The EMP aims to address the expressed needs of mentees and support the desired growth of mentees, mentors and the organization as a whole. The EMP is seeking 10 Members who wish to be involved in this 2-year program as mentors.
The Provincial Executive is seeking to fill two vacancies on the First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) Advisory Work Group for the 2022 / 2023 Federation year.
The role of the FNMI Advisory Work Group is to advise the Provincial Executive on any matters related to issues affecting First Nations, Métis and Inuit and other matters that may be referred to it by the Provincial Executive. Members of the FNMI Advisory Work Group can serve concurrently on other OSSTF/FEESO Provincial Standing Committees, Councils and Work Groups.
Summer days are getting shorter, and the evenings are getting cooler. Before you know it, you are at the mall for “back to school shopping” for you and your family, and maybe even for the classroom.
As you prepare for the new school year, you may be thinking and finding ways to re-engage, refresh, and re-imagine what the new school year will bring, and how you can best enhance or support the learning experience for students in your community. Fall is also a good time to take stock of your own personal goals including those that support your health, wellness and financial security.
As members of the Ontario education community, you also have access to exclusive contests, promotions and special offers, including Edvantage–your exclusive savings program.
Read on to learn more about what OTIP has to offer you at: www.otip.com/article149.
It is hard to believe that Labour Day is only one month away and we can’t wait to celebrate the day with you and your family!
The United Way Labour Day Picnic is a great way to end your summer. Your local labour community has provided food and entertainment to make your day special! All we ask for in return is a pay-what-you-can donation to the United Way Waterloo Region Communities. New this year, we will have “tap” payment available, so you don’t need to bring any cash!
Better yet reach out to the United Way to find out how you can volunteer to help out for the day!
This year’s picnic is special to us as it has been renamed in honour of our Labour Council’s past Treasurer Ed Weidinger. Ed Weidinger was the WRLC Treasurer for over 25 years – the longest-serving Labour Council Treasurer when he died in April 2021. He was a life-long labour activist and dedicated to improving the lives of all Waterloo Region workers. Our community Labour Day Picnic and BBQ has been renamed in his honour.
We can’t wait to see you!
Monday, September 04, 2023 at
12:00 PM – 4:00 PM EST
Waterloo Park, Westmount Road Entrance
Update is an important source of pertinent information for OSSTF/FEESO members. Watch for emails informing members of new content on osstfupdate.ca throughout the school year.
Recently added to osstfupdate.ca (Please note: You can choose to be notified of future posts, if you comment on an article.)
Jonathan Migneault · CBC News · Posted: Aug 09, 2022 6:00 AM ET | Last Updated: August 9
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Laurentian University’s staff and faculty unions want to take some of the Sudbury, Ont., school’s directors and officers to court once it exits its insolvency proceedings.
The unions allege Laurentian mismanaged the Retiree Health Benefits Plan, which members have paid into since 1998.
When Laurentian filed for insolvency in February 2021, retirees were cut off from the annual payments they received through the plan.
Tom Fenske, president of the Laurentian University Staff Union, said his retired members received $700 to $1,500 per year from the plan, depending on whether they paid into a single or family option.
“I think the idea is that when someone retires, they should be left alone,” Fenske said.
“And what that means is, you know, they gave at the office, they worked their whole career, they worked hard. And many of them are on fixed incomes, so they can’t adjust.”
The staff and faculty unions have said Laurentian placed the millions of dollars members paid into the plan into a single account, mixed in with other funds meant to operate the university.
Fenske said the money should have been placed in a separate account instead.
When Laurentian filed for insolvency, retirees could no longer access the money from that benefit plan, which they had relied on in the past.
Linda St-Pierre, chief steward of the Laurentian University Faculty Association, said in an email to CBC News that the university’s administration was “aware as far back as 2014 they were not properly maintaining the funds.”
St-Pierre said the faculty association tried to resolve issues with the benefit plan, including moving the money to a third-party plan, but those plans fell through.
“There was a lot of liability that they were trying to shift to employee groups,” she said.
St-Pierre said both unions will work together on legal action against the university’s senior administrators, responsible for the plan.
