OLBA

1. OLBA What the Board Should Know about Working with a Unionized Workforce!

2. Today’s Objectives • Better define the role of a board related to human resources and industrial relations • Better understand your right and responsibility to oversee the workforce • Better understand the bargaining process and substantive parts of the collective agreement • Better understand the role of the union • Better understand the strategic relevance of aligning your collective bargaining with your strategic plan

3. Fusion of Different Strategic Concepts • Governance • Strategic Planning • Strategic Collective Bargaining • Effective Operational Management

4. Lofty Thoughts

5. Pebble in the Pond

7. Policies Philosophy/Principles

8. Procedures Philosophy/Principles Policies

9. Practices Philosophy/Principles Policies Procedures

10. BOARD (Role and Responsibility) • It is the Employer • It serves the Patron as the end user

11. Duty of Diligence • act reasonably, prudently, and in good faith. • educate themselves about the organization. • make reasonable inquiries into the day-to-day management of the organization, consider explanations and to make informed decisions. • diligent directors also seek the advice of qualified professional, when necessary

12. Duty of Loyalty • always place the interest of the organization first. • acting honestly, in good faith, and in the best interests of the organization. • must fully and promptly disclose any potential conflicts of interest and take action to avoid perceived or real conflicts of interest.

13. Duty of Obedience • act within the scope of the governing documents of the organization and to ensure that committees and staff do so as well. • governing documents include the organization's constitution, bylaws, policies, rules and regulations. • ensuring that governing documents are kept up-to-date. • to obey all laws and statutes that apply to the organization. From the Human Resources Council for the Voluntary/Non-Profit Sector

14. ONTARIO LABOUR RELATIONS ACT

15. PURPOSE OF LABOUR RELATIONS ACT • To facilitate collective bargaining • To recognize the importance of workplace parties adapting to change • To promote flexibility, productivity and employee involvement • To encourage communication between employers and employees • To recognize the importance of economic growth • To encourage cooperative participation of employers and trade unions • To promote expeditious resolution of workplace disputes

16. Union (Role and Responsibility) • “Every person is free to join a trade union of the person’s own choice and to participate in its lawful activities. ”

17. “Following certification or the voluntary recognition by the employer of the trade union as bargaining agent for the employees in the bargaining unit, the trade union shall give the employer written notice of its desire to bargain with a view to making a collective agreement”

18. “Every collective agreement shall be deemed to provide that the trade union that is a party thereto is recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent of the employees in the bargaining unit defined therein”

19. “A trade union or council of trade unions, so long as it continues to be entitled to represent employees in a bargaining unit, shall not act in a manner that is arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith in the representation of any of the employees in the unit, whether or not members of the trade union or of any constituent union of the council of trade unions, as the case may be”

20. INFORMATIONABOUT TRADE UNIONS

21. Current Unionization TrendsIn Canada • Public sector unionization in Canada has increased to about 75.5% • Private sector unionization in Canada has declined to about 19% from a peak of 26% in the late 1970’s • Public sector unionization in the United States is about 36.4% • Private sector unionization in the United States is about 7.9%

22. MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE FOR TRANSFORMATION IN CANADA • MIX OF MEN AND WOMEN • IN 1977, WOMEN REPRESENTED 12% OF TOTAL MEMBERSHIP • IN 2003, IT EXPLODED TO 48% • CAUSED BY: • GROWING PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN WORKFORCE • THEIR PRESENCE IN HEAVILY UNIONIZED PUBLIC SECTOR • THEIR MOVEMENT INTO TRADITIONAL MALE WORK • RISING UNIONIZATION OF PART TIME/TEMPORARY WORK • UNIONIZATION IN SERVICE SECTOR, MOSTLY FEMALE

23. Top 10 Unions in Canada

25. CUPE

26. Together they have won the right to negotiate their wages and working conditions; to stop arbitrary action by employers; and to speak out without fear of reprisal.

27. CUPE’S STRATEGIC GOALS • strengthen our bargaining power to win better collective agreements; • increase our day-to-day effectiveness to better represent members in the workplace; • intensify our campaign to stop contracting out and privatization of public services.

28. THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS • Negotiation • Conciliation • Mediation • Arbitration

29. THE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT

30. THE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT Articles of particular importance include: • Recognition • Management Rights • Hours of Work • Seniority • Scheduling • Discipline • Job Posting; promotions • Performance reviews • Technological Change

31. ABSENTEEISM-Board Obligations • Hold management to account

32. ATTENDANCE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMMES

33. ATTENDANCE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS 1. Grounded in quantitative data. 2. Policy is clearly described to all employees. 3. Focuses on trying to help employees to improve reliability. 4. Places emphasis on employees exceeding norms. 5. It is non-disciplinary. 6. The focus is on medical rehabilitation. 7. There is a requirement for a prognosis. 8. Discussion may involve the Duty to Accommodate. 9. Employees may successfully migrate out of the program. 10. The organization is strongly committed to the program.

34. ABSENTEEISMCulpable vs. Non-culpable Behaviour CulpableInnocent A.W.O.L Sick Discipline No discipline # of incidents # of days Termination for Cause Non-blameworthy termination

35. DUTY TO ACCOMMODATE-Board Obligations • Hold management to account to manage this

36. ONTARIO HUMAN RIGHTS CODE • “Disability” means: a)any degree of physical disability, infirmity….or physical reliance on a guide dog or other animal or on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device b)a condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability c)a learning disability… d)a mental disorder e)an injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997

37. It is the responsibility of persons with disabilities to: • inform their employers of their needs; • cooperate in obtaining necessary information, including medical or other expert opinions; • participate in discussions about solutions, and • work with the employer and union on an ongoing basis to manage the accommodation process. Quoted from the Human Rights Website

38. Unions and professional associations must: • take an active role as partners in the accommodation process; • share joint responsibility with the employer to promote accommodation, and • support accommodation measures regardless of the collective agreement.

39. Employers are required to: • accept requests for accommodation in good faith; • request only information that is required to make the accommodation; • obtain expert advice or opinion where necessary; • take an active role in ensuring that possible solutions are examined; • maintain the confidentiality of persons with disabilities; • deal with accommodation requests in a timely way, and • bear the cost of any required medical information or documentation. Everyone involved must treat human rights issues arising in the workplace seriously and respectfully.

40. Can the work be modified short of “undue hardship?” • Work re-design, reconfiguration of tasks • alternative schedules and hours • re-assignments and other available jobs • use of equipment, assistive devices • temporary rehabilitative programs

41. What is “undue hardship?” • Cost • size of operations • level of cost • budget situation • outside sources of funding • Health & Safety requirements • Contractual obligations

42. How does this All Link Together

43. The Board’s Plan • The Board prepares its three year plan • As an example, it sees opportunities to align with schools (improve accessibility) or introduce RFID (cost saving and/or better inventory control and/or redeployment of people)

44. The Union’s Plan • Better enshrine job security in the collective agreement by limiting technological change, disallowing erosion of the bargaining unit through subcontracting and introducing stiffer termination provisions

45. What will happen? • Let’s discuss

46. Final Comment • Don’t allow the process to become politicized from the perspective of industrial relations at the Board level-you are the Employer!