OLBA

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OLBA

• What the Board Should Know about Working with a
  Unionized Workforce!

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Todays Objectives

• Better define the role of a board related to
  human resources and industrial relations
• Better understand your right and responsibility
  to oversee the workforce
• Better understand the bargaining process and
  substantive parts of the collective agreement
• Better understand the role of the union
• Better understand the strategic relevance of
  aligning your collective bargaining with your
  strategic plan

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Fusion of Different Strategic Concepts

• Governance
• Strategic Planning
• Strategic Collective Bargaining
• Effective Operational Management

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Lofty Thoughts
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Pebble in the Pond
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(No Transcript)
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Philosophy/Principles
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Philosophy/Principles
Policies
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Philosophy/Principles
Policies
Procedures
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BOARD (Role and Responsibility)

• It is the Employer
• It serves the Patron as the end user

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Duty of Diligence

• act reasonably, prudently, and in good faith.
• educate themselves about the organization.
• make reasonable inquiries into the day-to-day
  management of the organization, consider
  explanations and to make informed decisions.
• diligent directors also seek the advice of
  qualified professional, when necessary

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Duty of Loyalty

• always place the interest of the organization
  first.
• acting honestly, in good faith, and in the best
  interests of the organization.
• must fully and promptly disclose any potential
  conflicts of interest and take action to avoid
  perceived or real conflicts of interest.

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Duty of Obedience

• act within the scope of the governing documents
  of the organization and to ensure that committees
  and staff do so as well.
• governing documents include the organization's
  constitution, bylaws, policies, rules and
  regulations.
• ensuring that governing documents are kept
  up-to-date.
• to obey all laws and statutes that apply to the
  organization.
• From the Human
  Resources Council for the Voluntary/Non-Profit
  Sector

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ONTARIO LABOUR RELATIONS ACT 
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PURPOSE OF LABOUR RELATIONS ACT

• To facilitate collective bargaining
• To recognize the importance of workplace parties
  adapting to change
• To promote flexibility, productivity and employee
  involvement
• To encourage communication between employers and
  employees

• To recognize the importance of economic growth
• To encourage cooperative participation of
  employers and trade unions
• To promote expeditious resolution of workplace
  disputes

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Union (Role and Responsibility)

• Every person is free to join a trade union of
  the persons own choice and to participate in its
  lawful activities. 

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• Following certification or the voluntary
  recognition by the employer of the trade union as
  bargaining agent for the employees in the
  bargaining unit, the trade union shall give the
  employer written notice of its desire to bargain
  with a view to making a collective agreement

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• Every collective agreement shall be deemed to
  provide that the trade union that is a party
  thereto is recognized as the exclusive bargaining
  agent of the employees in the bargaining unit
  defined therein

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• A trade union or council of trade unions, so
  long as it continues to be entitled to represent
  employees in a bargaining unit, shall not act in
  a manner that is arbitrary, discriminatory or in
  bad faith in the representation of any of the
  employees in the unit, whether or not members of
  the trade union or of any constituent union of
  the council of trade unions, as the case may be

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INFORMATIONABOUT TRADE UNIONS
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Current Unionization TrendsIn Canada

• Public sector unionization in Canada has
  increased to about 75.5
• Private sector unionization in Canada has
  declined to about 19 from a peak of 26 in the
  late 1970s
• Public sector unionization in the United States
  is about 36.4
• Private sector unionization in the United States
  is about 7.9

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MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE FOR TRANSFORMATION IN
CANADA

• MIX OF MEN AND WOMEN
• IN 1977, WOMEN REPRESENTED 12 OF TOTAL
  MEMBERSHIP
• IN 2003, IT EXPLODED TO 48
• CAUSED BY
• GROWING PROPORTION OF WOMEN IN WORKFORCE
• THEIR PRESENCE IN HEAVILY UNIONIZED PUBLIC
  SECTOR
• THEIR MOVEMENT INTO TRADITIONAL MALE WORK
• RISING UNIONIZATION OF PART TIME/TEMPORARY WORK
• UNIONIZATION IN SERVICE SECTOR, MOSTLY FEMALE

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Top 10 Unions in Canada

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2003 2005
CUPE 522,000 535,00
NUPGE 325,000 337,000
USWA 180,000 280,000
CAW 268,000 265,000
UFCW 220,000 188,000
PSAC 150,000 153,000
CEP 150,000 150,000
TEAMSTERS 110,000 110,000
FEDERATION DE LA SANTE ET DES SERVICES SOCIAUX 101,000 101,000
LABOURERS INTERNATIONAL 80,000 85,000
SEIU 78,000 84,000
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CUPE
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• Together they have won the right to negotiate
  their wages and working conditions to stop
  arbitrary action by employers and to speak out
  without fear of reprisal.

