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[accordion-item title=”What is happening?”]
ETFO has negotiated two tentative central agreements:
- A 2019-2022 Tentative Central Agreement for ETFO Teacher and Occasional Teacher members; and
- A 2019-2022 Tentative Central Agreement for ETFO Education Worker members.
Tentative central agreements must be ratified (i.e., voted on) by members in order to form part of members’ collective agreements. As a result, ETFO is conducting two separate ratification votes – one vote for Teacher and Occasional Teacher members, and one vote for Education Worker members.
The two ratification votes will be conducted online. There are two separate online voting sites:
- Teacher and Occasional Teacher members will vote at an online voting site designated for the 2019-2022 Teacher/Occasional Teacher Tentative Central Agreement ratification vote;
AND
- Education Worker members will vote at an online voting site designated for the 2019-2022 Education Worker Tentative Central Agreement ratification vote.
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[accordion-item title=”How long do I have to vote?”]
Voting for the Teacher/Occasional Teacher and Education Worker Tentative Central Agreements begins on Thursday, April 23 at 5:30 pm (EST) and ends on Monday, April 27 at 7:00 pm (EST).
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[accordion-item title=”Where can I find the online voting site links?”]
The voting site links will be posted on ETFO’s Collective Bargaining Website (www.etfocb.ca) on Thursday, April 23 at 5:30 pm (EST).
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[accordion-item title=”How do I vote?”]
On Thursday, April 23 at approximately 5:30 pm (EST) ETFO will be sending instructions to members by email (i.e., the Collective Bargaining eNewsletter) about how to vote. Members will receive daily reminders by email and/or text about the ratification vote. There will also be a Help Desk available during the voting process for members who need assistance.
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[accordion-item title=”When is ETFO going to release the results of the two ratification votes?”]
The results of the Teacher/Occasional Teacher and Education Worker ratification votes will be released on Tuesday, April 28.
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[accordion-item title=”Who can participate in the 2019-2022 Teacher/Occasional Teacher Tentative Central Agreement vote?”]
Active ETFO Teacher and Occasional Teacher members are eligible to vote in the Teacher/Occasional Teacher Tentative Central Agreement vote, subject to the requirements in ETFO’s Constitution and Bylaws.
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[accordion-item title=”Who can participate in the 2019-2022 Education Worker Tentative Central Agreement vote?”]
Active ETFO Education Worker members (i.e., DECE, ESP, PSP, other education worker members) are eligible to vote in the Education Worker Tentative Central Agreement vote, subject to the requirements in ETFO’s Constitution and Bylaws.
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[accordion-item title=”How does ETFO define “active membership” and “inactive membership”?”]
ETFO Bylaw 1.3 defines active and inactive membership status as follows:
1.3
If no fee payment is received by the Federation in respect of a member, active membership status ceases immediately and notice that this has occurred will be forwarded to the last address provided by the member. Cessation of active membership for cessation of fee payments is subject to the following exceptions:
1.3.1
Where the Federation is satisfied that the member is on board-approved leave of absence, active membership will be continued for the duration of the leave; and
1.3.2
Where the bargaining unit member at issue is an occasional member, active membership will only cease if, after the last fee payment, no fee has been paid for 120 days.
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[accordion-item title=”Can members on statutory and board-approved leaves vote?”]
Yes, members on statutory leaves (e.g., pregnancy/parental leaves) and on board-approved leaves (e.g, sick leave, self-financed leaves) can participate in the ratification vote.
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[accordion-item title=”What do I need in order to vote?”]
You will need your ETFO ID number and your last name in order to vote.
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[accordion-item title=”I have an ETFO ID number that is less than five numbers long. I have tried to vote, but the voting site states that my ETFO ID number is invalid and must contain five or more numbers. What do I do?”]
When entering your ETFO ID number to vote, you will also need to enter “leading zeros” so that your ETFO ID number totals 5 numbers.
For example:
- if your ETFO number has two numbers (e.g., “12”), you will need to enter “00012” as your ETFO ID number
- if your ETFO number has three numbers (e.g., “123”), you will need to enter “00123” as your ETFO ID number
- if your ETFO number has four numbers (e.g., “1234”), you will need to enter “01234” as your ETFO ID number
If, after including “leading zeros”, you are still unable to cast your ballot, please call Voting Help Centre for assistance. The Voting Help Centre telephone number is: 1-866-621-5606.
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[accordion-item title=”Is my online vote anonymous?”]
Yes, it is anonymous. No one at the ETFO provincial office, on the Provincial Executive or in any ETFO local has access to a member’s voting data.
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[accordion-item title=”Is my vote secure?”]
Yes, it is secure. The online voting system employed for ETFO’s ratification votes is protected by military grade encryption to ensure the integrity of the voting process. Members can vote through any device, at any location, and be assured that their online ballot will not be seen, tampered with or altered.
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[accordion-item title=”I’d like to review the information contained in the online voting site and take a day or two to think about how I will cast my ballot. Can I do that?”]
Yes, you may enter and exit the online voting site as many times as you need over the duration of the voting period to review the videos, documents and other files contained in the site. All you need to do is log out of the site.
DO NOT VOTE UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR REVIEW OF THE INFORMATION IN THE ONLINE VOTING SITE. Once you cast your ballot, you will not be able to re-enter the online voting site to review information.
