OPSEU Local 559

With the recent announcement of the closure of The Bibliocentre, Centennial College full time staff face the possibility of layoff.

The Bibliocentre was established (by the Government of Ontario in 1968) to purchase, catalogue and process materials for Community College Libraries. Although staff are members of Local 559 (Centennial College Full Time Support Staff), the Bibliocentre is funded separately by (most) colleges in the provincial system. As we understand it, the work currently being done by our members will be done in future by a much smaller entity, with a handful of employees (mainly managers).

When layoffs are projected, the Employment Stability Committee (equal number of union and management representatives) must meet to oversee the procedures outlined in Article 15 of the Collective Agreement (Layoff/Recall Process).

Although we don’t know the number of staff who will be impacted by the Bibliocentre closing (as the college has yet to to come forth with a promised “early leave incentive” for affected staff), we are looking at ways to minimize effects of the closure to our members.

One method at our disposal is to use language in Article 15 which allows for the “conversion of part-time positions and/or displacement of non-bargaining unit employees” in order to place members in the newly created and/or vacated positions.

Although the Employment Stability Committee (ESC) can only recommend what measures the college should take (President Ann Buller makes the final decision), we will be strongly recommending that certain part time and/or non-bargaining (a.k.a. “contract”) positions should be converted into full time bargaining unit jobs.

In order to fully explore this option, we need your help. We need information.

We need to find out who is working at the college in part-time and so called “contract” positions in order to determine if those positions can be converted into full time jobs.

We need accurate information. The lists we get from the college are months out of date and incomplete. Relying solely on those lists to fight for the conversion of part time jobs into full time positions simply won’t do.

Help us by going to the Report page and fill out the form provided. You do not have to identify yourself. Just give us as much information as you have, even if it’s not complete. We can pick up on what you give and investigate further.

Return to the form as many times as necessary to send us as much information on as many part time and/or “contract” workers as possible.

If we all work together, we can save full time jobs. Maybe your job.

admin Bibliocentre

Greetings to all.

I’d like to respond to Ann Buller’s update on the Bibliocentre, sent out on Lotus Notes at 3:00 PM this afternoon.

There are a couple of things that I’d like to comment on and clarify.

As Ann stated, the decision to close our Bibliocentre was made by the Committee of Presidents and was finalized at their meeting this week.

This will directly affect all 21 Support Staff members from the Bibliocentre. The fall-out of course, could affect many more of us than that.

The officers of the Local were present at the Bibliocentre meeting this afternoon. Though we had no input into the determination to close the Bibliocentre, we will be involved in trying to mitigate the results of this decision.

I want to say that, though Ann’s message specifically seems to target the Information Technology and Library departments of the College, the actuality is that any area could feel the effects of the displacements that are inevitably to follow. That is to say, I don’t know why Ann would centre out these two departments - the potential for displacements or bumps exist throughout the institution.

The Local Union will also be working with the members of the Bibliocentre to help in dealing with this closure in the weeks and months to come and will do everything in its power to minimize impact to the support staff.

There will be some stressful times ahead, as we move through the process of finding positions for our members and working as hard as possible to keep any full-time member from losing their job at Centennial.

I will keep you as informed as I can, being mindful of some of the confidentiality requirements that accompanies this process as it rolls out.

In solidarity,

Larry Goldin,
President
OPSEU Local 559

admin Bibliocentre

Three-week voting period for PART TIME FACULTY starts Jan. 19

Part-time faculty at Ontario’s community colleges are finally getting their say.

Late in the evening of Tuesday, Jan. 6, the Ontario Labour Relations Board ordered a union representation vote to let 9,000 part-timers and sessionals at 24 colleges decide if they want to become OPSEU members.

This vote does NOT apply to part-time college support staff. The union is continuing its card-signing drive for part-time support staff and hopes to apply for a certification vote for this group in the near future.

The Labour Board ordered the vote after OPSEU filed an application for certification on Dec. 2, 2008. To back its application, the union presented the Board with over 5,000 union cards signed by college faculty.

“At every college I’ve visited over the last two years, I have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of part-timers and the depth of their desire to take their future into their own hands,” said Roger Couvrette, president of the organization of part-timers and sessionals (OPSECAAT).

“I urge each and every part-timer and each and every sessional to get out and vote YES to joining OPSEU.”

Voting will take place over a three-week period from Jan. 19 to Feb. 5, 2009. Labour Relations Officer from the Board will supervise the ballot boxes. Voting will take place at 58 locations on college campuses.

“In many cases the ballot boxes will only be in a certain location for a few hours,” said Couvrette, “so if you have been or currently are a part-time or sessional faculty member it is very important to figure out where and when you are going to vote.

“I encourage you to go directly to our web site at www.collegeworkers.org and look at the list of vote times and locations. Then mark your date, time, and place on your personal calendar.

“So many people have worked so hard for this opportunity. We cannot afford to waste it.”

Since the McGuinty government’s changes to the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act last October, all part-time and sessional faculty are grouped into a single province-wide bargaining unit. This means that voters may vote at any location in the province.

“You do not have to vote at the college where you work,” Couvrette said. “If you work at Seneca but live near Humber, you can vote at Humber, and so on.

“The main thing is to be sure to vote.”

OPSEU organizers will be working hard to communicate with voters over the next four weeks, said OPSEU President Thomas.

“Voter contact is key for all of us who want to see this organizing drive succeed,” he said. “Part-time and sessional faculty often spend very little time on campus, so I am calling on all OPSEU members who work in the college system to go the extra mile to reach out to them. This means wearing our VOTE YES buttons and stickers, putting up our VOTE YES posters, and answering any questions part-timers and sessionals may have.”

The OPSEU campaign web site at www.collegeworkers.org has complete information about the vote and the union, as well as a listing of vote times and locations across the province. Vote materials have already been shipped to OPSEU regional offices and organizers around Ontario.

For full information about the OPSEU drive to win union rights for part-timers and sessionals at Ontario’s community colleges, visit www.collegeworkers.org or call 1-866-811-7274.

The Part-Time Times is authorized for distribution by Roger Couvrette, president of the Organization of Part-Time and Sessional Employees of the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (OPSECAAT), and Warren (Smokey) Thomas, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.

admin News

The support staff contract offer was ratified in a provincial vote. It was accepted by 67.1% of the members and rejected by 32.48%.

Centennial rejected the offer by 60.33%

Download the Memorandum of Settlement on our Resources page.

admin Negotiations