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OSSTF Toronto Secondary Teachers' Bargaining Unit

Collective Bargaining Committee (CBC) Election Results

The Members elected to the Collective Bargaining Committee for the upcoming round of negotiations are:

1.      Akerman, Sonia
2.      Barltrop, Michael
3.      Byrnes, Heather
4.      Cole, Victor
5.      Izzard, Danica
6.      Lanteigne, Maryline
7.      Laufer, Eitan
8.      Law, Jason
9.      Mendez, Daniela
10.  Parise, Anthony
11.  Srivastava, Soma
12.  Vance, Sarah

The Committee is still seeking a representative from Adult Day School.  Please contact Mike Platt for more information

Local OSSTF Toronto Teachers’ Bargaining Unit (T.B.U.) Bargaining Bulletin #7 – Wednesday January 17, 2024

This information is confidential to members of OSSTF Toronto T.B.U.

OSSTF Toronto TBU met with representatives from the TDSB on January 10th and January 11th, 2024.  The Bargaining Unit completed their presentation of rationales for their Brief.  Discussions also began regarding the jurisdiction of some language contained in both the Bargaining Unit and the Board’s Briefs.  If either the Bargaining Unit or the Board feel an aspect of the other side’s Brief falls under the jurisdiction of central bargaining they can request this proposal be reviewed by Provincial OSSTF and the Ontario Public School Board Association (OPSBA).  If these parties determine a proposal falls under the jurisdiction of central bargaining the Bargaining Unit or Board must  withdraw the proposal from their respective Brief and the local bargaining table.          

The Bargaining Unit will meet with the Board again on January 22nd, 2024. 

The Bargaining Unit Table Team has also spent significant time preparing and producing documentation as required of all Bargaining Units by Provincial OSSTF’s Voluntary Binding Interest Arbitration (VBIA) process.  This document was submitted to Provincial OSSTF on January 12th, 2024, as required, to ensure the Bargaining Unit is able to move forward with local bargaining.

While our central and local contract expired on August 31st, 2022, there is no change to members’ working conditions, and we continue to work under the 2019-2022 Collective Agreement and related documents.

OSSTF Toronto TBU members will continue to receive updates regarding local bargaining as they are available.

Members with questions regarding local bargaining should contact Chief Negotiator Nicole Gauthier at ngauthier@osstftoronto.ca.

Direct Billing for Benefits Coming Soon!

Effective February 1, 2024, the OSSTF Employee Life and Health Trust (ELHT) will be moving from payroll deductions to direct billing using pre-authorized debits (PAD) to collect member paid benefit premiums. This means that your school board will no longer be making payroll deductions to cover the cost of your member paid benefit premiums.

This change will impact all members who are participating in OSSTF ELHT Extended Health Care, Dental Care, and/or Optional Life Benefits. Please review the information below to ensure you understand the actions required by you to complete this time sensitive request.  

What to expect 

You will receive an email in early January with steps to securely provide us with your banking information through the Banking Information Required event. The instructions will be sent to your Board assigned email address, unless you have indicated a personal email address as your preferred email. You will be responsible for providing us with your banking information to facilitate the pre-authorized debit collection of your Benefits Plan premium contributions. Your banking information is requested for pre-authorized debit as soon as possible to ensure your benefits continue without interruption.

If your banking information is not provided by March 1 through the Banking Information Required event, your coverage will be suspended and you will not have access to your health and/or dental, and/or optional life benefits.

Important: If you have previously submitted your banking information in My Claims and/or My Benefits, you must still complete the Banking Information Required event which will be available in January under the My Benefits homepage. We will provide instructions to accurately provide this information.

Suspended Coverage

If your coverage is suspended due to not meeting the above deadline, you will need to apply for the reinstatement of your coverage and the payment of the retroactive owed member contributions from February 1, 2024 will still need to be paid in full. If you do not apply or are not approved for the reinstatement of coverage, you will be responsible to pay back any funds received for claims incurred on or after February 1, 2024 that were submitted and reimbursed. You may also be subject to dental late entrant provisions and/or required to re-apply for extended health care or optional life insurance coverage by providing proof of good health (evidence of insurability) should you wish to rejoin the plan at a later date.

Premium Deductions

Once you have provided your banking information through the Banking Information Required event in your OTIP secure member site, the required premiums will be deducted from your bank account on the 10th of every month or the next scheduled workday after the 10th. NOTE: Your March 2024 pre-authorized debit deduction may include a double deduction of premiums from your bank account for retroactive premiums, depending on when you add your banking information.

December 6th Resources

December 6th is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.  The OSSTF Toronto Status of Women committee has put together a set of announcements that can be used in the week leading up to the date.  Each announcement focuses on a specific issue.  This information has also been provided in the form of a brochure to be used as a resource.

Bargaining Bulletin #24

Teacher/Occasional Teacher Central Table Negotiations Update

Over the last few days, OSSTF/FEESO has made attempts to clarify positions so that bargaining could recommence. Unfortunately those attempts have been unsuccessful. Negotiations at the central bargaining table for teachers and occasional teachers remain at an impasse, and all previously scheduled bargaining sessions have been cancelled. The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) and the Government of Ontario remain focused on proposals that would erode working conditions, reduce meaningful face-time with students, undermine our members’ professional judgement and continue to financially penalize OSSTF/FEESO members.

Our negotiating team remains ready and willing to return to the table if and when OPSBA and the government are ready to approach bargaining from a position of respect and are willing to work towards a negotiated settlement.

Special Fee for Enhanced Strike Pay

As you know, in the event of a full withdrawal of services by any bargaining unit, members who are not on strike will be subject to a special supplemental fee as outlined in CB Issue 4.

Please note that the special fee will not take effect until after settlements have been reached and relationships with our employers have been normalized.

Please frequently check the “Members Only” section of the OSSTF/FEESO website for updated information on bargaining.

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