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CUPES STRATEGIC GOALS

• strengthen our bargaining power to win better
  collective agreements
• increase our day-to-day effectiveness to better
  represent members in the workplace
• intensify our campaign to stop contracting out
  and privatization of public services.

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THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS

1. Negotiation
2. Conciliation
3. Mediation
4. Arbitration

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THE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
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THE COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT

• Articles of particular importance include
• Recognition
• Management Rights
• Hours of Work
• Seniority
• Scheduling
• Discipline
• Job Posting promotions
• Performance reviews
• Technological Change

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ABSENTEEISM-Board Obligations

• Hold management to account

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ATTENDANCE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMMES
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ATTENDANCE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS

• 1. Grounded in quantitative data.
• 2. Policy is clearly described to all employees.
• 3. Focuses on trying to help employees to improve
  reliability.
• 4. Places emphasis on employees exceeding norms.
• 5. It is non-disciplinary.
• 6. The focus is on medical rehabilitation.
• 7. There is a requirement for a prognosis.
• 8. Discussion may involve the Duty to
  Accommodate.
• 9. Employees may successfully migrate out of the
  program.
• 10. The organization is strongly committed to the
  program.

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ABSENTEEISMCulpable vs. Non-culpable Behaviour

• Culpable Innocent
• A.W.O.L Sick
• Discipline No discipline
• of incidents
• of days
• Termination for Cause Non-blameworthy
  termination

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DUTY TO ACCOMMODATE-Board Obligations

• Hold management to account to manage this

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ONTARIO HUMAN RIGHTS CODE

• Disability means
• a)any degree of physical disability,
  infirmity.or physical reliance on a guide dog or
  other animal or on a wheelchair or other remedial
  appliance or device
• b)a condition of mental impairment or a
  developmental disability
• c)a learning disability
• d)a mental disorder
• e)an injury or disability for which benefits were
  claimed or received under the insurance plan
  established under the Workplace Safety and
  Insurance Act, 1997

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It is the responsibility of persons with
disabilities to

• inform their employers of their needs
• cooperate in obtaining necessary information,
  including medical or other expert opinions
• participate in discussions about solutions, and
• work with the employer and union on an ongoing
  basis to manage the accommodation process.
• Quoted from the Human Rights Website

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Unions and professional associations must

• take an active role as partners in the
  accommodation process
• share joint responsibility with the employer to
  promote accommodation, and
• support accommodation measures regardless of the
  collective agreement.

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Employers are required to

• accept requests for accommodation in good faith
• request only information that is required to make
  the accommodation
• obtain expert advice or opinion where necessary
• take an active role in ensuring that possible
  solutions are examined
• maintain the confidentiality of persons with
  disabilities
• deal with accommodation requests in a timely way,
  and
• bear the cost of any required medical information
  or documentation.
• Everyone involved must treat human rights issues
  arising in the workplace seriously and
  respectfully.

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Can the work be modified short of undue
hardship?

• Work re-design, reconfiguration of tasks
• alternative schedules and hours
• re-assignments and other available jobs
• use of equipment, assistive devices
• temporary rehabilitative programs

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What is undue hardship?

• Cost
• size of operations
• level of cost
• budget situation
• outside sources of funding
• Health Safety requirements
• Contractual obligations

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How does this All Link Together
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The Boards Plan

• The Board prepares its three year plan
• As an example, it sees opportunities to align
  with schools (improve accessibility) or introduce
  RFID (cost saving and/or better inventory control
  and/or redeployment of people)

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The Unions Plan

• Better enshrine job security in the collective
  agreement by limiting technological change,
  disallowing erosion of the bargaining unit
  through subcontracting and introducing stiffer
  termination provisions

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What will happen?

• Lets discuss

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Final Comment

• Dont allow the process to become politicized
  from the perspective of industrial relations at
  the Board level-you are the Employer!