To our activists and Board members:
Thanks for a thankless task
March 9,2009
We have successfully reached new agreements for members in
the Ontario Public Service and Corrections, capping a very busy two years.
We couldn’t have accomplished this without the dedication of all our elected
local representatives and your provincial Executive Board.
We have weathered a veritable “perfect storm” of bargaining
and organizing, and we have made great strides in a number of areas:
securing union rights for part-timers and negotiating new contracts for
thousands of members in colleges, government and numerous agencies.
While there are still many battles to be fought -- and
certainly not all will be won, union work being neither perfect nor ever
finished – they are the people who give their personal time and energy to
make sure that our union fires on all cylinders.
At the provincial level, I’ve had the opportunity to observe
first-hand the work of our Executive Board Members. They have logged
thousands of kilometers and put in hundreds of hours on behalf of OPSEU --
campaigning on issues, advising locals, organizing and welcoming new members
and units, and participating in long meetings where important decisions are
made. They are a pretty effective bunch.
And while we have not always agreed on every issue – OPSEU
debates are legendary – your Board has been exemplary in its respect for
each others’ views. Our Executive Board meetings and committee meetings
customarily take up many days each month, yet I have not seen the personal
invective and acrimony that has characterized past Boards.
We respect our differences of opinion, and when we make
decisions, we are united in carrying them out. We keep our eyes on the
prize.
To name just a few initiatives taken over the past year,
your Board has:
-
Launched a new pension plan for the Broader Public
Service;
-
Approved new spending to combat layoffs and cutbacks in
our hospitals;
-
Promoted huge pay equity settlements through the hiring
of a new consultant;
-
Helped organize more than 2,000 new OPSEU members,
including 700 at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario;
-
Expanded our ability to handle grievance arbitrations in
a more timely manner;
-
Supported a Local Capacity Building project to help
locals cope with the workload;
-
Won legislated bargaining rights for 20,000 college
part-timers;
-
Made sure there was a strong union voice in the federal
election campaign;
-
Voted to support issue campaigns for Blood Services,
ODSP, Child Treatment Centres and many other issues;
-
Committed OPSEU to reducing greenhouse gas emissions
from our operations, and other greening opportunities;
-
Created Regional Hardship Committees to assist members
in distress;
-
Promoted an end to workplace violence through
province-wide workshops in many sectors.
The list goes on, and so does the work.
So on behalf of all of OPSEU, I would like to take this
opportunity to thank all the Executive Board Members for their work over the
past two years.
We appreciate your dedication and your self-sacrifices made
on behalf of your union.
You help keep us strong.
In solidarity,
Warren (Smokey) Thomas
President
