Niagara OT Local endorses NDP candidate in Niagara Falls byelection

The ETFO Niagara Occasional Teachers' Local has endorsed the NDP candidate, Wayne Gates, in the byelection for the Niagara Falls riding which will take place on February 13th.

Update: Wayne Gates has been elected as the Niagara Falls MPP!

The Niagara Falls riding includes Niagara Falls, Fort Erie, and Niagara-on-the-Lake.  Wayne's web site is at http://waynegates.com/


Campaign office contact information:

Niagara Falls:
3770 Montrose Road, Unit 1A
289-296-6999

Fort Erie:
401-B Garrison Road
289-320-8311

Niagara-on-the-Lake:
358 Mary St., Unit 4
289-868-8968

Twitter: @Wayne_Gates
Facebook: Wayne_Gates

If you can take a lawn sign, contribute financially, or volunteer for the campaign it would be much appreciated.  Remember, though, the most important thing to do is make sure you and every like-minded person you know gets out to vote on February 13th!

Early Learning Program PLC December 9th

To enhance our members' knowledge of current classroom practices, the Professional Learning Committee is having a series of sessions on specific topics.  The next one is:

Early Learning Program (ELP)

  Monday, December 9th from 4:30 to 5:30pm at the ETFO Office, 2601 Hwy 20 East, Fonthill (across the road from Ferrell's Building Supplies).

With the DSBN Support Staff person, Pam Rao (who also teaches ETFO's Kindergarten Part 1 AQ), we’ll discuss current ELP practices and the important aspects of working in these classrooms. The meeting will be completed within one hour.

The objective of all of these sessions will be coming together, working together, succeeding together.

Hope you can join us.  Please send RSVPs/inquiries to Arlie@NiagaraOT.org

ETFO MOU Summary and Online Voting

Update: ETFO members voted 91% in favour of accepting the MOU.  The MOU will now become part of our collective agreement, and override and improve the terms imposed by Bill 115.

ETFO has reached a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ontario government.  Complete details are on ControlYourFuture.ca.

All ETFO members need to vote online to approve this MOU.  The voting website is https://www.intvoting.com/ETFO and you will need your ETFO ID number.  Voting is now open, and ends Sunday June 23rd at 6:00pm.

 If you can't find your ETFO ID number, call the help desk at 1-877-869-8233.


Items of Note in the MOU for Occasional Teachers:
  • Occasional teachers will benefit along with everyone else from the 2% salary restoration that takes effect Sept 1st, 2014.
  • No changes to Reg. 274/12 that apply to ETFO members without the agreement of ETFO and the school boards.
  • Committee of ETFO, school boards, and Ministry to review Reg. 274/12 Hiring Practices with a view to establishing hiring practices and implementation procedures agreeable to the parties and/or to establish best practices for occasional teacher allocation and development.
  • Task force to consider the establishment of a Section 21 Committee for education sector stakeholders under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.  This would be a big step forward for all teachers.
  • A period of local bargaining re-opens, to be completed by August 29, 2013.  However, any changes must be by mutual agreements, as there will be no strikes or lockouts.
  • Reduction in the number of unpaid days that were imposed upon teachers.
  • A number of provisions such as the Voluntary Unpaid Leave Program, may result in additional work for occasional teachers.
Overall, it appears to be a good deal, certainly better than we could have expected given the dialogue coming from the government this past Fall.

Local Annual General Meeting

Update: We had an outstanding turnout, and Mark Carter was elected President.

 The Local AGM is scheduled for Monday June 17th, 2013.
Time: 4:30pm-~8pm
Location: Parkway Convention Centre, 327 Ontario St., St. Catharines

Presidential Election Candidates:
Gary Anderson 289-241-7899
Mark Carter 905-937-7861

Come out for great food, a chance to meet your colleagues, Career Milestone awards, Cool School award, door prizes, an overview of where we've been this year and the challenges facing us going forward.

We will also review the recent Memorandum of Understanding which ETFO has reached.

If you haven't done so already, sign-up to our e-mail lists with your NON-DSBN e-mail.

Please RSVP to Gary@NiagaraOT.org and be sure to indicate if you have any food restrictions.

Please also note that there is a donation page available for one of our members who is currently fighting breast cancer.

We also are currently conducting a survey on occasional teacher self-esteem here.

Scrabble for Literacy Tournament

Niagara Regional Literacy Council's ninth annual Scrabble for Literacy Fundraising Tournament is being held on Friday, May 2nd, 2014. We're trying to wrangle up a team (or two) of occasional teachers for this year's tournament.

The Local has sponsored the entry fee for a team again this year.  This will be our fifth year sending a team of occasional teachers to the event.  There's good food and it's always a ton of fun.

When: Friday May 2nd, 2014. Doors open at 5:00pm, dinner at 6pm, games begin 7:30pm.
Where: Holiday Inn Parkway Convention Centre, 327 Ontario Street, St. Catharines
Cost: Free to you if you join our team!  Otherwise $35 per person, $210 for a team of 6. Price includes a full hot and cold buffet dinner, door prizes, and three team Scrabble games. Silent auction and penny sale also at event.

More information: 905-687-8299 or visit www.literacyniagara.org
If you'd like to be part of a Niagara OT team, e-mail Mark@niagaraot.org.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)