ETFO has a long tradition of encouraging members to be politically informed and engaged. In the recent provincial election, seven ETFO members made the ultimate political commitment of running as candidates.
More than 150 people braved cold rainy days and Toronto traffic to attend the May Representative Council meeting this year.
This compelling collection of articles takes up the challenge of turning the dial on the negative view of taxes that has come to characterize our political discourse. We’ve reached the point in Canada, including Ontario, where political leaders believe it would be suicide to raise the spectre of higher taxes.
Free and fair collective bargaining is at the heart of what we do as a union.
The minority government at Queen’s Park means Ontario could face an election this school year. ETFO members may still harbour strong feelings about the Liberal government’s attack on collective bargaining rights and the failure of anyone in the legislature to vigorously defend them, but we should not overlook the bigger threat to the public sector and to unions: the agenda of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party.
I’d like to begin the last column of this school year by saying a big thank you to our members. This has been a very challenging year of contract discussions with the government. It has also been incredibly powerful and inspiring.
ETFO members have spent the last year standing up for the right to engage in free collective bargaining. In the process, we experienced some rude awakenings: a Liberal government that betrayed a decade-long relationship with education professionals and a growing bias against unions. The broader context of this experience helps us to both better understand the anti-union sentiment and fight against it.
The past year of negotiations has been a difficult one, but ETFO members have continued to stand strong and, through their solidarity, demonstrate that we are a force to be reckoned with.
The past year of negotiations has been difficult for ETFO and other public sector unions. With the release of the Drummond report in February, the government began a systematic assault on public sector workers.
Educators come to their profession as a calling. We do so because we believe we have something important to contribute to the children who will shape our society and build our future.