Standing Together, Fighting For What Matters

Teachers and other educators are at the heart of our public schools. As we begin this pivotal new school year, I want to start by acknowledging all that you do to create learning communities that truly value each and every child. After eight years of cuts from the Conservative government, our public schools are in crisis. Educators are facing large class sizes, burn out, violence, and a lack of resources and supports. Despite these challenges and others, ETFO members continue to provide students with a high-quality public education, filling the gaps left by the province after so many years of underfunding.

Since 2018, the Ford government has cut a staggering $6.5 billion from public education. These cuts affect every educator and every student across this province. But the cuts do not affect every student and every community equally; they deepen the inequities already faced by students and families who are marginalized. This is why equity isn’t just a side issue for ETFO, it is the very centre of all we do. We understand that a system starved of resources fails those who need it most.

Instead of addressing funding shortfalls and providing the investments our public schools need, the Ford government has laid the blame on teachers and other educators, leaving ETFO members feeling responsible for issues in their classrooms. But we know the issues are systemic and not individual. ETFO will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to ensure parents and the public know that too, and to challenge this government on its disregard for public education.

As ETFO awaits an Ontario Labour Relations Board decision on what will be bargained centrally and what will be bargained locally, we will continue to ensure members have access to all the supports, services and resources our union has to offer. We have many programs and a number of new resources launching this fall. Advice and guidance from staff in Professional Relations Services, as well as other services and supports, are available to ETFO members from the provincial office. I encourage you to visit etfo.ca and members.etfo.ca regularly to see all that ETFO has to offer.

As this is a bargaining year, I also encourage you to ensure ETFO Member Records has your correct personal email address so that you can keep updated on bargaining news and related communications. To make sure we have your correct information, log into members.etfo.ca and update your account information by clicking on your name in the top right corner.

Along with working closely with affiliate education unions on bargaining, ETFO is also running a robust public campaign to highlight the critical issues our members are facing. We have TV, social media, digital and radio ads, billboards and podcast ads in heavy rotation throughout the fall. Our goal is to frame the conversations members are going to have in their communities, talking about the importance of smaller classes and investment in the resources and supports students need, especially those who are most vulnerable.

Despite having considerable resources, we cannot match the advertising dollars of the provincial government. That is why local organizing by ETFO members is so important.

The government may have advertising power (funded by taxpayer dollars), but they cannot match the tenacity of our 84,000 members. Our power comes from people talking with one another and reaching out to their communities. It comes from working with other education unions to act together and support one another. On September 16, ETFO participated in a province-wide Day of Action in which 275,000 teachers and education workers showed this government that we are unified and we are fierce in our defence of public education.

Let’s commit to keeping this momentum going throughout the fall, and for as long as necessary. The way forward is collective action. Together, we will build the power necessary to secure the working and learning conditions you and Ontario’s students deserve.

– Sharon O’Halloran