Laurentian’s insolvency proceedings, under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), have protected it from lawsuits. Under the CCAA, the school has been allowed to operate while sorting out its financial issues.
But Fenske, of the staff union, said the university’s proposed plan of arrangement would let the unions take legal action.
The plan is the culmination of the 18-month CCAA proceedings, and represents the final terms between Laurentian and its many creditors.
Laurentian filed the plan with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice last month, and got court approval for its creditors to vote on the proposal.
That vote will be held on Sept. 14 and will require a two-thirds majority to pass.
Fenske said he will meet with his members on Aug. 16 to discuss the plan of arrangement and see if there’s an appetite for legal action.
“The idea that people would be held accountable for what they did here, especially with pensioners’ retiree health benefits, that should be a priority,” he said.
“We are fully focused on readying for students’ return in September and the important vote on September 14 on the Plan of Arrangement,” Laurentian said in an email to CBC News.
It has now been six years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its six-volume Final Report along with the 94 Calls to Action, meant to remedy the ongoing structural legacy of Canada’s Residential Schools and to advance reconciliation in Canada.
OSSTF/FEESO has been a proud participant at the Pride Toronto annual celebrations for several years and will be involved again in 2022, in its 42nd year. The festival is one of the largest Pride celebrations in the world, bringing together people from all over Ontario as well as other provinces and countries to celebrate the history, courage, diversity and future of Ontario’s 2SLGBTQI+ communities.
The Pride Toronto organizers are excited to be able to return to an in-person month of events and will ensure Pride Month and the Festival Weekend will be organized in alignment with the City of Toronto’s Public Health recommendations.
Events:
For exact times and locations of these and the other Pride events, please visit the Pride Toronto website.
On Sunday, June 26, OSSTF/FEESO will be marching in the Pride Toronto Parade. There will be music, T-shirts for marchers and swag to hand out along the parade route. We encourage Districts and their Members to attend this festival and end their visit by marching with OSSTF/FEESO in the parade.
Thousands of workers at York University could be on strike by Canada Day.
York University Staff Association, which represents administrative, technical and laboratory staff on campus, has been without a contract since July 31, 2021.
Despite meeting with York University 25 times to negotiate, the two sides remain at an impasse.
Back on April 29, York University requested the appointment of a provincial conciliation officer
They then asked for a no-board report “in an effort to bring collective bargaining to a successful conclusion” on June 8 after an agreement once again failed to be reached.
A neutral third-party mediator is now meeting with both sides in an effort to reach a successful conclusion.
As of July 1 at 12:01 a.m., either side could legally walk off the job.
June 3, 2022
Dear OSSTF/FEESO Members,
Yesterday, the Progressive Conservative Party led by Doug Ford won another four-year majority. Though the results did not bring Ontario an education-friendly government, we are filled with pride as throughout the election campaign we saw local leaders and organizers reach new levels of engagement and we are deeply thankful for all your hard work. Each vote, donation, and hour of volunteering made a difference for us as education workers, for the students we serve, and for your local community.
We reached more people and more candidates than ever before, and this matters for our long-term future. We endorsed over 90 candidates and early results show that 37 of them were elected yesterday. All of them are strong advocates and education-friendly leaders we can count on at Queen’s Park.
Many other aspects of this election fill us with hope, especially as we come together and prepare for the next round of bargaining. The majority of voters in Ontario, 53%, did not vote for the Conservatives and instead voted for the three opposition parties who all ran on making major investments in education, lowering class sizes, improving supports for students, and prioritizing people and communities over profits. The people of Ontario overwhelmingly support public education and do not want to see cuts made or an expansion of privatization of education. Yesterday’s election results confirm the level of public support for investing in our public education system.
Our fight is not over. Now, more than ever, we need to remain focused on our most important goals: protecting our rights as workers and strengthening the public education system in Ontario
.Let us celebrate how far we have come and know that together, we can make a difference.
In solidarity,
Wilfrid Laurier University Staff Association Phone: (519) 884-0710 x2952 Office hours: © Wilfrid Laurier University Staff Association | Privacy Policy | Website by Sryde Digital Marketing
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