Elementary teachers back strike action

Members of the Rainy River local of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) have voted unanimously to take strike action.
One hundred percent of the teachers attending a meeting last night gave their union a mandate to take any and all action—including a full-withdrawal-of-services strike—to achieve their contract goals.
“This strike vote sends a message to the Rainy River District School Board that their elementary teachers are prepared to do whatever it takes to improve their daily working conditions,” said ETFO president Emily Noble.
“Excessive workload is a huge concern at the elementary level,” she added. “Unless we achieve 200 minutes of preparation time in this collective agreement, there will be no deal signed.”
Local elementary teachers currently have 150 minutes of preparation time.
“Despite the board’s reluctance to move on the issues prior to the strike vote, we still want to reach a resolution at our next bargaining meeting,” said Sharon Preston, president of the local ETFO.
“Our members are prepared to negotiate and they are prepared to strike. The next move is up to the board,” she stressed.
The Rainy River District local represents 106 public elementary school teachers, who have been without a contract since Aug. 31, 2004.
They plan to start working-to-rule in March if no agreement has been reached by then.
Overall, the ETFO represents 65,000 public elementary school teachers and education workers across Ontario, and is the largest teacher federation in Canada outside of Quebec.