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.
For educators, the decision to participate in extracurricular activities has always been voluntary. Teachers choose to participate because they are passionate about their students and are committed to creating positive and healthy learning environments.
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.
Working with electrical equipment is wired into an educator’s day. We handle SMART Boards, computers, audio-visual carts, and extension cords. If this wiring and equipment is damaged, faulty, or misused, it can become an electrical hazard.
As locals completed filing their no board reports, each moved into a legal strike position.
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.
Teachers and schools have a key role to play in our planet’s future. Environmental education is a key component for creating a generation of students who understand that each of us can powerfully affect the fate of the natural world, environmental systems and their sustainability.
Thousands of ETFO and other union members, concerned citizens, and students converged on Queen’s Park on August 28 for the Rally for Education. Eighty-nine busloads of ETFO members arrived, some of whom travelled for seven hours to attend the rally.
Bill 115 is the legislation that was passed by the Liberal government to legislate ETFO collective agreements and those of other education unions.