister, he went and sent a
video to EVERY staff member in the Ministry, pleading for staff to work
with him to eliminate their own jobs.
The 9-minute video, allegedly costing about three
dollars each, shows Sampson in front of a busy office backdrop (why were
all those people walking around?) while he stumbles through his monologue
trying to look happy and sincere.
Let’s examine what the Minister spent $25,000 of
taxpayer money to tell us.
Sampson: “Your safety is a top priority with me.”
The ministry consistently refuses to address inadequate
staffing levels and dangerously overcrowded institutions.
Sampson: “I’ve learned how tough it is for you to do
your job every day.”
The ministry unilaterally imposed 12-hour lockups,
threatened eight-hour shift schedules and still refuses to fill vacancies,
driving staff into the ground with overtime.
Sampson: “Two years ago, the issue of appropriate
equipment for community escorts came before the Ontario Labour Relations
Board. Nothing was resolved before the hearing. Countless dollars and time
was spent entrenching in respective positions. This process took two
years, and cost thousands of dollars. I believe we need to do things
differently. All staff should be properly equipped. Quite simply, it’s
the right thing to do.”
The union fought tooth and nail to get proper equipment
and staffing levels for outside escorts. The Ministry, under Rob Sampson,
fought us every inch of the way. Even when the union won an Ontario Labour
Relations Board (OLRB) decision two years ago, the Ministry refused to
implement it. The union had to charge the Ministry and bring the issue
back to the OLRB to enforce the order. The Ministry has consistently
fought and/or delayed safer measures for every member in Corrections.
Sampson: “In order to lower re-offending rates, we
believe that having both publicly and privately run jails will bring out
the best in each system.”
It is a well-known fact that the Ministry has never
tracked recidivism. No one knows what it is with any accuracy. Sampson has
told the press that privatization is not about saving money, it’s to
lower recidivism rates. Sampson admitted to the Kitchener-Waterloo Record
that there is no method in place to track recidivism. And all experts
agree that recidivism is a poor indicator of an effective corrections
system.
So do what you will with the videos. Liberal Corrections
Critic David Levac has graciously offered to deliver them to Sampson
personally on the floor of the legislature if you send them to him. Just
drop them off at your nearest Liberal MPP’s office.
Unclassifieds say no to benefits
Unclassified members working for the Ministry of
Correctional Services have voted no to paying for health coverage.
OPSEU Head Office conducted the vote over the summer and
unclassified members had the choice to vote for one of two benefits
packages or none at all.
The results of the 373 votes returned were; 143 in
favour of the plan, 211 against and 19 spoiled ballots.
“With all of the job uncertainty in corrections right
now, it’s understandable why members voted no,” said Barry Scanlon,
chair of the OPSEU Corrections Ministry Employee Relations Committee. “Unclassified
staff will be very vulnerable when the jail closures start, and most
probably don’t want to part with the extra money.”
Scanlon hopes that the issue can someday be
re-addressed. “Maybe at some point we can try again,” he said. “But
right now, jobs are just too unstable.”
Ottawa demo brings out Liberal Leader - again
Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty covered a lot of ground
the week of Sept. 4-8. He appeared at the Local 411 (Ottawa-Carleton
Detention Center) demonstration on Friday Sept. 8. McGuinty also appeared
at the Guelph demo on Sept. 6.
About 70 members were on hand to listen to the Liberal
Leader as well as OPSEU Executive Board Member Bob Eaton, and Local 411
vice-president Roger Kirkey.
McGuinty spoke of the high risks to the public and the
high costs of this foolhardy privatization agenda. “We must make
Ontarians aware of what is happening,” McGuinty said. “Last year the
house sat for 40 days out of 365. This year, if the house returns on the
first of October, we will have sat 43 days of 270. In any event, Mr.
Harris has the gall to say our public servants are not working hard
enough. Let's keep Mike Harris’ record in mind.”
McGuinty then made the same promise that he made to the
protesters at Guelph C.C. two days earlier. “When the legislature
resumes, what we’ll be asking is a moratorium on all jail closures, a
moratorium on all steps toward privatization and let’s have a full
comprehensive public debate,” McGuinty said. “The people are all on
our side with this one, they just don’t know it yet. They haven’t been
acquainted with the issues and it is something they will be very
uncomfortable with. We will be pressing the government for a full public
debate.”
Bob Eaton spoke of the high risks the public faces with
prisons run by private companies and radio station 580 CFRA in Ottawa
broadcast his remarks. “A company’s number one goal is to make profits
for their shareholders and not rehabilitation,” Eaton said.
Maplehurst - pizza and MPPs
There was no shortage of food or speakers at the
anti-privatization protest held Tuesday, Sept. 19 at Local 234 (Maplehurst
Complex) in Milton.
Over
80 demonstrators attended the demo, including members from Local 233 (Guelph
C.C.), Local 263 (Vanier Centre), Local 521 (Mimico/TYAC),
and Local 517 (Metro West D.C.). OPSEU president Leah Casselman, Region 2
Executive Board Member Vic Vinerskis and OPSEU Corrections Ministry
Employee Relations Committee vice-chair Dave Graves were also at the
protest.
NDP
Corrections Critic Peter Kormos addressed the crowd and made it clear how
he felt about the Corrections Minister.
“In the old days, crooks used to rob banks. Now, they
own them,” Kormos said. “As a former banker, Sampson has more in
common with the inmates in your facilities than with the staff. Sampson’s
privatization scheme has far less to do with rehabilitation and safety
than it has to do with profits for U.S. private operators.”
Liberal
Corrections Critic David Levac thanked the men and women of corrections
for their professionalism, and especially their families. “They know
better than anyone else the dangerous, stressful job you do. You are a
blessing.”
Levac urged members to keep fighting and not to give up.
“This isn’t just one battle - this is a battle for everything we hold
sacred across this province.”
OPSEU president Leah Casselman toured the new
building at Maplehurst and was appalled at the layout.
“It’s
inhumane for staff, and it’s inhumane for inmates,” President
Casselman said. “The Ministry of Corrections is not interested in
correcting anything. They only want to hand it over to the private sector.
We had six people die in Walkerton - we don’t want any dead in
corrections.”
Demonstrators were treated to cold drinks and so many
pizzas that it took a station wagon to deliver them. A job well done by
the executive and members of Local 234.
For campaign information, call Don Ford (ext. 442) or Carol Whitehead
(ext. 356) at
1-800-268-7376 or (416) 443-8888. e-mail: dford@opseu.org
or cwhitehead@opseu.org
Ontario Public Service Employees Union
100 Lesmill Road, Toronto, Ontario M3B 3P8
www.opseu.org
opseu@opseu.org
Original authorized for distribution by Leah Casselman, president.
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