ETFO Niagara Occasional Teacher's Collective Bargaining Survey

In order to negotiate the best agreement for our members your Collective Bargaining Committee needs your help!

As an Occasional Teacher with the District School Board of Niagara, you can access our current Collective Agreement at www.niagaraot.org. You may want to refer to it as you complete the following survey.

It is important that all our members complete the survey so your Collective Bargaining Team can utilize your input as we develop our bargaining goals for the next round of negotiations. All questions are optional. However, to best serve you we would appreciate if you could answer all the questions to the best of your knowledge or choose the options that are the closest to your personal situation. All answers and information you provide are strictly confidential.

WE WANT YOUR INPUT SO WE CAN HELP YOU FOR A BETTER TOMORROW!
1.Providing your personal information below is completely optional.
2.DSBN Employee Number (Only to verify your status as an occasional teacher with DSBN)
3.Gender:
4.Age:
The following questions will help your ETFO Niagara Occasional Teacher Executive better understand the working conditions it's members are facing in the workplace. Please choose the best answer that fits your current situations.
5.Number of years as an Occasional Teacher with DSBN:
6.Have you held an LTO position with DSBN? If yes, how many?
7.How long have you worked as a Teacher? Either as an OT or Contract with the Public or Private system?
8.What is your QECO rating?
9.What are your teaching qualifications? (Please check all that apply)
10.Is being an Occasional Teacher your personal primary source of income?
11.Please choose the best description of what fits your current situation:
12.Under ideal circumstances I would like to work ________ days per week.
13.Currently I am working approximately _____ days a week
14.One thing your Local is concerned about is fair and equitable distribution of work so that all members have the opportunity to make a living as occasional teachers.

Which situation in regards to preferred lists would you prefer?
15.Approximately how many 'preferred' lists do you think or know you are on at this time?
16.I am contacted for work assignments by (the)....
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
SEMS
Secretary
Principal/VP
Teacher
17.In the last 2 school years I have had to eat lunch in the car or missed a lunch driving to a separate teaching assignment in one day _____ times.
18.In the last 2 school years I have had prep-coverage re-assigned or taken away from the regular school teacher's timetable or the time table has been changed _____ times:
19.In the last 2 school years I have been expected to cover a 'first duty' either in the morning when I arrive or at lunch when I arrive ______ times:
Please think of this question as you answer the following 2 questions based on full time redundant teachers.

If full-time teachers are declared redundant, how do you feel they should be handled in relation to the Occasional Teacher list?
20.Addition of redundant teachers to the OT list:
21.When LTO positions are available, redundant teachers:
The following questions will assist the ETFO Niagara Occasional Teacher's Local Collective Bargaining Committee to represent your concerns in the upcoming round of negotiations with DSBN.
22.Please number the following items in order of most importance to you as an Occasional Teacher working for DSBN. Please rate all selections 1 through 6.
(1 being of GREATEST importance and 6 being of LEAST importance)
1
2
3
4
5
6
A daily rate of pay increase
Systematic hiring practices for LTO/Contract positions (seniority hiring)
Capped Occasional Teacher List (limited number of OTs on DSBN list)
DSBN Paid Professional Development Days for Occasional Teachers
Cost Shared Benefits
Sick Leave Credit accumulation
23.Daily Occasional Teachers with DSBN are currently paid less than QECO Category A1 with zero years experience. The union believes that no teacher should be paid "off grid". What would you prefer we aim for as a daily rate pay increase?

24.What other issues affect you as an Occasional Teacher that may not have been addressed in the previous questions that you feel should be considered by your Collective Bargaining Committee?
The following questions pertain to your Health & Safety in the workplace and allows your Health and Safety Committee to be aware of any situations or potential situations that have arisen in the workplace.
25.When you arrive at a school, are you advised of any hazards or special procedures for that location?
26.When you have students in your class with a history of violence, are they identified to you in an IEP along with particular safety plans?
27.Additional information or comments to question #26
28.Do you feel that you receive enough disciplinary support from administration? (Example: situations are dealt with when a child is sent to the office)
29.Additional information or comments to question #28
30.When working in isolation with students (such as outdoors) do you feel you have adequate means of seeking assistance in case of an incident? (This does not include using students as messengers)
31.When you have students with identified medical conditions do you feel adequately prepared to deal with any medical emergencies that may arise?
32.Our Collective Agreement (Article 21.07) stipulates that a package/binder must be left in every classroom for occasional teachers containing specific pieces of information about classroom procedures and student medical information. What is your experience with this information? (please check all that apply)
33.Please share your ideas for more effective OT Information Binders. What else should be included in the standard format developed by DSBN?
34.Do you feel the DSBN's current method of providing information and instruction on Health & Safety issues (example: Violence and Harassment & Anaphylaxis) is adequate?
35.Have you ever personally experienced violence in the workplace?
(Workplace violence means the exercise of physical force by a person against a worker, in a workplace, that causes or could cause physical injury to the worker. An attempt to exercise physical force against a worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker. A statement or behaviour that it is reasonable for a worker to interpret as a threat to exercise physical force against the worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker.)
36.If you answered yes to the above question, did you seek assistance, and was it satisfactorily resolved?
37.Please describe the circumstances (optional)
38.Have you personally experienced harassment in the workplace?
(Workplace harassment means a course of vexatious comment or conduct directed at a a specific individual that serves no legitimate work purpose and renders the workplace environment intolerable for that individual. Workplace harassment occurs when an individual is repeatedly singled out for serious mistreatment, which may include threats, bullying, verbal assault, taunting, ostracizing or violent gestures and actions.)
39.If you answered yes to the above question, did you seek assistance and was the situation satisfactorily resolved?
40.Please describe the circumstances (optional)
41.What is your experience with reporting incidents? (Violence, harassment, behaviour problems, injuries)
42.ETFO has a charitable Humanity Fund that donates to the Stephen Lewis Foundation among others. Contributions can only be made through payroll deduction. The payroll deduction is ten cents ($0.10) for each day you work.

Should we negotiate this payroll deduction into our collective agreement?
Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey! The information you provided is invaluable to the Collective Bargaining Committee and all information will be used confidentially to develop a plan for the next round of negotiations. To submit your form please make sure you only click the 'done' button below once.