Part-time faculty and staff votes remain uncounted one year later
"Democracy denied" is the
protest of the Ontario Public
Service Employees Union. OPSEU
has been waiting since early last
year to have their votes counted
from two elections regarding the
formation of a union for part-time
college faculty and support staff.
Prior to the votes OPSEU had to submit an application for certification, which required 35 per cent of eligible individuals to sign a membership card. These individuals had to be actively working parttime faculty and support staff at that time.
The employers have contested that 35 per cent and the Ontario Labour Relations Board agreed with them. Now, the process has begun where the OLRB is sorting through all of the membership cards to confirm whether the names on the card are still valid. Over 24 colleges have been waiting for this process to be completed so the actual votes can be counted.
"Typically when you have this (situation), it's done fairly quickly," said Darryl Bedford, Local 110 OPSEU faculty president, referring to the vote. "With the Labour Board going through the cards … it's a time-consuming process, card-by-card, to figure out if the person works here, when they worked here and does it count?"
"Many of the people who casted votes in January (2009) don't even work here anymore."
However, Don Sinclair, executive director of Colleges Ontario, said that any current or former college part-time employee who signed the cards at the time of the votes, including students who were part-time employees, are still considered members.
"The application (for membership) is frozen in time," he explained.
While the Ontario Labour Relations Board works through the clarifications over who was employed at the time of the votes, it is costing colleges and the government $5,000 a day, said Bedford. "It's really the taxpayers paying this. If the government wanted it to stop, they could put a stop to it."
But Sinclair said the cost is to be expected and is not outrageous.
"The cost of dealing with this has not been prohibitive," he said. "There is always a cost in dealing with this when you're dealing with lawyers."
As time stretches on, OPSEU is concerned over whether their votes will ever be counted.
"The longer it goes ... almost wonder if the ballots ... they become less relevant over time," said Bedford.
OPSEU's focus is on the political process, in addition to participating with the legal process of going through the cards. The group wrote to the McGuinty government with their complaints on the matter in April 2010 and as of last month, were still requesting a meeting with Premier Dalton McGuinty. However, the decision is mainly at the hands of the OLRB, said Sinclair.
"At the end of the day, we're in the hands of the Labour Board," he said. "The Labour Board makes the decision if the parties can't make an agreement (over the 35 per cent)."
As for the length of time it will take to get through the membership cards before votes can be looked at, Sinclair estimated it could take about six months to a year.
Prior to the votes OPSEU had to submit an application for certification, which required 35 per cent of eligible individuals to sign a membership card. These individuals had to be actively working parttime faculty and support staff at that time.
The employers have contested that 35 per cent and the Ontario Labour Relations Board agreed with them. Now, the process has begun where the OLRB is sorting through all of the membership cards to confirm whether the names on the card are still valid. Over 24 colleges have been waiting for this process to be completed so the actual votes can be counted.
"Typically when you have this (situation), it's done fairly quickly," said Darryl Bedford, Local 110 OPSEU faculty president, referring to the vote. "With the Labour Board going through the cards … it's a time-consuming process, card-by-card, to figure out if the person works here, when they worked here and does it count?"
"Many of the people who casted votes in January (2009) don't even work here anymore."
However, Don Sinclair, executive director of Colleges Ontario, said that any current or former college part-time employee who signed the cards at the time of the votes, including students who were part-time employees, are still considered members.
"The application (for membership) is frozen in time," he explained.
While the Ontario Labour Relations Board works through the clarifications over who was employed at the time of the votes, it is costing colleges and the government $5,000 a day, said Bedford. "It's really the taxpayers paying this. If the government wanted it to stop, they could put a stop to it."
But Sinclair said the cost is to be expected and is not outrageous.
"The cost of dealing with this has not been prohibitive," he said. "There is always a cost in dealing with this when you're dealing with lawyers."
As time stretches on, OPSEU is concerned over whether their votes will ever be counted.
"The longer it goes ... almost wonder if the ballots ... they become less relevant over time," said Bedford.
OPSEU's focus is on the political process, in addition to participating with the legal process of going through the cards. The group wrote to the McGuinty government with their complaints on the matter in April 2010 and as of last month, were still requesting a meeting with Premier Dalton McGuinty. However, the decision is mainly at the hands of the OLRB, said Sinclair.
"At the end of the day, we're in the hands of the Labour Board," he said. "The Labour Board makes the decision if the parties can't make an agreement (over the 35 per cent)."
As for the length of time it will take to get through the membership cards before votes can be looked at, Sinclair estimated it could take about six months to a year.
