TCD$B Deficit: The Local Union Leaders Letter!

My Blogsite Acronym Guide is @ Here! 

TCDSB Song + Dance Over Missing Budget Deficit Details Continues!

I'm glad to independently share this joint letter with my readers for your erudition. The TCDSB is notorious for its lack of openness, transparency and accountability despite it's funding on the public dime. "Consultation" is not really a word in their vocabulary, as the letter below amply points out. In addition, the TCDSB's attitude towards its teachers and staff are anything but Catholic, as seen by it's blatant disregard for it's community of concerned workers. The public should be aware of the real situation faced below by our TCDSB colleagues in the union movement, in light of the TCDSB's "budget deficit" which you will be reading a lot about in the mainstream news during the week[s] ahead. Here's the letter:

March 23, 2015

Dear Colleague,

Amidst these very difficult and trying financial times in our Board, we hope that you were able to find time to rest and replenish over the March break.

This letter is signed by the leaders of the 7 union locals of the TCDSB representing over 10,000 unionized education workers and is being sent to all the members of each respective local.

By now you are aware of the fact that the TCDSB is in a deficit budget position and has been debating how to deal with the challenges this presents.

Your executive and executive members of each of the respective union locals, have attended regular Board meetings, several Board Committee meetings and several “consultation” meetings with senior staff and trustees.  Throughout, we have tried to seek answers and resolutions to deal with both the Board’s in-year structural deficit and the Board’s accumulated debt on a go-forward basis.  Regretfully these sessions have not been as productive as we would have wished.  While having been given some information, we have not been provided with the necessary and requested information in a timely manner that would allow us to fully and effectively engage in informed consultation.

At the March 12 Corporate Affairs meeting, the report to be discussed, suggesting prioritization for cuts, was only posted on-line 2 hours before the start of the meeting - hardly enough time for any of the stakeholders to prepare an adequate response or to present feedback at that committee meeting.

Later in the meeting on March 12, the Board of Trustees voted to limit the opportunity for educational workers unions and parent groups from addressing the Board and Committees.  We object strongly to this silencing!

All the unionized worker groups have been working together with Board staff and the trustees in good faith to find the least destructive course of action and to remove timeline barriers to allow for a more fulsome discussion on how best to deal with the Board’s financial shortfall.  As major stakeholders, our hope throughout has been to provide input and solutions that would have the least impact on student learning and student outcomes.  Regrettably, the majority of the voting members of the Board of Trustees has decided they no longer need to hear from those who are closest to the needs and most affected by any budget cuts.

Senior management intends to visit all worksites to message to the members directly.  We have asked to have a schedule of the senior management visits to worksites in order that we may attend and observe.  The Board has denied our request.

Therefore, since we cannot speak to our members with senior staff present, and since we cannot speak directly to the Trustees any further, we need to express our concerns directly.  The next decision-making meeting by the Board is Thursday March 26 at the CEC, 80 Sheppard Ave. East.  We encourage all members to attend to express your concern visibly if we cannot express it verbally.  Please be there by 6:30 p.m. to meet with your union representatives.

At the same time, we would take this opportunity to remind everyone to contact their MPP to express your concern over potential education cuts.  Let your MPP know that as a constituent in their riding, you are upset.  Find a map for your riding here:

http://globalnews.ca/news/1356333/ontario-election-2014-ridings-and-interactive-map/

As well, you may wish to contact the Toronto trustee for the ward in which you live to express your concerns as a Catholic ratepayer in the city.  Trustees can be found at: https://www.tcdsb.org/Board/aboutus/Pages/default.aspx

In solidarity;

Mario Bernardo

President, OECTA-TECT

Maria Teresa Luiz 

Treasurer, CUPE 3155

Julian Farinha

President, CUPE 1280

Julie Mazzuca-Peter

President, APSSP

Lina Naccarato

President, CUPE 1328

Felix Salazar

President, OECTA-TOTL

Dave Szollosy

President, OECTA-TSU

FURTHER READING

The TCDSB's Heavy Handed Consultation Process Leaves Much To Be Desired!

