Bill 115, McGuinty Mondays, and more...

On September 11th, the Ontario Liberal government passed Bill 115: An Act to implement restraint measures in the education sector (the so-called "Putting Students First Act").  This act imposes the terms of the OECTA memorandum of understanding on the entire education sector.

The bill eliminates our right to strike, allows the Minister of Education to unilaterally set the terms of our collective agreement, and among other things eliminates the ability of the Ontario Labour Relations Board and arbitrators to make rulings on whether Bill 115 is constitutional or violates the Ontario Human Rights Code.  It also states that nothing under Bill 115 "shall be questioned or reviewed in any court."

Clearly, this is not the type of legislation we expect to see arising in a free democratic country like Canada.  ETFO has already launched a legal challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and a variety of escalating actions will be happening this year in response.  Please monitor this web site for more information, sign up for our e-mail lists, and visit controlyourfuture.ca.

There will be a protest this Friday September 14th at 4:00pm outside the offices of Jim Bradley and Tim Hudak.

McGuinty Mondays

ETFO is asking teachers to "take a pause" every Monday by refraining from providing their employers with any voluntary work, and leaving/arriving to work no longer the 30 minutes before/after the school day.  For occasional teachers, our challenge will be to not allow ourselves to get stuck filling in for the activities/services our full-time colleagues are refraining from providing.

Please express your outrage by sending a message to your MPP.

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