Bargaining 2025

Article 6 – Election Procedures

6.3 Negotiating Teams

Negotiating teams shall be elected in accordance with the Negotiations Procedures and the Pay Equity Maintenance Committee Procedures.

Article 12 – Negotiating Committee

12.1 There shall be a Negotiating Committee consisting of the President and five members elected from amongst the membership at a General Membership Meeting. The members of the Negotiating Committee save and except the President, shall be elected from each of the three (3) employee categories of Service, Support and Professional Technical, providing there is a candidate available from each category.

At the election meeting the three categories will meet separately to elect one team member each representing their category. Following the category elections, the entire membership shall elect two team members at-large. Elections for the delegates shall be by majority. The first and second runner-up in each category and in the at-large elections shall be declared alternates and shall only join the team to replace their respective category or at-large delegate if their respective team member withdraws or is unable to complete the term.

Should a new President of OPSSU be elected while negotiations are in process the President shall immediately take her/his place on the bargaining team.

12.2 For the purpose of negotiating a collective agreement, the procedures shall be as designated in Appendix 1 and shall form part of this Constitution. Amendments to Appendix 1 shall be effected in accordance with the Constitution.

12.3 Any collective agreement entered into by this Union with the employer must be ratified by the majority of the members in attendance and voting at a ratification meeting conducted in accordance with Appendix #1 – Negotiation/Ratification Procedures.

Appendix 1: OPSSU Negotiation / Ratification Procedures

A. Consultation Process

No less than Nine (9) months prior to the expiry of the Collective Agreement the President shall convene a meeting or meetings with OPSSU members holding responsible positions to discuss priority issues for the next round of bargaining. This shall include the President, Lead Steward, Two (2) members of the previous Negotiating Team (as determined by that Negotiating Team), the Chair of the Benefits Committee, or her/his designee, the Chair of the Pension Committee, or her/his designee and the Chair of the Health & Safety Committee, or her/his designee. Following the consultation meeting each Committee referenced above shall prepare written reports with bargaining recommendations for referral to the incoming Negotiating Team to be utilized in the preparation of the survey for bargaining unit members/retirees. These reports shall be circulated to the membership with the survey (see Part C below).

B. Negotiating Team Elected

No less than six (6) months before expiry of the Collective Agreement the Negotiating Team shall be elected at a General Membership Meeting. The team shall elect a chairperson and may assign specific functions and responsibilities to team members, as it deems appropriate.

C. Membership Survey

The newly elected Negotiating Team shall circulate the bargaining unit survey at least four (4) months prior to the expiry of the collective agreement to all OPSSU members and retirees seeking their input into bargaining proposals/priorities. The deadline for input shall be specified on the survey and shall not be less than fourteen (14) calendar dates after circulation.

D. Written Proposals From Members

Upon receipt of the survey members may submit written proposals for review by the Negotiating Team.

All written proposals that individual members wish to put forward for consideration at the Demand-Setting Meeting must be forwarded to the OPSSU Secretary by the specified deadline for submission. The Secretary shall forward the written proposals for review to the Negotiating Team.

E. Demand Set Book

The Negotiating Team shall consider all proposals submitted and compile a Demand Set Book, with all proposals organized by category (Central, ProTech, Support, and Service) and which will include recommendations. This report will cover such areas as current economic factors, language improvement, rights and benefits of similar bargaining units, and areas of improvement identified in the previous round of bargaining. Where applicable and/or available, research will be provided. This document will also propose priorities from among all proposals and recommendations.

The Demand Set Book shall be sent to the OPSSU membership and retirees at least ten (10) days prior to the Demand-Setting Meeting.

F. Demand-Setting Meeting

A Demand-Setting Meeting will be conducted at least one (1) month prior to the expiry of the collective agreement and shall be chaired by the chairperson of the Negotiating Team. The proposals contained in the Demand Set Book shall be considered by the membership in the following manner:

