Countdown to Bargaining:
Preparing to Succeed
Collective Bargaining Committee
September 5 2014
Elements of Bargaining Success
Goals:
• To equip Chief Negotiators with the knowledge,
skills and support needed to succeed in bargaining
• To articulate how OCUFA, its staff and committees
can help you reach that goal
• To hear from you what else you need so we can
plan for the future
Information
Faculty are a loose pattern bargaining
sector.
We expect OCUFA to provide all the
relevant information we need to
understand the Ontario pattern for faculty
terms and conditions.
Information
Some sources of data for bargaining include:
CBC section of the OCUFA website
Terms and conditions database
CBC and pension listservs
Lancaster House publications
Contact Kimiko kinouye@ocufa.on.ca
Data Analysis
• OCUFA can provide data checklists for benefits,
pensions, financial analysis and member data
• Don’t take no for an answer: you are entitled to this as
a bargaining agent
• OCUFA has negotiated an agreement with OCAV to
continue receiving Ontario faculty data – contact
Donna if you need help setting up your analysis
• OCUFA has created a spreadsheet to help you cost
your proposals and settlement
External Service Providers
• OCUFA contracts with a network of external service
providers- lawyers, actuaries and consultants – to augment
our staff expertise.
• We want to maximize efficiency and save money by
working together as a committee with these bargaining
partners
• We can leverage our collective bargaining power to get
better information and better outcomes
• We can work together to create better, more efficient
pension and benefit plans
Analyze Benefits
• OCUFA pays for a basic benefits analysis that
compares your benefit levels and costs to your
peer universities
• Eckler can help you develop a benefits
bargaining strategy based on the review
(additional cost)
• Start early in the fall so we can help build
benefits into your overall bargaining strategy
Assessing Your LTD Plan
• OCUFA is working with Eckler to build a faculty
LTD plan
• As part of benefits assessment, we can secure
external quotes to test the competitiveness of
your current premium
• We have drafted a memorandum for bargaining
purposes if you wish to pursue this option
Negotiating Pensions-JSPP
Option 1: Work with other associations to build a multi-employer
Jointly Sponsored Pension Plan (JSPP) for Ontario universities
• 12 faculty associations, 6 employers and staff unions are
designing a new plan
• We will have a memorandum of agreement completed by June
2015
• Employers and faculty associations will ratify the M of A locally
• If a critical mass do so, we will build the plan
• Donna can help you build a bargaining strategy if you wish to
leave the door open to this option in bargaining
Negotiating Pensions-DB
Option 2: Improve the governance and stability of your
existing Single Employer Pension Plan (SEPP)
• In 2013 the CBC worked with our lawyer and actuary
on ideas to improve existing plans
• Any further contribution increases in our sector must
correspond to more control – we are approaching cost
sharing at many universities
• Working with other associations on a shared strategy
provides an opportunity for shared
Negotiating Pensions - DC
Option 3: Build a better DC plan
• UWOFA hired Eckler in 2013 to help them
improve their DC plan
• This report could be replicated elsewhere; talk
to us if you are interested and we can band
together
Building Bargaining Skills
The skills of the chief negotiator and team are
pivotal to bargaining success.
Turning the members’ mandate into language in a
collective agreement requires problem solving
skills, planning and a solid bargaining strategy.
Building Skills
We have devised four ways this year in which we
will help to build bargaining skill:
1. Topical sessions at CBC meetings.
2. Weekly chief negotiator conference calls.
3. Contract faculty caucus (we will discuss later
this afternoon)
4. Bring a Buddy to CBC Day – succession
planning.
CBC Meetings
• We reserve space in every meeting for you to ask for help from
your peers.
• The topics we have chosen for skill building for 2014-15 include:
 Bargaining scans and SWOT analysis: how to reach a state
of readiness by the time you give notice to bargain
 Internal relationships: testing our association structures for
robust lines of communication and control to withstand the
stresses of bargaining
 Creating a high functioning relationship with the employer
(yes, it can be done!)
CN Conference calls
• Since 2010 the CBC has engaged in weekly conference
calls for chief negotiators in bargaining
• New model: topical calls around issues occurring in
real time at different points in the bargaining cycle
• We will ask experienced chief negotiators to help lead
these discussions
• Once teams are at the table, we will switch to dealing
with the specific issues arising at each bargaining table
Conference Calls
Proposed topics:
1. Lessons for first time chief negotiators
2. Bargaining surveys: how can we turn them into engagement tools?
3. Pre-conciliation mediation or conciliation: why use one or the other?
4. Momentum, escalation and proportionality: how to control the
process and timeline of bargaining.
5. Costing proposals and settlements: using the OCUFA spreadsheets.
6. Governments and bargaining impasses – what can government do if
it is in session vs. when it is not
Anything else?
Succession Planning
Bring a Buddy to CBC Day – April 11 2015
• Goal is to help faculty associations build for future
bargaining success by deepening the pool of members
with bargaining skill
• Will help demonstrate the range of support available to
negotiators, and “de-mystify” the job
• Will invite different chief negotiators to talk about their
experiences; create a sense of multiple approaches
• We will probably all learn something new!
Member Engagement
Member mobilization is the essential key to
bargaining success – our only source of power is
ourselves.
Volunteers need to be identified, trained and
supported so they can build the member
solidarity that powers successful bargaining.
Build a Member Engagement Strategy
• OCUFA has just hired an Engagement and Campaigns
Coordinator – Andrea Calver
• Andrea has several decades of experience organizing
for both labour unions and provincial advocacy
organizations
• She will be in contact soon to discuss member
engagement
• She will work with the CBC this year on our faculty
complement campaign
Communications
Member communications are an essential key to
engagement.
Using multiple tools – surveys, one on one and
group meetings – in an interactive way, assures
greater bargaining success.
Social media can help you stay in touch with
already engaged members.
OCUFA Communications Support
• Graeme Stewart gstewart@ocufa.on.ca can advise your
association on a media strategy, both internal and external, and
across all platforms
• He can help you improve your messages for maximum impact
• Make sure you association is connected in through OCUFA’s
Communications Network
• Get your key bargaining stories into the weekly OCUFA Report
• Subscribe to OCUFA Media Clips to follow faculty association,
university union and other key bargaining stories
Financial Analysis
Although many aspects of university and planning
will impact collective bargaining, an
understanding of the state of the university’s
finances is the most essential.
OCUFA Finance Committee
• Russ Janzen rjanzen@ocufa.on.ca can help you analyze
your university’s finances
• The OCUFA Finance Committee has produced analysis
templates to help your association
• Improve your bargaining with a permanent Finance
Committee in your association: we can help
• Attend the Finance Committee workshop in November
• Help the Finance Committee improve its work by
providing feedback from your own bargaining table
Third Party Externals
Knowing how and when to get help from third
party externals – mediators, arbitrators and
conciliators – is a key component of bargaining
strategy.
Investing collectively in finding and training good
third party externals can pay off for everyone.
Dispute Resolutions Services
• You need to prepare strategically for interactions
with conciliators and mediators from DRS
• We will invite Peter Simpson, Director of DRS, to a
winter/spring conference call to answer your
questions
• The OCUFA staff will be meeting with DRS
mediators to dialogue on how we can enhance this
relationship
Selecting Third Parties
• It is in our collective interest to build strong
relationships with a small number of mediators,
arbitrators and investigators
• We can help you choose someone appropriate to your
needs
• In 2013 we expanded our scope to include
investigators and asked for recommendations from
SGM Law and the OCUFA Grievance Committee
Questions
Is there anything else you need from us?