Collective Bargaining

As this is being written, only a handful of settlements have been negotiated. All  of  them  are   excellent,  despite the  very  major  challenge  that  this year’s   unusual  bargaining  scenario being presented.

For a dramatic several days in early February, the activities of ETFO, the Ontario  Public  School  Boards’  Association (OPSBA), and the Minister of Education were the subject of intense media scrutiny.

On February 12, ETFO came to a difficult decision: we accepted a framework agreement for bargaining proposed by the provincial government.

ETFO has  been  much  in the  news  in the  past  several  months.  there have  been  dire warnings  of imminent  strikes,  looming deadlines, and other  seemingly  apocalyptic  scenarios.

In 1998, delegates to the first ETFO annual meeting unanimously passed the following motion: That the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario work to restore free and full collective bargaining rights to teachers and education workers.

Since ETFO’s inception in 1998, strong collective bargaining has worked to equalize compensation and working conditions for teacher and occasional teacher members across the province.

As you know ETFO collective agreements expire at the end of August and bargaining for new agreements is underway.

Within  the  next  couple  of  months  you  will receive notification that your ETFO local is holding a vote to ratify the preliminary submission for the upcoming round of negotiations.

On August 31, less than 200 days from now, every ETFO teacher and occasional teacher collective agreement will expire. It is only at the bargaining table that ETFO  can bring about  changes that positively affect every member at once.