Toronto Labour Day Parade Review!

It was the beginning of hopefully a much longer, and even more seismic march: NDP leader Thomas Mulcair kicked off this year's Toronto Labour Day Parade 2015 Parade festivities, at Nathan Philips Square, with a rootsy union speech. [@ Star] He then marched elbow to elbow with our UNIFOR and other worker marchers to the corner of Queen St. W. and University to the teachers rallying point for this year's parade. 

It's early morning, the last day before fall classes resume, "We the Ontario teachers" were gathering, among cheerful, waving ETFO, OECTA and OSSTF flags, and sporting our bright florescent "Time For Change: Our Future Depends Upon It" t-shirts. Also, ever practical, there were of course plenty of pencils and rulers to hand out to the young folk along the parade route. It was a very grass root moment, as Tom wandered among us, laughing, talking, shaking hands while we posed for our mugshots and selfies on his much longer march to election day Oct 19 2015. 

Regretfully, it was a modest teacher gathering this year, much to my and many of my fellow colleagues dismay. Without doubt, the all affiliate Toronto locals were all eagerly there: OSSTF D12, ETT, OECTA TSU/ TECT. I also met OECTA members from York and Halton too! However, last spring's "army of teachers" would seem to have folded up their tents and headed back to class, at least pending the upcoming ratification votes, the momentum now surrendered. 

Our provincial union presidents were conspicuously MIA. Granted ETFO's Sam Hammond would soon be hunkering down for more negotiations at the towering, nearby Sheraton Hotel. OECTA's Ann Hawkin's and OSSTF Paul Elliott's were apparently scattered across the province at our other equally joyful if not so newsworthy Labour Day Rallies. I saw hide nor hair of AEFO. I would've expected a rather more highly prominent and robust CUPE presence in emphasizing the educational support worker timely contract issues. However, UNIFOR and our other labour colleagues still provided a most formidable labour march with much aplomb down along Queen St. W and into the CNE [Canadian National Exhibition] grounds thru the Dufferin St gate.

The NDP "Orange Crush" was prominent all along the parade route. I met Olivia Chow. Peggy Nash, Andrew Cash and Cheri Di Novo also were present. A gentlemen set up a make shift Trudeau booth. A lone, cantankerous "taxpayer" [unlike the rest of us ....?] sat on his scooter with a particularly vile placard sign, cursing as we marched by. Being retired, I enjoyed the distinct "solo" pleasure of being able to stop by for a moment or two to enthusiastically, encourage him to "kiss my union butt", much to his chagrin. I've always soooooooo wanted to do that ....

Grrrrrrrrrrr! Gnnnnnnnngggggg! Ggggggggggggggggggg! 

TYLC John Cartwright greeted us as we marched into the CNE grounds, surrounded by a bevy of labour endorsed, local, election candidates. However, I thought the grandstand otherwise notably bereft of the usual show de force of the local provincial and municipal leaders we have come to expect, accept of course for the NDP. I would've thought any Liberals who dared wade into this year's big labour moment moment would've gotten crushed by the wave. Especially when we consider the vile Liberal betrayal of Ontario's teacher and education support workers in their present, shameful round of still ongoing negotiations and yet unratified contract votes. However, more than a few of the teachers I talked too confided they will be working for Liberal candidates, though usually shoring up an incumbent, in ridings were they will need help against the PC's.

Walking the talk ....

Be that as it may, UNIFOR sucessfully launched it's federal election media campaign with much ado. [@ Globe] "Heave Steve" and "Stop Harper" signs flourished, everywhere to be seen. There was a strong showing of solid, pro working family NDP MP's, MPP's and election hopefuls. The Liberals and of course the Conservatives, were once again conspicuous by their absence. Janet, I and our union friends and family enjoyed a leisurely group picnic in the CNE and an afternoon wandering the grounds, on the last day of summer holidaze for many; the grand finale of our annual Toronto Labour Day CNE Parade. 

RELATED LINKS:

Rank and File's Weekend Video on the Origins of Labour Day is @ R+F.Ca

PS: More photos in slide show top left screen!

COMMENTS:

A Vichy Mentality?

Sept 20 daily news links included at the end of this blog.......

As an OECTA member, the many protests when Bill 115 became law last week sure brought back lots of memories from when we were on the teacher front lines during the Harris Years. Being faced with far worse cut backs and threats to the very existence of our union seemed to bring out the best in us all. OECTA's commitment and participation were second to none during the province wide protest strike when all the teacher unions were all out on the streets for 2 weeks. Excellent communications, and organization helped us mobilize our members to rise to protect our jobs and our schools. It was really disheartening to sit back and do nothing now as the Liberal government and the Conservative opposition banded together to strip our contracts and ban key sections of the Ontario Labour Act. I still strongly feel the necessary urge to get out on the streets to protest now too!

We have all seen the MOU [Memo of Understanding] that was reached on July 5th when our members were off on their summer holidays. Unfortunately, many of our TSU [Toronto Secondary Unit] members were unable to attend the OECTA Provincial presentation at Roy Thompson Hall in late August. Many would not even have been aware of it.

I have received many antedoctal reports from our TSU members who were far off in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Others were cottaging without internet or snailmail connections. When they got a phone call, or went into town to check their email, they were totally shocked. There were maybe 4 or 5 info pieces on the members only OECTA Provincial website, which was hardly enough for piece of mind, even if they did have a password to read them. I'm glad if this blogspot was of some help in letting you easily access the great debate and different informative points of view that raged across the province this summer.