My monthly Teacher Free Speech News and Views blogs document and provide news links for the TCDSB budget deficit story, the mystery of the GSN's and OECTA TSU/ TECT'S attempts to get their concerns properly addressed, under TEACHER + UNION @ [Jan] [Feb] [March] 

Here's a handy guide to Bill 122, the new 2014 Collective Bargaining Act. It looks at it's possible impact on the Catholic boards @ CBA

Is it a co-incidence that the TCDSB's "mystery deficit" is announced without accounting details just as the board is entering contract negotiations with the teachers and staff? See the Catholic trustees' "MOU Part 2" initial contract offer to the OECTA teachers @ [OCSTA]

In God we trust? TCDSB previous hanky panky with the terms of the OECTA MOU Sick Day Plan resulted in teachers being left stuck on unpaid medical leaves @ Sick Daze

OECTA's MOU clauses concerning the  Catholic trustees' "Unfair Hire" practices [read nepotism] and complete disregard for "Teacher Professionalism" judgement resulted from OCSTA's past practice and heavy handed bargaining tactics and demands @ 2012 MOU!

COMMENTS:

Our Joint Safe Schools + PD Committees Work For You!

As your TSU 3rd VP, I have had the honour of serving for two years on two of our very important new Joint TSU-TCDSB committees. They were established under our last contract agreement. In fact, the Ministry of Education now requires the board to actively consult and work with us in developing and implementing the Safe Schools, and the new Workplace and Safety legislation. Your teacher interests and concerns are being directly addressed at the board level by teachers. It's been a steep learning curve for the board to accept and learn, but progress is being made. I hope to be re-elected so I can continue to use my classroom and executive experience to work for you on the following:

Joint PD: I've worked with our TSU committee to help each member get up to two self directed PD days per year to use for your own PD, as you see fit. The current deal will commence this spring and runs until the end of the next school year. One third of the Ministry of Education's PD funding is supposed to go to you to decide how it can best be used to meet your PD needs, not the Ministry, the board or your local administrator!

Joint PD 2: I want TSU to be actively included and consulted in any board in services given to our teachers explaining the Safes Schools and new Workplace Health and Safety legislation. Do you just want to be hearing from the TCDSB about how they think you should responding to, and rectifying any unsafe situation, including their responsibilities for acts involving bullying and harassment of not just our students, but of you our teachers as well? I am working for full TSU consultation and involvement in the PD process and believe we must not settle for anything less!

Joint Safe Schools 1: I'm working with our TSU committee to develop a TSU and TCDSB approved Discipline Incident Form. It will emphasize both the teacher and the administrations' duties and responsibilities on reporting, investigating, and taking appropriate action. You can fill it out on paper, or online, and it does not bar verbal reporting. I strongly believe the board should be signing off on that soon. I want to be re-elected to make sure that they do, and that they then honour it's protocols and procedures!

Joint Safe Schools 2: I am are also insisting that the board make the Ministry of Ed's mandatory Safe School Reporting forms immediately accessible to our teachers. These are required for very serious incidents possibly requiring suspension, and expulsions. It requires administration to report back to you on whether action has been taken or not, and is to be kept on permanent file. I want the board to show us how to readily access these forms, and confirm what their responsibilities are once we fill one out!

Joint Safe Schools 3: I are working on a joint Delegate of Authority form to be used when a teacher fills in for administration when they are all out of the school. Did you know that your school administration is allowed to do that now by the Ministry? I would like the board to declare what liability coverage and instructions they will provide our members, when they are acting in an administrative role. What if you run into dire difficulties under the Safe Schools Act and/or end up unfairly at an Ontario College of Teachers disciplinary hearing? Our members need to know that if something goes wrong, you may very well not be covered by OECTA. You will be working as a TCDSB administrator. It's a fine legal point most of us may not be aware of. I want to make sure that our board tells you just what specifically they will do to legally support and help you out!

These goals are very much a shared team effort for all your Joint TSU committee members. We form an excellent top notch working team free of rancor, unit infighting, or any self serving political ambitions. Rene Jansen, Teresa Placha, Louie Trinchi, Maureen Riggin, Mark Stelmacovich, and myself have been here to serve you. We have a great, solid working relationship with Provincial OECTA for when any legal and other fine points arise. We have a good developing relationship with the board superintendents and their other representatives on these joint committees, which we are keen to continue fostering in a positive, constructive manner, for the well being of our students, our teachers and our schools. I hope you will re-elect me, David Chiarelli, as your 3rd VP, so that I can continue to serve you on our Joint TSU teams in seeing through all the great work that's being done!

Yours,

David Chiarelli