1. Any member present may move any proposal from within the Demand Set Book for consideration, by referring to the page and Article reference (if there are multiple proposals related to the same clause the mover should indicate which is being proposed) subject to the provisions below.
2. Members will move into category caucus groups i.e. Service, Support and Professional Technical. Each Category caucus meeting shall be chaired by a member of the Negotiating Team. Once in the category caucus any number of proposals within the Demand Set Book that are specific to that category may be moved. Category proposals that are moved seconded and carried by a majority may be considered for inclusion in the category demands. Up to five (5) prioritized proposals may be adopted by each category and shall be the category demands put forward to the Employer.
3. Following disposition of category proposals all members present may consider any of the Central proposals (i.e. those proposals that affect more than one category). Any number of Central proposals within the Demand Set Book may be moved, seconded and debated. Central proposals that are carried by a majority may be considered for inclusion in the Central proposals. Up to ten (10) prioritized Central proposals shall be the Central proposals forwarded to the Employer. In the event that quorum is lost, the Negotiating Team shall have the authority to complete the process.
4. Emergency proposals received after the deadline date will only be considered by the Demand Setting Meeting upon recommendation of the majority of the Negotiating Team.
5. The Negotiating Team shall have the authority to add, delete or amend proposals as necessary during the course of bargaining.

G. Bargaining Bulletins

The Negotiating Team shall issue regular bulletins to the membership/retirees so that everyone is informed of the developments related to bargaining prior to and following the commencement of formal face-to-face negotiations.

H. Mobilizing Committee

A Mobilizing Committee of seven (7) members shall be determined immediately following the Demand Set Meeting. One (1) committee member shall be selected by and from the Negotiating Team, one (1) committee member shall be a member of the Executive and the remaining five (5) committee members shall be selected by the Executive from the membership. The Mobilizing Committee is authorized to create a mobilizing campaign in consultation with the Executive and the Negotiating Team. Such campaign is to support the bargaining agenda beginning after the Demand Set Meeting and concluding with the ratification of a settlement. Funds for the Mobilizing Committee shall be as determined in the annual budget or drawn from the Defense Fund as appropriate. Additional funds may be provided on the authorization of the Executive.

I. Impasse In Negotiations

Either prior to or following conciliation the Negotiating Team, with the consent of the Executive, may call a General Membership Meeting. The Negotiating Team will report on the circumstances giving rise to the impasse, seeking a mandate from the membership with respect to strike action and/or further direction.

J. Ratification Meeting/Vote

A Ratification Meeting shall be held as soon as practical and in any event within twenty-eight (28) calendar days of reaching a tentative settlement, with notice sent to all members/retirees. In case of a tentative agreement arrived at when no strike is in progress, except when an impending strike deadline makes it impractical to do so, the actual Memorandum of Settlement with its appendices and an explanation of the settlement will be distributed to all members/retirees at least seven (7) days prior to the actual ratification meeting.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, where a tentative agreement is reached prior to a regular scheduled membership meeting and, where the Negotiating Team elects to do so with the consent of the Executive, the tentative agreement may be put to the membership at that meeting. The team will provide as much notice as is possible and shall provide the Memorandum of Settlement and its appendices in advance of the meeting (Dec 2016).

Where a strike is in progress or a strike deadline has been set, the Negotiating Team shall issue a bargaining bulletin outlining the key elements of the tentative agreement prior to the ratification, if possible, or at the meeting. In addition, the complete Memorandum of Settlement, including any Return to Work Protocol, shall be distributed at the ratification meeting if it has not been distributed in advance.

K. Implementation And Development Of Revised Agreement

The Negotiating Team shall have responsibility to deal with immediate implementation issues arising out of any newly ratified agreement and shall provide advice to those holding other positions of responsibility for the production and distribution of revised signed collective agreements to all OPSSU members as soon as possible following ratification.

The Chair of the Bargaining Team, within a reasonable period of time after the ratification of a renewal collective agreement, shall be required to furnish a copy of all salient bargaining documents to the Lead Steward for inclusion in that round’s bargaining file. Such documentation will include, at a minimum, initial exchange proposals from both parties, one copy of bargaining notes, any newsletters or emails or other correspondence that is sent to all members, as well as any proposed MOS (including both ratified and non-ratified proposals) including any report to the membership on such MOS.

Appendix 2: OPSSU Strike Policy

Preamble:

This Strike Policy shall be attached to, and form part of, the OPSSU Constitution.

