"MED-ARB"
It's fast and fair...and it chews up grievances

Three Correctional Officers in Sudbury have high praise for "med-arb" and the OPSEU grievance officer who brought the process to the Cecil Facer Youth Centre.

Yvon Constantineau, Lynn Kutschke and Marc Bélanger watched Jim Paul work his magic in the union's Sudbury office in January.

It was the latest stop on Jim's mediation-arbitration road show. He's been working on grievances against the Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services since mid '97 - 2,000 cases last year alone, many combining several complaints.

Med-arb encourages union and management to work out an agreement through arbitrator-assisted mediation. If they fail, the arbitrator rules.

At the end of the day in Sudbury, Constantineau has travel time recognized, an overtime cheque, and a union harassment issue resolved; Kutschke will be paid for work in a higher classification; and Bélanger has an overtime cheque and an extra day in his vacation bank.

If the members praise Jim, he returns it generously.

"Local executives, stewards and members have risen to the occasion to work and resolve their workplace problems.

"They have accepted responsibility for setting up schedules and deciding priorities. They have jumped in with both feet to negotiate settlements that benefit our members.

"I've seen pure leadership when the opportunity presents itself and the employer will work with us - and they have put in long days to do it.

"I've been impressed."

From a start at the London-Middlesex Detention Centre, med-arb has worked its way across the province.

Jim Paul's been there all the way. An OPSEU grievance officer since April, 1988, his understanding of work in the Ontario Public Service is deep.

Over 17 years, he was a union steward - first at Queen Street Mental Health Centre in Toronto, then at the Adult Occupational Centre in Edgar. "I worked with the members who elected me, policing the collective agreement."

The gut understanding of institutional life helped Jim build a rapport with staff in corrections.

He understands confrontation. It's a background of strength against which he measures any compromises.

"All kinds of grievances can be resolved in the member's favour through mediated arbitration," Jim said. "The system lets us settle large numbers of grievances in a very short time. It also costs very little."

Yvon Constantineau has confidence in his advocate. "He's honest, he knows how to direct our requests in order to ensure the best results."

Lynn Kutschke is impressed: "I had been trying for years to get compensation for myself and some co-workers. Our job classifications were in the office administration group, but we had carried out all the duties of a CO for seven months."

Marc Bélanger admired the efficiency: "It moved quickly."

Med-arb is taking a chain saw to a huge backlog of grievances.

It brings in someone with authority to make a ruling.

Union and management representatives sit down with the mediator-arbitrator to tackle a series of problems in a workplace in a single session. At the end of the day, most of the problems are resolved.

Some cases don't lend themselves to med-arb. Sometimes a case has far-reaching implications. The precedent is important to the parties. Then, the full formal grievance arbitration hearing is the way to go.

"We don't want to deny anyone justice," said Jim. "But med-arb works well for the vast majority of situations. It gives the employer a way to back down without losing face over a stupid decision; it gives local stewards involvement in dealing with problems on-site."

It's a cliché that "justice delayed is justice denied." Med-arb cuts the delay to bring justice to OPSEU members.

Storey and photo by Pierre Floréa

Pension experts earn their keep

You may not see the work of some union staff until you retire.

Shirley McVittie and Marcia Gillespie are certified benefits specialists who use their expertise on complex pension issues.

In the last year, Shirley worked with other unions to get $15 million from the Canadian Red Cross in the transition to the Canadian Blood Service. The unions convinced a court that the Red Cross had under-funded its pension plan.

Through joint pension trusteeship in the colleges, Shirley helped get more than $220 million in improvements for faculty and support staff, including several early retirement options. "Without our work, the colleges would have paid less into the plan instead of improving benefits."

Marcia helped negotiate a three-year extension in bridging benefits under the Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) for members hit by hospital restructuring.

Marcia and Heather Gavin have worked so members divested from the Ontario Public Service can keep their pension plan - or use their service for early retirement with a new employer. They have also spearheaded a winning fight for survivor pensions for same-sex partners.

Advising members, explaining pension options, and providing a resource to bargaining teams is important work.

These three women work with different pension plans as pension trustees, as union advocates, or as resource staff.

Over many years, OPSEU has used the specialized knowledge of its staff to build better pensions for members. It's an investment of union resources that pays huge dividends.

- Katie FitzRandolph

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