The Power of a Dime

ETFO  members  have  always  been  generous when it comes to responding to tragic events around the world. They have donated as individuals and as locals to AIDS work in Africa, and to the victims of the Haitian earthquake and the Indian Ocean tsunami. They have held bake sales and collected school supplies. And they have worked to set up the ETFO Humanity Fund, a fund that “uses the resources of ETFO members to support children and their teachers around the world, enriching their lives and the lives of their communities.”

When the ETFO Humanity Fund was created in 2000, ETFO members joined with thousands of members of other unions that have created funds to support social justice internationally and at home. These funds include

• Steelworkers Humanity Fund, the original such union initiative, with an annual budget of almost $1.5 million
• Canadian Autoworkers (CAW) Social Justice Fund
• Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) Humanity Fund
• Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Global Justice Fund, with an annual budget of $250,000
• Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Live and Let Live Fund that supports persons with HIV/AIDS in Ontario and South Africa and the OPSEU Social Justice Fund that supports projects in developing countries
• OSSTF’s and BCTF’s international support funds.

Some of these funds are negotiated into collective agreements; others are funded by decisions of the organization. In all cases, members decide where the money will go.

Why did  ETFO and  other  unions  decide to  establish  social  justice  and  international development funds? Why not just let members decide  themselves  where  to  donate?  It’s  for the same reason people have organized into unions: Working together and sharing resources means you can do more.

The 10 ETFO locals that have joined the Humanity Fund together contribute $72,000 a year. The cost to each member is a dime a day, $20 a year.

Other locals that have not joined the Humanity Fund make contributions by donating honoraria, in memoriam  contributions, and charity auction proceeds. Individual ETFO members and staff also contribute.

Over half the money collected every year goes to ETFO’s signature charity, the Stephen Lewis Foundation. The  Humanity Fund has also supported other charities, many recommended by members. The fund gave money to support  earthquake victims in Haiti, new classrooms in Nicaragua and Niger, and teacher resources and training in Uganda, Kenya,  Mozambique, and Tanzania. The fund has made donations to War Child Canada, Médecins Sans Frontières, and the International Red Cross.

ETFO members are making a difference. But think how much more we could do if every member contributed – if every local belonged. The annual budget would be over $1 million. This would bring with it great responsibility and great  opportunity. It would allow ETFO to make a major contribution to the lives of children, teachers, and communities around the world.