Article 1 – Strike Committees

1.01 All OPSSU Strike Committees shall be responsible to the Executive of OPSSU.

1.02 There shall be the following OPSSU Strike Committees:

a. Central Strike Committee (CSC) comprised of:

• the President of OPSSU;
• the Finance Sub-Committee Chair (appointed by Executive);
• the Strike Duties/Communication Chair (appointed by Executive);
• a member selected by and from the Negotiating Team;
• the member from the Strike Duties/Communications sub-committee responsible for central communications;
• a Member of the Executive appointed by Executive.

b. The Finance Sub-Committee comprised of:

• the Finance Chair;
• two (2) members appointed by Executive in consultation with the committee chair. (Note: consideration should be given to the geographic proximity to the committee chair when selecting committee members. The limited financial resources of OPSSU would best be used in providing strike pay and assistance rather than paying to bring people in to meetings).

c. The Strike Duties/Communications Sub-Committee (SDCC) comprised of:

• the Strike Duties/Communications Chair;
• four (4) members appointed by Executive in consultation with Committee Chair one of whom shall be responsible for communications component of the Strike Duties/Communications Committee.
• (Note: The limited financial resources of OPSSU would best be used in providing strike pay and assistance rather than paying to bring people into meetings therefore conference calls will be utilized as much as possible).

1.03 In addition to the above named Committees, Strike Coordinators and Unit Contacts will be selected as follows:

a. Unit Contact

At the direction of the Executive, the Stewards will coordinate a meeting of the members working in each Department/Unit at Head Office and each Regional Office to select at least one (1) Unit Contact person in the following units:

• Collective Bargaining
• Cleaners
• Equity
• Admin. Services/Payroll/Accounting Services/Library
• Job Security
• Organizing Services
• Research
• Membership Benefits
• Grievance/Health & Safety
• Building Services/ Central Duplicating/Membership Information Service
• Campaigns/Communications
• Resource Centre/Membership Services
• Education
• Information Technology
• At least one for each Regional Office

b. Strike Coordinators

Strike Coordinators are to be selected by the members from among the Unit Contacts in the following manner:

• Field Services, one for each of the 7 Regions;
• Contract Enforcement;
• Collective Bargaining/Equity/Job Security
• Building Services/Facility Services/Central Duplicating/ Resource Centre;
• Membership Services/Accounting Services/ Administration/Payroll/IT;
• Education/Campaigns/Communications
• 5757 Coopers, including Membership Benefits
• Organizing/Research.
• At 100 Lesmill, one Coordinator from among its Coordinators shall be selected as Lead Hand by the Coordinators concerned. The Lead Hand’s role shall be to ensure that 100 Lesmill Coordinators are able to fulfill their responsibilities, to coordinate planned activities and to administer the financial paperwork.

Article 2 – Committee Duties

2.01 Central Strike Committee (CSC)

The Central Strike Committee will plan the overall strike strategy in consultation with the Finance and Strike Duties/Communications Committees and the Negotiations Team and the Mobilizing Committee. Its duties will also be to appeal for outside funds. It is chaired by the President of OPSSU and is empowered to run all aspects of a strike or a lockout.

2.02 Finance Committee

The Finance Committee shall handle all financial transactions, including overall administration of strike pay and the administration of funds transferred to the Coordinators or Lead Hand for administrative expenses. In addition the Finance Committee is responsible for trouble-shooting; hardship/welfare; fundraising and scrounging.

2.03 Strike Duties/Communication Committee (SDCC)

The SDCC, shall oversee all strike activities through Strike Coordinators, set up a central strike headquarters, handle logistics and disseminate all information utilizing the Strike Coordinator and Unit Contact structure. The SDCC shall prepare and distribute leaflets, a newsletter and other strike communications. In addition the SDCC shall handle media releases, public relations and garner support from other unions and the community; and foster general member morale.

2.04 Unit Contacts

Unit Contacts will be responsible for the flow of all information from the central committees to the membership and vice versa. This will include distributing all materials as required and relaying all membership concerns, questions and suggestions/strategies, both prior to and during any strike, to the SDCC through the Strike Coordinator.
Once the strike is called the Unit Contacts will assume the role of Picket Captain for their Unit.

2.05 Strike Coordinators

During the mobilization period Strike Coordinators will be responsible for the flow of all information from the central committees to the Unit Contacts and vice versa. Regional/Head Office Strike Coordinators will coordinate picket scheduling, in consultation with the Unit Contacts, to ensure strong effective picket lines at appropriate times and locations.
Strike Coordinators/ Head Office Lead Hand will also administer the Administrative expenses of the Area.

Article 3 – Strike Finances

3.01 The Finance Committee shall be responsible for the overall administration of all financial matters associated with the Strike.

3.02 Each Regional Office shall be entitled to an accountable warrant for strike administration expenses of $500 and Head Office shall be entitled to an accountable warrant of $1,500. Each area is responsible for reconciling the Area Administrative Fund.

3.03 A record of expenditures must be kept and submitted to the finance committee detailing all receipts and expenditures. Originals of paid invoices must be attached to these statements.

