Toronto Substitute Teachers Action Caucus
Home | our story | upcoming events | newsletters | questions for the OTBU Executive | Collective Bargaining Priorities |
Toronto Substitute Teachers’ Newsletter September 2005
Next meeting of the Toronto Substitute Teachers’ Action Caucus:
Thursday, September 29, 4:30 p.m. at OISE, 252 Bloor Street West, second floor, room 2-198, just above the St. George subway station.
Gather with colleagues and friends to welcome a new school year, get the latest information on prospects for work at the TDSB, the state of contract negotiations, our ongoing effort to restore democracy in OSSTF, and much more. Refreshments will be served. Please let us know that you are planning to attend by leaving a message at the Help Line: 416 - 588-9090, or by responding to this e-message.
OTBU Newsletter keeps members in the dark
It would be funny, if it wasn’t so pathetic.The July edition of the OTBU newsletter, produced by Jennifer Mills and her retiree-dominated executive, declares that 2004-2005 was “a year of tremendous gains for the OTBU”.
Their main accomplishment? Apparently, it was getting furniture for their office in the Don Mills apartment building, next door to Liz Barkley’s luxury condo high rise – an office that members cannot visit without an appointment. The executive boasts “Now we have got the OTBU framework in place (i.e. don’t need to acquire office resources! Phew!)”.
Amazing.
But what has the non-elected, self-appointed bargaining team done about negotiating a new collective agreement (since February 2005, when 34% of voting OTBU members registered non-confidence in the negotiators and their regressive policies in the strike mandate vote)?
The answer is curtly provided on page one of the newsletter: “it looks like we will be back at the bargaining table in September”. So, the urgency of the strike vote in February, and the much touted necessity to coordinate with the full time contract teacher negotiations (which concluded with a ratified settlement in July), seem to have dissolved into thin air.
What crumbs will be left for substitute teachers? Will there be a further erosion of job opportunities for non-pension substitutes, or a further reduction in benefits? Members’ vigilance is crucial. The Action Caucus will be ready to support a good deal, and will be equally ready to expose and urge members to vote NO in the event of a bad tentative agreement. Join us to have a voice in the process that will affect your current livelihood and your professional future.
Action Caucus at OSSTF Conference, and in the Media
Several Action Caucus members distributed information to nearly 300 OSSTF members who attended the Federation’s annual summer leadership conference held at the Hilton Suites Hotel, at Warden Avenue and Highway #7, on the morning of August 18. Most conference participants accepted our literature with thanks.During the distribution, a TV journalist and a camera person from OMNI, Toronto’s multi-lingual station (Rogers cable 4), interviewed Action Caucus member Barry Weisleder. The five minute interview covered substitute teachers’ concerns, including efforts to restore local union democracy and to resist provincial OSSTF plans to dissolve occasional teacher units, and was to be aired later that day.
Retirees have one more year at full volume
As the July OTBU newsletter reminded us, “The 5 Year ‘Window’ Ends August 31, 2006". After that, retired teachers receiving pension will be limited again to 20 teaching days per school year, except that any new retiree will have 3 school years in which to teach up to 95 days per year.While the availability of retirees to take substitute teaching assignments will decline starting in September 2006, it remains crucial that the ‘cap’ or numerical limit on the TDSB dispatch list be restored.
The Action Caucus proposes a low ceiling of 1200 names – in June there were over 1700 names on the OT secondary panel list.
Unfortunately, re-establishing a low ‘cap’ on the dispatch list is not a goal of the self-appointed OTBU bargaining team. But rank and file members must insist: No job security, no contract!
Contact Us: Hotline: 416 - 588 - 9090 | email: Substitute Teachers' Action Caucus