TO:             CAAT Academic Local Presidents

FROM:       Ted Montgomery, Negotiating Team Chair

DATE:        March 19, 2006

By now you’ll have news of Thursday’s rally in Toronto and the return to the table, Monday March 20. [The faculty team was ready to return at any time.] You can expect a news blackout to be imposed and once again should read nothing into that. It is standard practice and means neither that progress is being made nor that there is no progress.

The return to the table is a direct consequence of the success and strength of the 5000-strong faculty rally and all our efforts so far at the colleges.  The students’ rally and emails, and, we hope, the meeting with the Minister also played a part. Though it was quite positive and helpful, there was nothing concrete from our meeting with the Minister.  At this time we have not seen any change in management’s offer.  We do hope to see those Monday.

Unquestionably,  a return to the table is a positive sign and we are certainly hopeful.  However, we have been hopeful in the past – following the 96% rejection and 81% strike vote.  Those votes did not produce an offer from management that came to terms with the workload and quality issues.  We all hope that these meetings will be different.

Saturday’s Toronto Star wrote:

Joy Warkentin, chair of the colleges' bargaining committee, maintained that "we have a good offer on the table," which includes a 12.6 per cent wage increase over four years and a commitment to no increased workload.

If management come to the table with that same message then we will know that they are simply trying to buy more time.  However, if management is finally at the table to settle we should know soon and will work until a settlement is reached.

Key to achieving that settlement will be to continue the pressures that have brought management back to the table… unequivocal demonstrations of faculty’s resolve to have the quality issues addressed.  This is the time to redouble our efforts if the hopes for settlement are to become reality.  If management still is unwilling to table an offer that addresses the quality issues, we must press Mr. McGuinty to act to get that settlement.

Rick Miner Chair of the Committee of Presidents is quoted in The National Post, March 15^th, regarding the Semester Completion Strategy:  “Obviously we hope the strike doesn’t go on, but what we’re really trying to do here is but time.”

The union’s tabled positions are on the OPSEU website.

We have heard that some colleges, certainly not all nor the majority,  are planning to hire replacement workers to do our jobs.  If those plans are put into place, OPSEU will join with other education sector and labour partners to see that struck work does not get done by replacement workers.

Ted Montgomery, for the bargaining team