Volume 1, Edition 1 – United We Bargain, Divided We Beg!
What is collective bargaining?
Collective bargaining is a process in which a trade union and an employer negotiate a collective agreement.
Collective bargaining begins when the notice to bargain is served and the parties agree on dates to sit down and bargain.
OPSEU Local 500 served notice to bargain to CAMH, in January 2016. OPSEU Local 500 has provided a number dates to bargain, face to face with the employer.
To prepare, the Bargaining team met on July 18th, 19th, 20th, August 17th, and 18th to review YOUR demands as voted on by the membership at Local 500’s Demand Set Meeting on June 16th, 2016. The Bargaining team is diligently preparing our proposal to present to the employer.
What happens if, during negotiations, the employer and the union cannot agree on the terms of a collective agreement?
Either the employer or the union may ask the Ontario Minister of Labour to appoint a conciliation officer. This officer will then try to help them reach an agreement.
What if the employer and the union cannot reach agreement in conciliation?
The conciliation officer informs the Ontario Minister of Labour that a collective agreement was unable to be effected. The minister would then generally issue a notice informing the union and the employer that he or she “does not consider it advisable to appoint a conciliation board”. This notice is known colloquially as the “no board”. [Conciliation boards are exceedingly rare. They have not been appointed in recent years.]
Bargaining Unit work is Union work. It is yours; own it, mobilize around it. Keep it public!
