In April, at PSAC’s 2021 National Bargaining Conference, Education and Library Science (EB) group members set their priorities for the next round of negotiations and elected the bargaining team that will advocate for them at the table. 

The Education and Library Science group includes more than 1,107 members responsible for education, education support and library services. 

Marie-Hélène Leclerc 

Marie-Hélène has been a teacher at the Royal Military College Saint-Jean in Quebec since 2003. She helps Non-Commissioned Officers to complete mandatory e-learning courses that are a prerequisite for promotions to higher ranks. Her job pushes her to learn more about the Canadian Armed Forces and how to foster leadership skills. 

“My priority for this round is to fight contracting-out, get a fair wage increase and resolve issues around the use of technology in our members’ work. I hope to help advance the cause of public service employees on these issues,” said Leclerc. 

This is Marie-Hélène’s second time at the negotiation table for the EB group. She has also served as Vice-President of Agriculture Union Local 10377 since 2016.   

Frank Decker 

As part of the ED-EST subgroup, Frank is currently employed at 17 Wing Winnipeg as an adult educator at the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Barker College. He teaches project management, procurement and testing and evaluation. 

“We will do our very best to negotiate a good and strong collective agreement,” said Decker. 

Frank has been active as a shop steward for the UNDE Local 50705 for the past three years and looks forward to representing the EB membership at the bargaining table. 

Michael Freeman 

Michael is a federal school teacher on the Six Nations Reserve in Southern Ontario. He has been elected to the EB national bargaining team for a sixth time. 

“I look forward to representing the membership in the upcoming negotiations,” said Freeman. “As union members we must unite to ensure employers treat their members with respect.” 

Michael has been a PSAC member since 1992 and has served as President of Local 00128 for the last 20 years. He has also served as a National Equity Representative for Persons with Disabilities at UNE for eleven years.  

Alain Desroches   

Alain has been teaching at the Federal Training Centre in Laval, Quebec, for 23 years. Professionally, his passion is being able to pass on his knowledge and experience as an architectural technician to his students. 

“The way the new national salary grid is being implemented and the fact that it no longer recognizes teachers' years of experience, as it always has in the past, is the reason why I wanted to join the negotiating team,” said Desroches. 

Alain has been a steward with USJE Local 10024 since 2013 and served as Secretary-Treasurer for six years. He’s also been a member of the Local Occupational Health and Safety Committee (LOHSC) since 2016. 

Danielle Moffet  

Danielle is a Second Language Teacher with the Department of National Defence (DND) and has been involved in the labour movement since 2006. .

“I‘ve already participated in two rounds of bargaining for the EB collective agreement, and I’m thrilled to drawn on my experience for this next round,” said Moffet. ​

Danielle previously served as president of her local as well as National Director—DND for the Agriculture Union.

Francesco Lai 

Francesco is a librarian for Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). His duties are currently to negotiate the purchase of electronic and print resources for ECCC clients. 

“One of my key goals is to substantially reduce the wage adjustment gap that is continually growing within the public service. We are considerably underpaid compared to our colleagues outside the federal government,” said Lai.  

Francesco has been an active member of PSAC and the Union of Health and Environment Workers for the last eight years. He wanted to be on the bargaining team to be a voice for librarians, teachers and all PSAC members.