Message from the Chair
Mobilizers are key to our bargaining success!
Your bargaining team met April 22-23 to start preparing our exchange documents and strategies for this round of bargaining. Our mobilizers joined us April 24-25 where they were trained by OPSEU staff. We took this opportunity to attend a Blue Jays game as a team building exercise. In addition, we met with our faculty colleagues to discuss common concerns and joint events.
The main focus of the mobilizer training was the use of social media and to become familiar with communication and campaign resources within OPSEU; defining the role of mobilizers as an extension of the bargaining team, and how they can assist the local leadership in developing their own capacity and strengths.
Mobilizers will start their work in early June. They will work with local presidents and their executives to develop a geographic layout of all of the colleges and their various campuses. The mobilizers will work with the local leadership to assist in motivating and encouraging potential leaders at each local.
Together they will talk to members of the bargaining unit about bargaining and our collective agreement and promote a culture where all members of the bargaining unit are encouraged to take some responsibilities while building solidarity and support for one another. Working with OPSEU staff, the mobilizers will provide all locals with the necessary and required resources.
In short, CAAT Support mobilizers will be our eyes and ears on the ground while providing assistance in maintaining a seamless two-way flow of information between members and the bargaining team. I strongly encourage everyone to make their tasks as easy and productive as possible!
In Solidarity
Florry Foster
Chair, Bargaining Team
Mark these dates!
May 22 is ‘Wear Blue Day’
On May 22 we want all locals to organize an event that will bring together your college’s support staff and faculty members in a show of solidarity as both groups head into contract negotiations.
A joint letter from CAAT A and CAAT S will be sent shortly to all local presidents to inform them and their members of the importance of building solidarity and demonstrating our strength in numbers.
Locals are free to develop their own event, but ideas could include a barbeque, ice cream treat, a Pub Night or any other similar social gathering. Please remember to take pictures, especially those which feature faculty and support staff together and try to provide the names of those captured in your photograph. We would also welcome short videos!
Remember to send your photos and videos to: [email protected].
Sun Shade Day
June 2 is Sun Shade Day. On this day we are marking the start of negotiations and the formal notice of intent to
bargain.
Wind shield sun shades fit into the front car window to block the sun. Ours will feature a big blue OPSEU design logo as well as the CAAT Support and CAAT Academic logos. We want as many support staff and faculty as possible to open Sun Shades in their cars on June 2nd, and to use them throughout the summer in another demonstration of solidarity.
The cost of the sun shades is $2.49 each. The local can purchase them through the local dues rebates. An electronic order form has been sent to all local presidents. The order deadline is May 10. The local may also wish to purchase additional sunshades for students as a gesture of good will.
Posters with our campaign logos will be produced by OPSEU’s graphic and design unit, with space provided for locals to write-in the time and location of events. Please make use of these eye-catching posters by posting them to your notice boards and for advertising purposes. The posters will be shipped to you shortly.
We’re up-and-running on Facebook and Twitter !
Our facebook page, CAAT Support Staff/ Personnel de soutien and twitter @CAATsupport, have now gone live.
Mobilizers will be working with local presidents to help members get signed up on Facebook and Twitter.
CAATsupportstaff
@CAATsupport
We haven’t forgotten traditional media, either!
While Facebook and Twitter have gained in popularity, many members still prefer to hear from their bargaining teams the traditional way: through emails and via OPSEU’s website.
If they haven’t done so already we strongly encourage all college support members to contact OPSEU Resources to ensure that their contact information is up-to-date. It’s easy! Simply call 1-800-268-7376 and speak with an OPSEU representative. Give them your secure (non-college) email address and be sure to check that your telephone number(s) and address are up-to-date.
Only by staying connected can you be guaranteed to stay on top of developments as we go through the bargaining process.
CAAT Support video project
A videographer and a communication officer from OPSEU have been visiting a select number of colleges around the province to capture the day-to-day work performed by a variety of our members. To date they have visited Cambrian, Boréal, Georgian, Humber, St. Lawrence and Fleming, with more to come.
There are more than 150 different occupations in the support system and it’s about time more members, students, faculty and the public learned about the interesting work we do to keep the college system humming smoothly.
The first series of 60-second videos have been posted to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Be sure to check them out!
Get ready for the CAAT Support photo contest coming soon!
We will be rolling out a photo contest which will start on June 2 – the first day we sit down with college negotiators – until we reach a deal. Details are being finalized and once they are complete the information will be sent out to the locals with the rules and prizes. Our goal is to keep the Facebook page updated and provide pictures and videos to keep it active.
A ‘To Do’ list for local presidents
- Send your mobilizer a list of all your different campus locations and the approximate number of employees at each, along with other relevant location information such as special shifts. Also, please identify to your mobilizer the location where events will be held and whether or not your local uses teleconferencing.
- Get union cards signed by unsigned members.
- Work with your regional office to cleanup your membership lists. OPSEU has 4,000 secure (non college) emails on file, for more than 8,000 members. More than 800 of those emails end up bouncing back. The result means there is no guarantee that the good emails still apply to current support staff members.
Be a local media watch dog!
A media release will be distributed by OPSEU on June 2 to announce the start of bargaining. This release will be sent to all daily newspapers, radio stations and television stations in your regions. A copy of the release will also be provided to all local presidents, so they can recirculate it local media outlets in their communities. OPSEU’s communication unit is currently updating its database of local media contacts and copies will be sent to each local president by the end of May.
If you see anything reported in your local news media about our upcoming Support-Faculty events, please share this coverage with your mobilizers or forward to: [email protected].
Distribute ‘Bargaining Bulletins’ wide and far!
With each edition of Bargaining Bulletin, OPSEU will distribute 50 coloured-printed hard copies to each local to be put up on Notice Boards and other locations where members gather. The Bulletin will announce our Facebook page and Twitter accounts, and will ask members to “Like” and “Follow” us. Please also invite all your members to Like and Follow our social media sites.
Changes to the mobilizer line up
To better improve our capacity to communicate with members at French-language colleges we have made some changes to the assignments of mobilizers. Andre Savoie will be doing LaCite and Boreal. There may be other small realignments to ensure Andre that is not overwhelmed once the campus locations are defined. Final mobilizer assignments will be provided as soon as possible.
Your 2014 bargaining bulletin is authorized for distribution by:
Warren (Smokey) Thomas
President, OPSEU
Florry Foster
Chair, CAAT-Support Bargaining Team