CTO UPDATE

4/16/09

(From Local 108 Website)

Greetings Presidents. Corrections Youth MERC Chair Glenna, Brothers Ron Lavigne, Bob Eaton, Adult MERC Vice Chair Gord and myself, met with the employer this date to conduct further discussion on the CTO issue.
Management arrived shortly after 1000 hours at Head Office and it was quite noticeable that their side consisted mostly of the same managers who were at the bargaining table, Dave Logan (MGS), Mark Dittenhoffer, Barry Thomas, Rose Buhaghiar, Lisa Nowak (MCYS), JoAnne Miller Reid(MCYS) and Steve Small. You may or may not have known that David Logan was involved with bargaining in his capacity as ADM of Management Government Services (MGS).
David Logan was clearly the lead and he commenced by reiterating their position that the union was given notice during bargaining of the withdrawal of all CTO agreements and that it was within their right to give notice during bargaining. With that said, management stated that they hoped we could move forward on this issue.
We countered that we were not conceding that notice was properly given and in fact that it was not within any proper time limits. We also indicated that we wanted to move forward and we tabled our initial proposal in the spirit of negotiating a resolution to the issue.
We offered the employer time to caucus and they borrowed one of our computers to work on the draft. After approximately an hour they called us, informing us that they were now ready to reconvene.
David Logan reported that they could not offer a counter because they could not reach either Ron McKerlie or Jay Hope, the Deputy Ministers for MGS and MCSCS. When we pressed Mr. Logan about the general thoughts on the proposal, he stated that they actually had “no appetite” to deal with any CTO accumulation and that they were not going to counter offer at this time.
David Logan stated that he would try and speak to their “principles” and would get back to us by tonight. The door was not closed on negotiating this issue further although it appears that the sticking issue will be the banking of CTO time as it exists. Mr. Logan did make the comment that there was other “ways to slice the pie” seemingly suggesting that there may be some other compromise available.
David Logan did call back later and claims that he has not been able to reach the deputies for further comment and that he would call back tomorrow.
Where do we go from here?
The CTO agreement withdrawal is really just an extension of the sick time issue from bargaining. The employer blames sick time for creating overtime cost expenditures. They then blame the banking and use of CTO for creating further OT accumulation and staffing shortages. They also insist that the increased availability of OT is an incentive to use sick time illegitimately.
One of the initial opening remarks was the “noise in the system” had brought them to the table today. That means that the pressure we have been applying has provided an impetus for them to meet. It is clear that they will not concede the return of CTO accumulation easily, as we anticipated.
The fact that they worked on the draft and that we have not been given a definitive negative response suggests there is room for movement. Furthermore it is peculiar that an ADM could not get hold of their Deputies within a few hours, particularly when they know the issue would have serious repercussions. They are delaying for some reason.
The issue boils down to being a continuation of bargaining. Our response to the issue and the actions we take in our local worksites is our leverage to save this benefit and others that may soon be on the chopping block. As always, our strength is in the solidarity and sacrifices we take together to protect our collective agreement.
For the many locals who have given notice on the CWWA, I encourage you to stay strong and hold the line. It is our strongest bargaining chip and it will cause the deepest cut for the Ministry, that is why they are at the table at all. For those locals who are going to employ other methods of pressure we need a concerted effort on as many fronts as you can muster to push the employer.
Movements afoot within the division to encourage locals to withdraw their notice and back down is damaging to our ability to negotiate. The employer clearly has their sources just as we do and they are aware of the strains that this issue has placed on the Division. The employer is watching and waiting for Corrections to break. That in my opinion is the reason for the delay at this table. It has been suggested that they are waiting for our caucus at convention, which they believe will demonstrate our strength or weakness as a Division.
As the leaders and elected representatives, we have taken a strong stand with the employer on a serious issue, all that were on the conference call agreed. We all need to understand that this is the ultimate test of the division and for the most part I believe that the local leaders understand this. If we back down or demonstrate that we are vulnerable by withdrawing we will have shown the employer that the division is no longer able to protect its interests.
Once that break is evident, the employer will force it’s will on each and every local. There will be little sense in sitting with the employer at any table, we will have no leverage. Your bargaining team can tell you how difficult this round of bargaining was and you can draw your own conclusions as to what the future will hold if we do not hold together now.
The employer has admitted that they came to the table in response to the “noise” in the system. It is time to crank up the volume and get them to start moving on resolving this problem as well as others.
Another conference call of the presidents will be scheduled and will be sent on a separate email to discuss strategies on how to move forward and give the employer the "appetite" to negotiate in good faith.

In Solidarity, eddy