Tensions continue between the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Government of Ontario, as the threat of rotating strikes becomes more of a reality for elementary schools across the province. Bargaining has resumed between ETFO president Sam Hammond and the province, but the possibility remains that a concrete resolution will continue to be avoided.
Recently, Tanner Morton, a writer for The Ontarion, had the opportunity to sit down with Julie Cullen, a Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board elementary school teacher with over 25 years of teaching experience.
TM: Julie, what is your opinion regarding the possibility of rotating strikes, if an agreement isn’t made with the Ontario provincial government?
JC: Well, my opinion is that we should do everything we can to avoid a rotating strike. I really don’t feel that it would be very effective, to be honest. I think that, in any strike situation with the school board, it’s a no-win for everyone, so I don’t think it’s a very effective strategy. I like the fact that they’re continuing to negotiate and I think that the two parties should be able to come to some sort of reasonable compromise.
TM: As of now, teachers are in stage three of a work-to-rule, instead of a full-on strike. Could you give me a sense of what a work-to-rule is?
JC: Okay, so the main point in this stage three work-to-rule [is that] there is not a lot of interference with the life of students. Some of the things that we aren’t doing, that are related to students, are fundraising, which indirectly affects students and we aren’t doing field trips, which definitely affects the students. We’re still coaching extracurriculars, we are still providing all the same services to students, it’s more administrative duties that we’re not doing that we normally would do, such as collecting money for the Terry Fox Run. We still did the Terry Fox Run, but all the money had to go to the office; any kind of collection or handing out notices from the office—none of that is happening. On Wednesdays, what we call Wynne Wednesdays, we wear the colour black. Everyone wears the colour black in solidarity, and we don’t do any kind of extracurricular activities, so they have to be moved to other days. We don’t participate in any board training, workshops, or initiatives, but really, in the classroom its business as usual. In fact, some teachers find they are able to spend more time with their students because they aren’t bogged down by board initiatives and workshops. The other thing that’s happening right now, in the stage, for progress reports which come out in November, we will provide the principal with checkmarks in the different subject areas and the principal will need to input them. We don’t provide any comments; it will be more of a checklist format.
TM: Did you say Wynne Wednesday?
JC: Yeah Wynne, as in Kathleen Wynne, because we’re protesting her inability to have the negotiations continue and have a compromise be found.
This current set of negotiations has been ongoing since the spring of 2015, and could carry over into the New Year.