Safety professionals at the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA) are crucial to eliminating potential dangers caused by electrical systems.
They are engineers and professionals in IT, communications, government relations, and administration who administer electrical safety regulations. When these 83 Society members entered negotiations in May 2023, they were seeking a collective agreement that recognizes the valuable work they do.
Unfortunately, the employer’s offer missed the mark. The Society’s ESA negotiation team was expecting an offer that mirrored the contract negotiated recently by their colleagues in the Power Workers’ Union, which provided 12 percent wage increases over four years. The employer tabled zero percent wage increases.
“When they came to us with zero, we thought that was unreasonable,” explained ESA Local Vice-President Rob Mitchell. He believes it was a symptom of a larger issue – that the work of members was undervalued by the employer.
In addition to wage increases, the union was proposing that Indigenous staff be given a paid holiday for National Indigenous Peoples Day. Members were asking to exchange a paid floater day for a paid day off on Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
“The bargaining team said, ‘this is important to us,’” according to Mitchell. For the unit, the request to recognize the two commemorative days was largely symbolic, but meaningful in the context of reconciliation.
"Impressively, 100 percent of members turned out to vote, and voted 100 percent in favour of authorizing strike action."
Unfortunately, the employer refused to concede, despite the minimal financial costs. The committee was disappointed in management’s response, which signaled to the committee that the road to a fair collective agreement would be a rough one.
The bargaining committee braced itself for a tough round of bargaining. The team spent the summer working to achieve a deal. They had bargaining sessions with a Ministry-appointed conciliator.
In early July, a strike vote was conducted. Impressively, 100 percent of members turned out to vote, and voted 100 percent in favour of authorizing strike action.
ESA Local Vice-President Rob Mitchell conducts an interview.
“They understood the importance of solidarity and the power of being unanimous in their support of a strike,” said Mitchell. Unlike previous years, the strong strike mandate did little to change the employer’s position at the bargaining table, but it affirmed the unity of the membership.
Over a four-month period, Mitchell estimates that they had approximately 24 days of bargaining sessions. “We just weren’t getting anywhere,” he said.
The local made the difficult decision to go on strike beginning Sept. 20. Picket lines erected in Mississauga and Cambridge.
The picket lines were sustained with crucial support from other Society bargaining units, the Society’s central office, and allies within the labour movement. Some NDP Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) also came out to the picket lines to show their support for the strikers.
A POSITIVE CAMPAIGN
Throughout negotiations, the local got creative. It put together videos showcased on social media as part of a campaign they entitled “I believe.”
The videos featured Society-represented members who worked in various positions at the ESA. Members talked about what they did for the organization and how they contributed to the safety of Ontarians. Each video script referenced one of four principles – fairness, respect, equity, or Indigenous reconciliation – and included a belief statement.
“I am really proud that the people I represent came up with those ideas and put them forward,” said Mitchell. “The videos were an act of people who believed in themselves and believed in those principles.”
Throughout negotiations, the bargaining committee drew attention to how Society members were being treated differently to their colleagues in other bargaining units. The campaign centred members and called on ESA to treat them equitably.
“I thought it was a really powerful and effective campaign because it was positive,” said Mitchell.
Another spirited action took place when the employer decided to hold an employee appreciation BBQ.
“They were giving us hot dogs and hamburgers instead of compensation.”
“They were giving us hot dogs and hamburgers instead of compensation,” noted Mitchell.
The local used this as another opportunity to engage the membership in a positive way. The Society sponsored an ice cream truck and stationed it near the ESA BBQ truck. Members and ESA management alike enjoyed ice cream for dessert. Members from other Society locals joined the action, as well as Society executives.
A Society ice cream social at ESA Provincial Office just prior to strike action
“It was a great event,” said Mitchell. “It showed the employer that we weren’t just beaten down and angry. We were having fun.” The ice cream truck was branded with Society materials. And the union was able to foster a sense of community through the action.
“It was something that the members could truly engage with as a labour action,” he added.
Another action Mitchell is proud of is the Society’s picket outside the Ontario Energy Conference, a major event hosted by the Ontario Energy Association and the Association of Power Producers of Ontario. Society representatives went inside the conference to talk to attendees and gain support from key energy players.
According to Mitchell, many attendees were surprised by the ESA’s bargaining position. “They said, ‘Are you serious? That’s what they’re putting you out for?” explained Mitchell. He said it was a very effective action.
A settlement was reached shortly after the event on Oct. 3 and after 13 days on the picket line, the strike came to an end. While the local didn’t win everything it had hoped for, some important gains were made through taking strike action.
Mitchell applauds the sustained sense of community built over the course of the strike. “Setting aside monetary achievements, the largest gain won through the strike was the solidarity and comradery of the members,” said Mitchell.
Among colleagues, the strike increased awareness of the diverse roles members play at work. “People didn’t know what each other did because we’re a very broad group of professionals that do very diverse types of jobs in the organization.”
After the strike, “members understood better how each person contributed to the organization.”
Mitchell recounted the way strike activities brought people together. For example, members driving the strike’s U-Haul vans had the opportunity to spend quality time with unfamiliar colleagues.
“People who didn’t normally speak to each other were driving pairs,” he explained. They would drive the vans to the various picketing locations. “Even now, they still stay in touch with each other.”
“It was a really great way to build the community of the professionals at ESA,” said Mitchell.
Mitchell said that because of the strike, ESA Society members are a group of engaged people that care about each other. “We managed to change an individual focus on professional discipline to a more community focus.”
This sense of community was bolstered by the solidarity strikers received from their allies across the Society and the broader labour movement.
Picketers in North York on Sept. 21, 2023
REFLECTIONS FROM THE STRIKE
The strike was a powerful reminder that when members come together in solidarity, they get results. This doesn’t happen spontaneously but takes careful planning.
“Member engagement doesn’t happen six months before you are negotiating. It’s something you must work on all the time,” said Mitchell. “The minute you sign your settlement is the minute you start preparing for the next round of negotiations.”
For Mitchell, this means focusing on leadership development, and imagining how succession planning can help deliver the goals you set.
Mitchell believes that because his local maintained the right to strike in their agreements with the employer, they were able to make gains. “If all of us were in mediation-arbitration arrangements, we would not have the collective agreements we have today.”
“I think the right of workers to withdraw their labour as a demonstration of resistance and objection is fundamental,” he said.
Mitchell believes the employer doubted the resolve of employees to take strike action. By acting courageously, Society members have sent a strong message to the employer that they are willing to defend their collective interests.
And in the workplace, members can lean on the relationships they built over 13 days on the picket line.
“There were a lot of barriers that were broken down between the members, and a lot of understanding and compassion was developed for each other through the strike. To me, that’s the biggest success.”
A rally outside of the 2023 Ontario Energy Conference
Day six of the strike
Picketers at the ESA in Cambridge
Day seven of the strike
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