Political Protest August 28th! Sign up for the bus!

On August 27th the government is set to pass anti-collective bargaining legislation that strips us of our constitutionally protected rights and imposes so-called "agreements" on us.  Particularly for occasional teachers, we need to have the ability to bargain local issues; we have too many issues that get ignored at the provincial level.

On August 28th, ETFO, CUPE, and OSSTF will be holding a protest at Queen's Park from noon till 1:30pm.

There will be free buses leaving from the CAW Hall at 124 Bunting Rd. at 9:00am on Tuesday.  The bus will leave Queen's Park at 2:00pm to return home.  Bring a lunch and something to drink.

We need you on the bus!  To reserve your spot (and help me know how many buses we'll need), please RSVP by e-mailing mark@niagaraot.org

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/401400006589455/

Update: Over 15,000 were in attendance yesterday.  Here's an article.

#A21NoCuts Photos

Our fearless leader was featured in this picture which was used in a Toronto Star article about the Day of Action Against Cuts protest... click on the image for more photos.

There were probably close to 20,000 people there... while marching I couldn't see either the front or the end of the sea of people.  Let's hope McGuinty gets the message that he needs to tax corporations, not cut public services!

April 21st Day of Action Against Cuts!

Join us on April 21st at Queen's Park to rally against government cuts!

Bus Departure Times and Locations:

10:45am Port Colborne: Steelworkers Hall, 2-87 Clarence Street

11:15am Welland: Welland Hydro, 950 East Main Street

11:45am Thorold: Niagara Regional Headquarters, 2201 St. David’s Road

12:00pm (noon) St. Catharines: CAW 199 Hall, 124 Bunting Road

1:30 pm Toronto Steelworkers Hall: Lunch Provided

Bus Sign-up Sheet

Event Poster

For more information contact president@niagaralabour.ca or call Daniel Peat at 905-933-1889.

Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/A21NoCuts
Twitter: #A21DOA

Ontario College of Teachers Election

The Ontario College of Teachers is electing a new College Council this year. Online electronic voting will begin on March 5^th, and closes on April 10^th. Results will be announced April 12^th. To vote, simply log into the Members Area of the College of Teachers website and you'll be presented with a ballot.

There is one position you'll be able to vote for where you have the chance to elect someone to College Council who will understand and represent the issues of occasional teachers. That is the “Southcentral Region Part-time/Full-time” position. Each region has two positions: full-time only, and the part-time/full-time position (part-time in this context includes occasional teachers). The part-time/full-time regional positions are the only positions which allow occasional teachers to have direct representation on College Council.

Niagara occasional teacher Mark Carter is a candidate for the Southcentral Region Part-time/Full-time position, and we encourage you to vote for him. Mark can bring to the College of Teachers a genuine understanding of the realities of being an occasional teacher. He has served on your Local Executive in many capacities for the past seven years, and we're confident that he will quite capably represent your interests at the College of Teachers. His election web site is at http://octelection.markcarter.info.

For more information on the College Council election, visit http://election.oct.ca

Collective Bargaining Update - March 6

Monitor collective bargaining news at the ControlYourFuture.ca website.  From there you can subscribe to the provincial bargaining news eNewsletter, download the app, view videos, and learn about the collective bargaining process.