Frequently asked questions

Will voting yes for a union affect my ability to get promoted, or how promotions happen in the office? Will people only be promoted based on seniority?

No. Promotions in unionized workplaces are not automatically based on seniority. In the OAGO collective agreement, rules around promotions will be determined by what you and your colleagues negotiate with your Employer.

AMAPCEO collective agreements include language on job competitions that link promotions/competitions solely to the individual qualifications of the applicant.

AMAPCEO’s role is to work with you and your OAGO colleagues to establish your collective agreement—one that is based on your needs and priorities.

Will voting yes mean that my CPA dues are no longer covered by the Office? I’ve heard CPAs in the Ontario Public Service don’t have their fees reimbursed.

Some collective agreements, including the one between AMAPCEO and the OPS, don’t address professional fees. Many collective agreements do address them. AMAPCEO members at the Ontario Arts Council, for example, negotiated for the reimbursement of all their professional fees.

If your Employer wants to reduce this (or any other) part of your compensation during collective bargaining in the future, they will have to negotiate that with you and your colleagues.

Voting yes to form a union will mean that you can bargain for a written guarantee that your fees will continue to be covered, along with other priorities that are important to you. 

Will voting yes to form a union with AMAPCEO mean that we’re included in the Ontario Public Service collective agreement?

No. AMAPCEO-represented employees in each workplace, like the Ontario Ombudsman’s Office and Public Health Ontario, have their own individual collective agreement that is based on the priorities of the people in those organizations.

Together, we are working toward a collective agreement that is by and for the people at the OAGO.

Will voting yes mean that everyone with the same title gets the same pay? Or that the organization chart will change in ways that negatively affect my compensation?

No. Any future changes to the classification or compensation structures will need to be negotiated between you and your colleagues, and your Employer. Our hope is that we can work with your Employer to protect what staff at the OAGO have now and make improvements that people in the office need and deserve.

Will being part of a union change my work environment and make it impossible for me to talk to my manager or director?

No. You will have the opportunity to discuss anything you want with your manager or director. That won't change! A collective agreement simply establishes a clear, fair, and mutually agreed-upon process in place for addressing issues or concerns that you and your director are not able to resolve on your own. AMAPCEO takes a principled, problem-solving approach to labour relations and always works with members to address issues with management informally as a first step.

Shouldn’t we give management a chance to make improvements before we form a union? We might have new management in a year so maybe we should wait to see what happens then.

Nothing has stopped your management team from adopting a practical and fair process to address the concerns of staff. Having a union not only means such a process will be established, it means that you will have a voice in deciding what that process is. You will also have the security of knowing that process cannot be unilaterally changed or ignored if management decides it doesn’t want to follow it in the future.

With a collective agreement, your rights are protected. And in fact, a collective agreement can be a great tool for good managers—establishing rules and norms can increase transparency and fairness for everyone.

If we unionize, can I lose my current or planned entitlements?

Once an application for union certification is filed with the Ontario Labour Relations Board, your existing terms and conditions of employment are “frozen” until your first collective agreement is negotiated. This means that your Employer cannot change the terms of employment without seeking and obtaining the union’s consent. If your Employer wanted to increase your compensation before a first collective agreement were concluded, senior management and your union could easily come to an agreement. We want you and your colleagues to have the best possible compensation.

With the filing of the application on May 27, this “freeze” on your terms and conditions has already occurred—see the update for more details. This legal protection means that your Employer cannot retaliate against you for unionizing by suddenly changing or reducing your pay or benefits, or even putting an end to or cancelling social events.

When working with employees to negotiate their first collective agreement, AMAPCEO’s goal is always to formalize through the collective agreement any beneficial terms of employment employees have now and seek improvements to them.

Why should I unionize?

Forming a union and collective bargaining are protected rights guaranteed by Canadian law.

By joining a union, you can engage with your employer from a position of strength and support to advocate for improvements, achieve common goals, and address workplace issues. You do this by bargaining for a collective agreement that includes a mechanism for resolving any disputes that may arise over the application of negotiated terms of employment.

