Voices

Re: Poverty   and  Learning
(June 08)

On behalf of  the  Canadian  Teachers’  Federation  (CTF),  please  accept my  sincerest  congratulations  to  you– members and leaders of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario – on the occasion of your tenth anniversary.

It is fitting, in ETFO’s 10th  anniversary year, that  we  celebrate  its  successes. However,  we must also look, acknowledge and reflect on the challenges that bind  the 155,000 members of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF).

Educators work in a highly regulated and litigious environment. Moreover, political, economic, social, and environmental change in the province inevitably affects families, children, and, of course, schools.

ETFO is unique among Canadian teacher federations in having a service area devoted to Equity and Women’s Services, demonstrating our commitment to women’s equality and social justice.

From its inception, ETFO embraced the use of the Web to improve service delivery to members. ETFO and its predecessors were pioneers among service  organizations  in  using  the Internet to communicate with members.

Ken  Georgetti,  president  of  the Canadian Labour  Congress, believes that  the  programs and services unions provide in  addition to collective bargaining are the  heart  and  soul  of  the  union  movement.

In 1998, delegates to the first ETFO annual meeting unanimously passed the following motion: That the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario work to restore free and full collective bargaining rights to teachers and education workers.

Many ETFO members have fond memories of the  Federation  of  Women  Teachers’ Associations  of  Ontario  (FWTAO)   and   the Ontario  Public  School  Teachers’  Federation (OPSTF),  the  two  organizations  that&