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ARTICLE

Get Informed. Get Involved. Control Your Future (Collective Bargaining)

Lisa Mastrobuono
Summer 2012

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ETFO's member communications campaign for the 2012 round of collective bargaining The countdown to bargaining has begun. Collective agreements for ETFO's 76,000 members expire on August 31, 2012 and, for the past several months, ETFO and its locals have been hard at work preparing or the next round of collective  bargaining. In June, ETFO locals let school boards across Ontario know hat they're  ready to begin  negotiations. It is widely recognized that the skills, professionalism, and extraordinary efforts of ETFO members have made Ontario's publicly funded elementary education system one of the best in the world. ETFO's overall goal for collective bargaining in 2012 is to achieve collective agreements for our members that reflect this reality. Member engagement  is always the most critical factor to achieving success in bargaining. For this reason, an important  part of ETFO's  preparation has been to create a communications strategy that keeps members informed about, and actively engaged in, the collective bargaining process.That strategy has been developed around the message "Control  Your Future." Developing a member-oriented collective bargaining campaign During the development of  the 2012 collective bargaining  campaign, it became apparent that ETFO faced a challenge — presenting potentially complex issues and events to our members in a way that's both accurate and  accessible.  ETFO members  are well-educated professionals with significant  skills and  expertise.   However, that expertise  doesn't necessarily translate into an in-depth understanding of  highly specialized labour  relations terminology  and  processes. So the primary question that informed the development of a member-oriented campaign was: What do ETFO members want and need  in a collective bargaining  communications  strategy?  To answer that question, we turned to our members. ETFO member focus groups The first stage  of development involved speaking with hundreds of  ETFO members in focus groups held across the province about what they wanted to see in a collective bargaining communications campaign from their federation.  Over the course of many focus group sessions, three  overall considerations became apparent:

  • The collective bargaining process is a  new one for a significant portion of our membership. Many  ETFO members have experienced no more than two rounds of collective bargaining in their careers, and over 30 percent of ETFO members have never participated in a bargaining  process that involved a strike vote.
  • While  ETFO members recognize the importance of collective bargaining, they lack familiarity with many aspects  of the process and want to know more about it.
  • The nature of their work and lives means that ETFO members are subject to serious time constraints and significant information overload.

ETFO members in the driver's seat: The Control Your Future collective bargaining campaign Incorporating the extensive feedback we received from  our members, ETFO  developed the Control Your Future collective bargaining communications  campaign.  The Control Your Future campaign  is designed  around  three  overlapping  processes: education, motivation, and action. The campaign:

  • educates ETFO members about collective bargaining and its significance to their professional and personal lives
  • motivates ETFO members to take their futures firmly into their own hands by participating in and taking ownership of the bargaining process
  • provides the  vehicle ETFO members can use to navigate through times of challenge and change during bargaining, as well as to engage in collective action when necessary

Campaign Central:The Control Your Future website The  anchor of  ETFOrs collective bargaining communications campaign is the Control Your Future website (controlyoutfuture.ca). The website   is a multimedia  tool that includes videos, podcasts, and animation, in addition to written content, to respond to the diverse communication needs of our membership. Within the website are a number of easy-to-access  sources of information:

  • Members want up-to-date  bargaining information, and so the Latest Bargaining News section contains that information supplied in both print and video formats.
  • Previous rounds of bargaining provide vital context to the issues connected to the 2012 collective bargaining, and the website includes a historical overview of previous collective bargaining rounds called Where We Were.
  • A Video Room contains bargaining information supplied through short and entertaining  videos. All video and animation tools are accompanied by an accessible alternative, such as captioning or a text transcription.
  • The Where We're Going section lists the provincial bargaining goals for all ETFO members. The goals are  highlighted by hyperlinks  that  provide additional background information about current issues related to educator workload, salaries, and benefits.
  • A collective bargaining app, the first of its kind for any Canadian union, can be downloaded from the Control Your Future website, making information that  was previously accessible only through a computer now available from  members' smartphones and tablets. The app provides updated bargaining news, FAQs, videos, a calendar of events, and a direct contact link to ETFO's Collective Bargaining Department.
  • Sections have been developed to address Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and provide information about Bargaining Terms. Each section is refreshed with new questions and answers or terms as they arise from ETFO members throughout the bargaining process.
  • ETFO  members ca n direct questions, comments, and suggestions to ETFO for a personalized response through the  Contact Us feature on the website.

ETFO  locals have made it their collective mission to promote the Control Your Future website to their members.  Many ETFO  locals have included Control Your Future logos, videos, and podcasts on  their own websites. Links from dozens of local websites to the Control Your Future website have extended the  reach of ETFO's  collective bargaining content beyond the confines of the provincial website. Bargaining information comes to you While the   Control  Your  Future  website  is  an important  part  of  ETFO's  communications strategy, it's  just  one  way ETFO  is  reaching out  to provide  bargaining  information.   Members are receiving Control Your Future  bargaining  updates in  all-member mailings to  their  homes, Control Your  Future   pamphlets  are  being  delivered  to members'  schools,  and  bargaining  information is  being disseminated  through social  media on ETFO's Twitter feed. All of these options  provide accurate  information about  bargaining just  the way members have told  us they want to get it: concise, streamlined, and easy to read. In  addition,  ETFO   has developed the  Control Your Future e-newsletter. Negotiations can move quickly, and having  up-to-the-minute  bargaining news sent  to  ETFO  members' email  addresses is  a  great  way of  keeping them  informed and engaged. Subscribe to  the  collective bargaining e-newsletter by going to controlyourfuture.ca The Future of Control Your Future More  than  during any other  round of collective bargaining in  ETFO's  history, our  members have a plethora of options  to help them get informed about  and stay on top of bargaining issues and events. And as the Control Your Future  campaign continues to  grow and  evolve, new communication strategies  are being developed and will be implemented to meet the needs of ETFO  members. Website, e-newsletters, apps,  pamphlets, videos,  letters,  podcasts — there  is  a  method of getting  up-to-date bargaining information that is uniquely suited  to each and every ETFO  member, making it  easier  than  ever to get  informed and stay  involved in  the  2012  round  of  collective bargaining.