Employment Services Seminar 2008 – Theory to Practice

Three years ago, the Member Security Committee presented their action plan to the executive council of the day. Part of that plan was a long term vision for our negotiators that would see them prepared for whatever eventuality was to come when current terms and conditions expired in August 2008. To that end, they embarked on a path that focused on relationship building grounded in specific relevant aspects of employment and education law. A myriad of experts spoke to our negotiators during that time period including regular contributors, James Cameron and Eric Roher. This year, the seminar focused on using the information garnered over the last three years and marrying that theory with the specific skills needed to be effective negotiators. Over 100 CPCO members attended.

Following opening remarks by me and the chair of the Member Security Committee, Glenn Miller, the 2008 seminar began with a review of the regional teleconferences conducted to identify current local trends and practices. Negotiators then heard a comprehensive review of the BC Health Services decision and how that ruling may impact on local negotiations and related relationships with senior administration. A summary of actions to date was included. This session concluded with Faye Drennan, Senior Staff Consultant with the Ontario Principals’ Council, who outlined some specifics of negotiation practice with the Supreme Court decision in the background. Faye left delegates with a sample template of suggested clauses to be removed from current principal terms and conditions and essentials that should be included.

Employment lawyer, James Cameron, joined us once again and spent time reviewing wording options for a number of key clauses as identified in past member surveys  including seniority, redundancy, and recall. Paul McGuire followed with a demonstration of how Contract Manager could be used to support our local negotiators in accessing contract language and salary data from other local associations. That tool, in concert with our print resource binder, “Positive Outcomes”, gave each negotiating team a great start in preparing to meet with board representatives. I will be following up in weeks to come with a summary checklist of what local teams might wish to do in the months before negotiations formally begin.

Our first day ended with a panel presentation and discussion that included three current/recently retired directors from both large and small boards who spoke on relationship building and negotiations with principals and vice-principals. We are grateful to Theresa Harris, Kevin Kobus, and Patrick Cureton for sharing their insights and expertise.

Finally, the entire second day was devoted to training in interest based bargaining by representatives from the Stitt, Feld Handy Group. As you can imagine, the feedback from our members in attendance was extremely positive. Thanks must go out once again to our Member Security Committee for taking the time to organize and deliver such a worthwhile seminar. This committee started their work in the summer and will continue to work on follow-up recommendations throughout the remainder of this year. It was a pleasure to work with such a selfless group.

Upcoming Calendar

If you would like to comment or provide feedback on the President’s Journal, please contact Dan Tighe at president@cpco.on.ca.