is part of the legal bargaining process in On- tario, on July 28, 2023, the Ford government imposed PPM 168, which requires elemen- tary teachers with students in Year 2 of Kin- dergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 to use a man- datory early screening tool twice per year. As it is currently written, PPM 168 violates the ETFO Teacher/Occasional Teacher Central Agreement and so, on August 8, 2023, ETFO filed an unfair labour practice complaint against the government at the Ontario La- bour Relations Board.
WHY TAKE STRIKE VOTES NOW?
ETFO collective agreements expired as of August 31, 2022. Tat means ETFO members have been working for over a year without contracts. Bargaining progress has
stalled
for our education worker members. For our teacher and occasional teacher members, we have yet to see any progress made on our pri- ority issues, including: • meaningful salary increases that take infla- tion into consideration
• significant increases to daily occasional rates in order to encourage staff recruit- ment and retention
• funding to maintain benefits at current levels
• increased supports for students who are integrated into general classrooms
• funding to support additional staff posi- tions in special education, ELL, Early Years, Indigenous supports, and mental health/well-being initiatives for students
• a clear, transparent, and equitable hiring path for long-term occasional and perma- nent teaching positions
• class-size reductions and protections from Kindergarten through to Grade 8
• an end to unsustainable teaching models like “hybrid” instruction
• measures to address violence in schools Bargaining is a two-way street. In addition
to representing your own interests, the par- ties at a negotiation table need to be open to hearing the other side’s point of view and seek to understand the reasoning behind their motives. What we’ve seen over the last few months from the government/school board – particularly at the teacher/occasional teacher central table – is a profound unwillingness to engaging in dialogue, to have constructive discussions, or to genuinely tackle big issues in education affecting students, educators and the public education system.
CENTRAL STRIKE VOTE MEETINGS INFORMATION
Te provincial office, in concert with ETFO locals, will be holding member infor- mation meetings where central strike votes will take place. Tese meetings will be conducted in person in September and October. In most locations, ETFO mem- bers working for the same school board (teachers, occasional teachers, education workers) will attend the same meeting, hear the same information, have their questions answered, and then participate in the central strike vote that is relevant to their professional designation. Tis fall, your ETFO local will provide you with the date, time and location of
your central strike vote meeting. All ETFO members are urged to attend. In addition, central strike vote meeting information, strike vote FAQs, etc., are available on ETFO’s Collective Bargaining website at
etfocb.ca.
ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ FEDERATION OF ONTARIO 11
Te time for patience from ETFO and
ETFO members is over. It’s now time to step up pressure on the government by taking central strike votes and delivering strong strike mandates to support bargaining at our central tables.
YOUR PARTICIPATION IN CENTRAL STRIKE VOTES IS CRUCIAL
High turnouts at ETFO central strike vote meetings, together with large central strike mandates from both our teacher/occasional teacher members and education worker members, will send a strong signal to the government that ETFO members are serious about our proposals and positions. An overwhelming “yes” vote is important
because our union is strongest when we are united. Raising our voices together through strong central strike votes means that the gov- ernment can’t ignore the challenges facing our professions, our schools, and our students. Holding central strike votes is not an au-
tomatic trigger for strike action. Tere are several other steps that must occur (e.g., im- passe, conciliation, no board report, etc.) be-
fore legal job action can occur. Likewise, strong central strike mandates do not necessarily mean ETFO will
strike action, but they do indicate that mem- bers are ready to do so, if necessary. Oſten, a strong strike mandate alone is sufficient to get the government/school board teams to take bargaining seriously. ETFO remains committed to negotiating
fair central agreements that meet the needs of our members and support Ontario’s world- class public education system. Tese are our priorities as we continue to bargain renewed agreements for our teacher, occasional teach- er, and education worker members. Strong strike mandates can only help to support those priorities. *A statutory freeze under the Labour Rela-
tions Act means that the terms of an expired collective agreement remain legally in force and must be respected by the parties to that agreement during bargaining until either a new collective agreement is reached or the stat- utory freeze period ends. n
Lisa Mastrobuono is the Deputy General Secretary at ETFO.
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