For the past many weeks I’ve been maintaining the idea that the provincial government of Doug Ford has been significantly underfunding the development services sector, an idea I continue to cling to.  If I have erred in this opinion, I’m convinced I haven’t erred completely, and if I’ve missed the point, I did so only by degree.

That said, some financial sleuthing from another source seems to be indicating that, notwithstanding my conspiratorial bent, Community Living Renfrew County South has actually had more money coming through the door than at any time previous in its existence.  In fact, that seems to be the case for the last several years anyways, and the numbers appear to go up year over year.

Before leaning into this, I want to preface by saying that a cut or reduction in services doesn’t necessarily mean a cut to funding of any sort.  In that there doesn’t have to be a direct linkage between the two.  It’s possible for funding to increase at the same time that a program is reduced or eliminated, it’s just that such a situation is reflective of a choice of some sort made by the person holding the purse strings and calling the operational shots.

So, if you’re an SWIII at CLRCS, then you’re probably pissed, at least a little, but probably more than that.  And if you’re an SWII, then you’re probably pissed too, just your reasons might be different.  And if you’re anyone belonging to OPSEU Local 472, you’re quite likely to see red when you hear that management is insisting on eliminating all SWIII positions — Support Worker 3 — and moving all your SWIII members down to an SWII — Support Worker 2 — classification.

Before beginning I have to present the proper context, in that SWIII  and SWII are different classifications for employees, a system based upon their education, professional development, additional qualifications, and good old-fashioned experience, both practical and in years put in.

Needless to say, SWIII is paid at a higher rate than SWII.  And that right there sits at the crux of the issue.   Because management thinks they can sail the ship just as well without the higher classification.  In my opinion, this kind of thinking is wishful, and also in my opinion, has nothing to do the quality of care management is entrusted with.

It has to do with cutting money out of the operational budget.  But in a way that’s decidedly not cool.

One of the more contentious issues thrown back and forth during the current labour dispute between CLRCS and OPSEU 472 has had to do with scheduling, especially as it pertains to seniority.

The agency wants to change to 12-hour shift rotations as part of its service delivery model.  The union is hell-bent against it.  If I was in the union, I’d be hell-bent against it as well, especially if I worked my way up the ranks during a career measured in decades.  Who among us is going to get excited about the prospect of working 12-hour shifts, as well as weekend shifts, when we’ve been holding down traditional 9 to 5 shifts Monday through Friday for years?

That said, it’s only due diligence to look into the reasoning for such an agency pivot, and why they’d be willing to go to war over it.  I’m going to rule out personal vindictiveness as the reason behind it, because people acting with that kind of motivation behind their actions need to get gone fast.  So I’m going to assume that there must be something about a 12-hour shift that makes CLRCS contemplating them as being attractive.

We’re all more than familiar with the axiom that there are two sides to every story.

No truer words may have been spoken, but as an axiom, or as a general principle, it only lives up to its greatest potential when you actually have two sides to a story.

I’ve been hounding a story for the better part of three months now, but have expressed frustration at the communication levels practiced by both sides.  At the outset, I was only hearing from one side, the side of organized labour.  And even with that, one still has to apply critical thinking skills to assess and evaluate the information given, and to sort out any potential “spin” that may have been added to make one side appear more reasonable than the other.

I’ve come across yet another letter directed towards management of Community Living Renfrew County South.

The letter, this time from Renfrew resident Krystle Bennett, is addressed to CLRCS Executive-Director Jennifer Lavallee and her Board of Directors and challenges all of them to take another, more meaningful approach to a work stoppage now closing in on its fifteenth week.

Bennett indicates that she’s had concerns regarding CLRCS in the past, including concerns dating back well before any strike action took place.  She appears to take issue with some governance matters and the way the organization is, and according to her, has been run.

Charlene Riopelle is a mother and member of Community Living Renfrew County South.  She can also be described as a tireless advocate for developmentally disabled adult children who make up the client roster at CLRCS.

The fourteen-week labour dispute between CLRCS and OPSEU Local 472 affected Riopelle mightily as her son Travis is a client of the agency and thus one of the primary unfortunates in this whole business.  Travis’ routines have been knocked ass-over-tea-kettle, and he’s not necessarily thriving under the new and less satisfactory conditions.  And Travis is just one of many who are suffering equally.  The individual stories may differ from individual to individual, but the common occurrences of confusion, depression, acting-out, loneliness, and guilt seem to pop up among most, if not all, of the clients.

Last week I featured a letter written by local business owner Laura Wheeler. The engagement with that letter, according to my site analytics and metrics, was nothing short of impressive, with people from all over the place reading it and then sharing it.

I’ve also seen feedback from Facebook that indicates the letter not only reached a large audience, but at the same time generated many positive comments as feedback. The fact that the letter was posted to the OPSEU Local 472 Facebook page also gave it some traction online, and again, nothing but positive commentary.

When a labour dispute stretches into its fourteenth week, staying on the sidelines may be the easiest political choice. Renfrew Reeve Peter Emon has chosen a different path.

There is an old political instinct when it comes to labour disputes: stay out of it.

Pick a side and you risk alienating the other. Say too much and you may be accused of interfering. Say too little and people wonder why their elected representatives aren’t doing anything at all.

Renfrew Reeve Peter Emon has apparently decided that there is another option.

Renfrew Reeve Peter Emon has put forward a motion to Town Council recommending a two-prong approach towards educating the province around the hardships caused and endured as part of the current labour dispute between Community Living Renfrew County South and OPSEU Local 472.  This “education” —  my word — would involve giving the government a point of view perhaps unique from other sources of information.  What the strategy would not entail is any kind of criticism directed at either side.

Emon, a candidate for the mayor’s office in this October’s municipal election, quoted from the Town’s Road to 2035 initiative, a series of pledges around good government in the Town of Renfrew.

I guess after thirteen weeks of a labour dispute happening right in front of us, we’re legitimately allowed to ask “What’s going on here?”

What makes that an even more important question is the fact that agreements have been reached between six other jurisdictions in the province that were involved in similar work stoppages involving locals of OPSEU, or Ontario Public Service Employees Union.  But the OPSEU main website still lists Local 472 as being on strike, whereas other locals have reached agreements with their employer agencies.

So what might be the holdup here?