Ontario education unions begin strike votes this week

TORONTO – Five major Ontario education unions are holding strike votes in November, starting Wednesday with the Canadian Union of Public Employees’ school boards council, as contract talks with the Ford government remain stalled.

Collective agreements for education workers expired Aug. 31. No strike has been called, and a strike vote does not necessarily mean a strike will happen, the Canadian Press reported in September.

According to NOW Toronto, the CUPE Ontario School Board Council of Unions, which represents about 57,000 education workers, votes Nov. 4 to 18. Members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation vote Nov. 6 to 16. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, which NOW reported represents 84,000 members, votes online Nov. 9 to 18.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association votes Nov. 12 and 13, and the French-language teachers’ union, the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens, votes Nov. 16 and 17.

NOW Toronto reported that a strike vote succeeds when more than 50 per cent of union members cast a ballot in favour of striking. Under Ontario rules, unions must give five days’ written notice before job action, according to analysis published by The Conversation on Oct. 29.

The unions and the government are at odds over which issues are bargained at the central table and which are left to local unions and school boards. The dispute has been sent to the Ontario Labour Relations Board. The Conversation reported that hearings are concluding, with a decision expected weeks later, likely around the time strike vote results come in.

OSSTF president Martha Hradowy told the Canadian Press in September that members are “standing together for publicly funded education.” The unions are collectively demanding more provincial investment in public schools.

A spokesperson for Education Minister Paul Calandra said in a statement that once the labour board process concludes, the government “will be ready and willing to negotiate new contracts.” The statement said premature strike threats do not serve students.

The Conversation article, written by a McMaster University researcher who is an OSSTF member, said the government has said it has made record investments in education. The government also wants more control over some bargaining issues, including staffing timelines tied to transfer, surplus and redundancy, professional development funding and contracting out, it reported.

In 2022, the province used the notwithstanding clause to remove CUPE education workers’ right to strike, then backed down after other unions threatened a general strike.

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Sources: The Canadian Press via CP24, NOW Toronto, The Conversation via Yahoo News Canada.