Organizing

We need a government that will bargain fairly with educators and other public sector workers.

The winter issue of Voice comes on the heels of a province-wide listening tour for ETFO released officers as members get ready for what is widely believed to be an early provincial election.

We know that women, particularly those that are racialized and dealing with precarity in its different forms, bore the brunt of this pandemic.

The summer issue of Voice is always our women’s issue. It is an opportunity to highlight women’s voices, consider the intersections of our struggles and to talk about the value and impact of ETFO’s women’s programs.

Neeru Sekhon considers the impacts of the pandemic and how her activism brings her hope.

The spring issue of Voice is focussed on moving forward and organizing together for the change we want to see. The pandemic has been incredibly difficult for educators and other frontline workers and we all look forward to finally moving beyond it and rebuilding towards a future that centres equity and investment in public education, public services and communities.

There is no doubt that education workers have struggled as a result of the systemic underfunding of public education. Ontario’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic turned difficult classroom realities, such as large class sizes, insufficient supports for students, and poor air quality and ventilation, into a dangerous crisis.

Heather Aggus looks at ETFO’s recent history of challenging and pushing back against successive governments in Ontario.