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[accordion-item title=”What requirements are prescribed by ETFO’s Constitution and Bylaws for central agreement ratification votes?”]
Section 2 of ETFO Bylaw X: Central Bargaining prescribes the following for the ratification of central agreements:
10.2.1
That there shall be no less than a two (2) week (14 calendar days) period between ETFO members receiving the full tentative central offer and the commencement of the all-member ratification vote on the central offer.
10.2.2
Ratification of a central Memorandum of Settlement requires a double majority vote of the active membership of the central bargaining unit that would be governed by the terms of the central Memorandum of Settlement.
10.2.2.1
The ratification vote on a central Memorandum of Settlement shall be conducted provincially, after duly-called information meetings.
10.2.2.2
The vote shall be tabulated by determining the number of votes in favour of ratification provincially and the number of votes in favour of ratification in each local.
10.2.2.3
The double majority is achieved where more than 50% of those members casting ballots vote in favour of ratification and more than 50% of all locals vote in favour of ratification. A local is considered to have voted in favour of ratification where more than 50% of the members casting ballots in that local vote in favour of ratification.
10.2.2.4
When there is an online provincial vote, the president of each local will be apprised of the number of votes cast in their local.
10.2.2.5
Each local president will be apprised of the number of votes for and against a Central Agreement in their local.
10.2.2.6
The results of all-member votes on central Memorandum of Settlements shall be broken down according to central bargaining units and this information will be reported to all local presidents.
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[accordion-item title=”What is a “double majority” vote?”]
It is a two-step majority voting process. A double majority for ETFO would be:
- a majority of ETFO voting members covered by the central agreement. The individual votes of members covered by the central agreement are calculated as an overall total (i.e., “one member who votes = one vote”);
AND
- a majority of ETFO locals covered by the central agreement. In order for a local to be deemed to have voted in favour of ratification, a majority of the voting members of the local must have voted in favour of ratification.
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[accordion-item title=”Why is ETFO using a double majority voting process to ratify tentative central agreements?”]
Section 10.2.2 of ETFO Bylaw X: Central Bargaining stipulates that central agreements must be ratified through a double majority vote of active members who would be covered by the terms of the central agreement.
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[accordion-item title=”Does a double majority vote fulfill the ratification requirements required by legislation?”]
Yes, the double majority process complies with ratification requirements in the School Boards Collective Bargaining Act, 2014, and the Labour Relations Act, 1995.
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[accordion-item title=”What does the double majority vote process look like during the 2019-2022 Tentative Central Agreement ratification votes?”]
FOR ETFO TEACHER AND OCCASIONAL TEACHER MEMBERS:
For the 2019-2022 Teacher/Occasional Teacher Tentative Central Agreement ratification votes, the double majority comprises:
- the overall majority of eligible Teacher and Occasional Teacher who participate in the vote (“overall vote”)
- Each ETFO Teacher and Occasional Teacher member is able to vote once in the overall vote;
AND
- the majority of Teacher and Occasional Teacher locals (“local vote”)
- this means ETFO members who belong to more than one Teacher and/or Occasional Teacher local are able to vote once in each of their locals.
FOR ETFO EDUCATION WORKER MEMBERS:
For the 2019-2022 Education Worker Tentative Central Agreement ratification votes, the double majority comprises:
- the overall majority of eligible Education Worker voters who participate in the vote (“overall vote”)
- Each ETFO Education Worker member is able to vote once in the overall vote;
AND
- the majority of Education Worker locals (“local vote”)
- this means ETFO members who belong to more than one Education Worker local are able to vote once in each of their locals.
If the double majority is achieved (i.e., a majority of the overall vote and a majority of the local vote supports acceptance of the terms of the 2019-2022 Tentative Central Agreement), then the Central Agreement would be ratified and would form part of ETFO Teacher/Occasional Teacher or Education Worker members’ collective agreements.
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[accordion-item title=”I belong to two ETFO locals. Does the double majority process mean I get to vote in each local?”]
ETFO has a list of members who belong to multiple locals. They comprise less than 4% of eligible voters.
If you are one of these members and on this list, you will be able to cast ballots in each local in which you are a member. You will receive a special email from ETFO with instructions about how to vote.
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[accordion-item title=”Does the double majority process mean there are ETFO members who get to vote multiple times in the main Teacher/Occasional Teacher and/or Education Worker online voting sites?”]
No. To preserve the integrity of the overall majority vote, members who belong to multiple locals can:
- vote once in the main online voting site (which is the same process for members who belong to one ETFO local); and
- cast any additional ballots in the secondary online voting site.
Members who belong to multiple locals will be emailed instructions from ETFO early in the voting period. The instructions will allow them to cast their additional ballots in the secondary online voting site.
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[accordion-item title=”Does the double majority process mean there are ETFO members voting two or more times in the overall majority vote?”]
No. In the overall majority vote, ETFO members who belong to multiple locals can cast only one ballot, just like any other eligible voter.
In the local vote, these members are not “voting twice” but simply voting in each local in which they are eligible. An equivalent analogy is:
- In Ontario municipal elections, a voter is eligible to vote in each municipality in which they own or rent property. That means they are allowed to vote once in each of those municipalities
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