All of this is done under the umbrella of the Labour Relations Act, which protects unionized employees’ rights to representation by ensuring they do not face retaliation from their Employer for exercising these rights. These protections apply before, during, and even after the first collective agreement is negotiated.

By contrast, in a non-unionized environment, workplace rules can be changed unilaterally by the employer at any time, without regard to how they may affect employees.

Why AMAPCEO?

AMAPCEO is a strong, member-driven union representing 15,000 professionals who provide valuable public services to the people of Ontario—just like OAGO employees. AMAPCEO has almost thirty years of experience negotiating collective agreements with governments from all three major political parties and with a number of employers in the Broader Public Sector. AMAPCEO members are supported by a team of highly-skilled labour relations specialists, expert legal counsel, and a team of elected volunteer member representatives. AMAPCEO aims to defend members’ rights, protect Ontario’s public services, and advocate for better working conditions for all. 

Form a union with AMAPCEO to:

• Gain the fairness and security of a collective agreement, which would set out clear rules about salary, vacation, benefits, and more;
• Gain the protections of a union, including a dispute resolution process, the right to a harassment-free environment, freedom from unjust discipline, and more;
• Access AMAPCEO's trained workplace representatives and the union's experienced professional staff—not to mention the top labour lawyers in the country;
• Benefit from increased job security in this time of government cuts; and
• Have AMAPCEO in OAGO employees’ corner, fighting to improve workplace conditions so you can focus on your job: working for Ontario.

Together, we can protect your future. Learn more about the benefits of joining a union—and hear directly from AMAPCEO members—here.

How does unionization work?

In Ontario, the process of forming a union is a straightforward, two-step process that involves card-signing and a secret ballot vote. Learn more about how unionization works and where OAGO is in the process here.

What does it cost to belong to AMAPCEO?

AMAPCEO members pay membership dues that are 1% of your gross salary and, like CPP contributions, are taken by payroll deduction. Union dues are 100% tax receiptable. Compared to other unions, AMAPCEO dues are among the lowest in the country and have not been raised in 30 years. AMAPCEO funds all its services from its membership dues.

You will not start paying dues until after the first collective agreement has been successfully negotiated and approved by you and your colleagues. Dues are not retroactively collected.

If I join AMAPCEO, who else in my workplace will be part of the union?

Most bargaining units include everyone who does similar work, but not managers who are responsible for hiring and dismissals.

Can AMAPCEO take us on strike?

In almost 30 years of existence, AMAPCEO has achieved meaningful gains for its members through negotiations without even once needing to resort to striking. AMAPCEO has a problem-solving approach to labour relations, while being principled and firm in representing members’ interests.

The decision to strike is not made by AMAPCEO—it can only be made by you and your colleagues in a vote. Only a majority vote by the affected employees can authorize a strike, which would only ever occur as a last resort if negotiations were irreparably stalled. We reiterate that AMAPCEO members have never before had to resort to strike action.

I participated in the card-signing—will my employer ever find out?

No. Only AMAPCEO representatives and the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) officials see the cards. The employer finds out how many employees signed cards but not who signed them. That information is not released by the OLRB.

When it comes time to vote, will my employer know how I have voted? Can they prevent me from voting?

No. The vote conducted by the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) is a secret ballot vote. The ballots are counted by the OLRB, and the employer never has access to them. The only way your employer will learn about how you voted is if you volunteer to make that information public. It is unlawful for the Employer to require you to disclose how you intend to vote or how you voted.

Can my employer stop us from joining AMAPCEO by threatening or intimidating us?

No, employer interference through threats or intimidation is unlawful. Some employers engage in intimidation tactics regardless, taking advantage of employees’ sense of vulnerability in a deliberate attempt to sway the outcome of the vote. The extent to which an employer engages in these unlawful tactics is often a reflection of how important it is to them to be able to deal with its employees as it wishes, “unconstrained” by the protections granted by law to unionized employees.

Interference with the unionization process is unlawful and will be challenged by AMAPCEO. 

I still have questions. Who can I talk to?

The decision to unionize is an important one, and the process is new to many people. AMAPCEO has a team of highly-skilled labour relations specialists who are here to offer information and answer any additional questions you may have. For more information or support, contact AMAPCEO at amapceo.on.ca.