High school teachers in Fort Frances, Rainy River, and Atikokan voted 98.9 percent in favour of strike action on Wednesday, the union revealed late Friday morning.
Brian Church, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation 5B bargaining unit, said the vote is a strong indication of the teachers’ support of the negotiating team.
“We ended up with a 98.9 percent in favour of a strike,” said Church. “As far as I know, it’s the highest percentage in the province.”
He said 91 teachers from the three high schools voted Wednesday.
“As far as OSSTF members, that’s an overwhelming majority,” Church remarked. “Basically it shows that the teachers are overwhelmingly united. It shows everyone is together on this.
“We’re just hoping for a fair agreement.”
Church said the vote, coupled with the filing of a “no board” report last week, means strike action can be taken if contract negotiations with the Rainy River District School Board don’t reach a deal.
The teachers and board are scheduled to have another round of negotiations Feb. 20-21.
“We’re still hopeful a deal can be made on the 20 and 21,” Church said. “We know the board has the means to settle this without strike action . . . if the board is willing to talk.
“The final decision isn’t made about what will happen,” he added. “If negotiations start moving forward, we’ll postpone [job action].
“If not, we’ll probably start with a work to rule, then more.
“A full-blown walkout would be definitely possible,” Church warned. “A lot of it hinges on how the negotiations go.
“It’s not our intent to disrupt the students’ lives,” he stressed, indicating extra-curricular activities may not be the first to feel job action. “We don’t want to disrupt normal school operations.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
