What to know
- Ontario’s five major education unions have now scheduled strike votes in November.
- No strike has been called, and a successful vote does not automatically mean job action will happen.
- Bargaining remains stalled while the Ontario Labour Relations Board considers which issues should be negotiated centrally and which should remain local.
- The unions’ previous collective agreements expired Aug. 31
Every major education union in Ontario will be holding strike votes in November as talks with the province are currently stalled.
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) is the latest union to vote to strike, joining four other education unions that are also voting to strike in November. Its members will vote from Nov. 6 to 16.
“Our members want fair, negotiated contracts that address the realities they are seeing in schools every day,” OSSTF president Martha Hradowy said in a press release.
“A strike vote gives us an opportunity to strengthen our bargaining position and sends a clear message to the Ford government that OSSTF/FEESO members are united behind the bargaining priorities we will bring to the table.”
On Monday, the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ Ontario School Board Council of Unions branch (CUPE-OSBCU), which represents approximately 57,000 education workers, was the third to set a strike vote, which will take place from Nov. 4 to 18. This same week, L’Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO) also set a strike vote for Nov. 16 and 17.
Earlier in September, both the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) announced strike votes. The ETFO will vote online on whether to hold a strike mandate from Nov. 9 to 18. The OECTA will hold their vote on Nov. 12 and 13. The ETFO represents 84,000 members.
It’s important to note that a vote to strike does not mean teachers and educators will be walking off the job imminently. A successful strike to vote occurs when over 50 per cent of union members cast a ballot in favour of striking.
According to the press release, the OSSTF and other education unions were eager to get to the bargaining table in March, but they disagreed with the Ford government on which issues are central — should be handled provincially — and which issues are the responsibility of Toronto’s municipal government.
Collective agreements for the OSSTF, the ETFO, AEFO, the OECTA, and CUPE-OSBCU expired on Aug. 31.
