Teachers Can’t Ignore Politics (From the President)

Early in my teaching career I came to understand the extent to which public education is intricately entwined with politics. Governments of  all  stripes use public  education to demonstrate commitment to their political goals—be they cost-cutting, social  justice and equity,  or  economic  growth.  I  learned  very early on that teachers’ working conditions are often  affected by seemingly arbitrary political acts.

When I began teaching in 1992 I looked forward to a career as an intermediate classroom teacher. I believed  naively then, as many new teachers do, that I could simply shut my classroom door and the politics of education would not enter my life as a teacher.

Then a recession hit and, while it was not as severe as the one we are experiencing today, Ontario was particularly affected. The province lost industries and jobs. Seeking to reduce its budget deficit, the NDP provincial government announced  restraint  measures  and  forced  a ‘social  contract’  upon  various  public  sector unions.

For teachers this meant an agreement that froze our  salaries. There would  be  no  incremental increases, no moving up the grid. This agreement created a generational divide: those new  to  the  profession,  not  already   earning the  maximum  salary, bore  the  brunt  of  the burden.

I was one of those teachers, and the unfairness of that agreement moved me to become involved  in   federation  activities.  Just  eight years after I first stepped into the classroom I became the   president of the 3,500 member York  Region  Local,  having  served  as  chief negotiator,  political   action  chair,  and  local vice-president.

The  90s  were  a  decade  of  tremendous politically-driven  change  in  education.  The social contract was  followed by huge cuts to education budgets made by the Conservative governments of  Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. These governments denigrated public servants, unions,  and   teachers  in  particular.  Government  proposals to  test teachers implied that many  were  incompetent.  Mandatory “voluntary activities” were legislated, although never proclaimed into law. Moves to institute standardized  testing  of  students  underlined  the belief that without external ‘validators’ teachers could not be relied upon to do their jobs.

Those of  us  active in  teacher federations worked to protect public education. We staged days of protest and  a  two-week job action in 1997. I became more convinced than ever that political action was key to improving teaching and public education.

The  government forced  amalgamation  of local governments and school districts in the name of ‘efficiency’.  In 1998, in the midst of this,  ETFO  was  created.  I  joined  the  executive of  the newly-formed federation in  1999. I became a vice-president in 2002, first vice- president in 2005, and president in 2007, some 14 years after first becoming active.

My work as an  ETFO activist would not have been sustainable if I did not believe in the need for social justice and equity in teaching. It began with wanting fairness for young teachers. Today  we  are  working  for  fairness for all elementary teachers. Our campaign to Close the Gap has been at its heart a campaign to create equity between teachers and students in the elementary panel and those in secondary schools.

My own activism in ETFO made me believe I could make a difference. The strength of our union is its people. I encourage you to use your skills and talents to work to make a difference for  yourself  and  your  colleagues—and,  ultimately, for the students we teach.