OPSEU's 13th Annual Joint Leadership Day was held on Tuesday September 16, 2014 at the Hilton Toronto/Markham Suites Conference and Spa. This event brings together the leadership of the organization (Executive Board Members, Sector and Divisional Chairs, CERC and MERC Chairs and senior staff) to discuss and examine strategies on how to best incorporate equity into everyday union work. This year's theme was "An Injury to One is An Injury to All" and participants were encouraged to work to achieve the following objectives:
- define social unionism and business unionism and list the advantages and disadvantages of both;
- identify some equity wins through the centuries with specific emphasis on OPSEU's equity wins;
- list some strategies that grassroots organizations used to combat the attacks on unions;
- identify some strategies to use when dealing with equity issues such as competing rights, religious accommodation, etc.; and
- understand the importance of global solidarity to union work today.
Karl Flecker, who currently leads a public and policy research and campaign oriented consulting service called Take the Initiative, served as the event's moderator. Over the course of the day, event participants were engrossed in table discussions and developed strategies on how best to push the equity agenda forward within OPSEU, the broader labour movement and communities throughout the province. In addition, the larger collective discussions prompted some interesting dialog whereby participants were able to reflect on and celebrate the work that has been done. Nonetheless, there was also the realization that in spite of the many achievements gained, even more work needs to be done to not only maintain equity wins but to continue to advance the rights of all.
The agenda also included a panel discussion entitled: "Combating Attacks on Unions and Social Activism" and featured presentations from the following guests:
- Deena Ladd from the Workers Action Centre (WAC);
- Suzanne Babin and Bert Deveaux with Operation Maple; and
- Chanteal-lee Winchester with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP).
The panelist presentations focused on the different campaigns and/or initiatives that their respective grassroots-based organizations have worked on. A common collective emerged: the attacks they encountered are no different from the ones facing unions and the labour movement. Privatization, the struggle to maintain good jobs and fair wages and lack of trust are some of the consequences that were identified.
During the lunch hour, many participants walked in solidarity with striking members of Local 492 at Extendicare Headquarters, ParaMed's parent company.
For the remainder of the afternoon, table groups worked on equity-themed scenarios prepared by the Chairs of OPSEU's eight equity committees and caucuses. This exercise provided event participants with a different perspective because it looked at issues specific to each group of focus and asked the following questions:
- Is there a human right or equity issue/challenge in this scenario? If so, what is it?
- What strategies would be used to address the issue when faced with it?
It was a way of starting a conversation around the different ways of thinking and recognition of the important role that equity plays in creating a viable organization within the labour movement.
To end the day, there was a presentation on OPSEU's work on Global Solidarity. It looked at the importance behind this type of work, why it exists and where it is headed in the future. It was an opportunity to showcase OPSEU and how it has been a long-standing supporting of human rights and equity issues beyond these provincial borders.
Conference materials:
leadership_day_2014_participant_materials.pdf
leadership_day_scenarios_2014.pdf