3.04 Only expenses falling within the OPSSU Strike Policy will be allowed unless specific approval for expenditures is authorized by the Finance Committee.

3.05 Additional grants may be authorized by the finance committee where circumstances warrant.

3.06 At the end of the strike all funds paid in the form of start-up grants or additional grants must be accounted for and any surplus returned to OPSSU.

3.07 At the end of the Strike the Finance Committee shall present a detailed report of all receipts and expenditures during the Strike to the OPSSU Executive. This Report when approved by the Executive shall be distributed to the membership of OPSSU.

Article 4 – Allowable Expenses

4.01 During any Strike, OPSSU will automatically stop paying the following normal expenses:

• mileage
• child/elder/dependent care
• per diems
• lost wages/own time
• meals
• air travel, except for members in Regions six and seven.

4.02 Monies transferred to the 100 Lesmill Lead Hand and to the non 100 Lesmill Strike Coordinators shall be used to pay the following administrative expenses only:

• picket sign materials;
• approved, reasonable phone expenses;
• fax/photocopy charges;
• gas expenses for authorized use, other than normal transport to strike duty location;
  paper/printer cartridges and other reasonable office supplies;
• stamps;
• any other expenses authorized by the Finance Committee.

4.03 Expenses for the Central Strike Headquarters and all Central initiatives after a strike mandate has been given shall be paid by the Finance Committee from the Defense Fund.

4.04 Where it is not economically feasible for any member to attend necessary meetings in person, they will participate in meetings via teleconferencing.

4.05 Where more than one member from any area is attending a meeting, car-pooling is recommended to reduce expenses.

4.06 All strike accounting procedures shall be as outlined in the OPSSU Strike Manual which shall be maintained by the Executive consistent with the Constitution and Policies of OPSSU.

Article 5 – Strike Pay

5.01 Only members who perform assigned duties shall receive strike pay.

5.02 The minimum strike duties that must be performed in order to receive Strike Pay shall be twenty hours per week. Members shall be eligible for partial Strike Pay where they perform strike duties for part of the week. For this purpose four hours of strike duties will be necessary in order to receive one day’s strike pay.

5.03 The Unit Contacts/Strike Coordinators will define strike duties that must be performed. The “week” is assumed to include five workdays.

5.04 Strike pay shall be as follows:

Dependents per day per week

• No dependents: $200.00/week
• 1 dependent: $20 – $100
• 2 dependents: $40 – $200
• 3 dependents: $60 – $300
• 4 or more: $80 – $400

5.05 For the purposes of this Article dependents are defined as non-wage earners for whom the member is financially responsible.

5.06 If a member wishes to perform strike duties in a city other than his/her work location, he/she may request this option. The Strike Coordinator/Unit Contact/members will make this determination having due regard to the wishes of the member and the needs of the Area.

5.07 Members with disabilities and family responsibilities will be accommodated to the extent possible in determining appropriate strike duties.

5.08 The Executive shall make a determination on what benefits will be maintained by OPSSU during a strike. This determination will be communicated to all members prior to any Strike.

5.09 If both spouses/partners are on strike, each spouse is eligible for strike pay, but where there are other dependent family members only one spouse may claim entitlement for dependents.

5.10 Strike pay for members employed on a part-time or occasional basis is the same as that paid to full-time members.

5.11 Strike pay shall be paid after the first two weeks on strike.

5.12 After the strike is over and strike duty has ended, members waiting to be called back to work will continue to receive strike pay up to and including two weeks following the working day before they start re-earning pay from the employer.

Article 6 – Donations/Loans

6.01 All centrally received donations/loans shall be deposited in the Defense Fund and will be administered by the Finance Committee.

6.02 Any local strike donations/loans may be added to the Area Administrative Account and utilized according to the wishes of the Area members.

6.03 Where a member elects to donate/loan his/her strike pay to the Strike, the funds will be deposited to the Area Administrative Account and utilized according to the wishes of the Area members.

Article 7 – Strike Call

7.01 No Strike shall be called unless a General Membership Meeting has been convened for the purpose of holding a Strike Vote by secret ballot. A majority shall be considered to be greater than 50%.

7.02 Where the Employer has requested a final offer vote be taken, a rejection of the final offer shall be deemed to constitute a Strike Vote.

7.03 Once a strike mandate has been given by the membership and a ‘no board report’ has been requested by either party such that a strike deadline is set, in consultation with the Central Strike Committee, the Negotiation Team shall determine the strike date i.e. the date the work stoppage will occur, which shall be communicated to the membership