As you may know, OECTA TSU will now be holding 3 meetings across the city to hear and answer your questions and concerns. They will be: Oct 1 at Senator O'Connor CSS, Oct 2 at St. Basil's and Oct 3 at Marshal McLuhan. Unfortunately we have not yet received info on whether our Provincial Executive members will be there. My understanding, at present, is that TSU President Rene Jansen will be there instead. I will enquire further at our next executive meeting. One appreciates Rene's effort but does this seem right to you? No, it doesn't seem right to me either, whatever the reason or excuse.

As I mentioned in my last blog, we now know both OECTA TSU and TECT's [Toronto Elementary Catholic Teachers] retirement gratuities became little more than collateral damage when the MOU deal was reached. We were among the few OECTA units with retirement gratuities, which we have fought very hard to keep for many years. Our board couldn't believe it's good fortune! Neither unit president voted for the MOU when OECTA Provincial presented it to the local presidents at COP last July. And now? We are told it's a done deal. Basically, our hard  fought gains were a part of the trade off when OECTA provincial decided to gamble with a roll of the political dice on the MOU and the Ontario Liberal party.

No? Am I being disingenuous here? Go check the reader Comments below my blogs from this summer. Listen to your colleagues often deep sense of anger and betrayal around your staffroom table. If anything, I have been accused of going too easy on OECTA Provincial's decision to sign the MOU, as well as our union's lack of participation in the Bill 115 protests. I can accept that. My goal is not to indoctrinate or be pedantic. My blog attempts to provide links to all sorts of info from many different points of view so you can think and decide for yourself about the great controversy we face, even within our own ranks. Let me assure you though, it has not been easy to see provincial sit quietly on the sidelines, outside the forum of action and debate, unlike when we had a gun held to our heads by the Conservatives, and even the NDP in years past.

When OECTA says Bill 115 is unacceptable, that is not enough. I also have to question the letter we were sent by President O'Dwyer after Bill 115 passed into law this week. I posted it in a previous blog. Here is a link, in case you wish to refresh your memory: http://www.oecta.on.ca/wps/portal/!ut/p/c1/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3jDIBNLI2cfIwP30GBjAyNLdyNzc4sgQ3cvI_1wkA6zePdQJ9dQI0N_A3_jQDMDI49QC_

I am uncertain about the tone and underlying message of this letter. Is OECTA just glad Bill 115 is out of the way so we can start local collective bargaining using the MOU? Maybe I am wrong. I hope so. I realize Bill 115 has a time limit to it, that can be extended an extra year. But what a fine tool the Conservatives now have for dismantling us, if as the polls suggest, they were to win the next election. Any strategizing on OECTA's behalf, as with the Liberal party, could soon backfire terribly for us all. Our tried and true friend; the Ontario Labour Act, is now on "pause". Wouldn't it be a horror show if it were "turned off" or gutted and we were left with the Ontario Ministry's Employment Standards. Read these and weep: http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/tools/srt/coverage_government_teachers.php

OECTA has developed a Vichy Mentality in the recent education crisis. Normally as a teacher union, we can either vigorously oppose or isolate ourselves when we feel powerless to change an unfriendly education policy being forced upon us. At the union level one may protest vigorously or even engage in civil disobedience, like during the Harris Years. Or you could argue you're just too busy at school to worry about this now, and don't want to get involved, like many of our members as of late. On the other hand, if you think Vichy, one will instead cooperate and modify our own policies to appease the perpetrator of our fears in hopes of saving our own butt, or at the least minimalizing the damage. Perhaps we argue a gun is being held to our head and we have no choice but to do so.

Perhaps I stretch the analogy too far. The original reference is to the Vichy Government during WW2, which tried to appease and cooperate with the German invaders as they occupied France. In our sense this does not include the same racial overtones. However, draw your own conclusions about how, or even if, there is a parallel to the OECTA "Road map" and Bill 115. Ouch! This hurts but it needs to be said.

Unfortunately for the Vichy, that didn't later stop the Germans from taking over all of France. The Vichy Mentality is a very risky and dangerous path to follow as the French later found out. Is it unlikely that this could happen to us? Or are we now safe with the Liberals after having signed the MOU? Let me take this one step further. Are you even sure the minority Liberal government will still be around a year from now? Unless they make an about face with us as teachers, which would seem highly unlikely, we had better now darn well hope the NDP insurgence continues to grow, as we sit uselessly on the sidelines of the great political struggle going on all around us as OECTA teachers.

It is very hard for me to say this. I have worked for many years with our leaders up at OECTA Provincial and usually hold them with the utmost of respect. I also worked many years with the Education Minister Laurel Broten when she even fully supported us in the Tory defeat, and fought alongside her to help keep them at bay for nearly ten years since. Still, it is wrong to sit in silence when we think something is wrong. It is our union. We would be in neglect of our ethical responsibilities when hard questions need to be asked, and we don't do so, for the good of us all.

OECTA's MOU agreement on July 5th, and indeed our silence and inaction during the passage of Bill 115, need to be directly addressed by our provincial executive with the membership now! Otherwise we face a great divide between those who support the policies and those who don't which will not just go away, even with the passage of time between now and our spring AGM [Annual General Meeting]. Hopefully we will see some real leadership. It sure would be helpful, in Toronto at least for a start, on Oct 1-3, since we have taken an especially hard blow with the grandfathering of our gratuities. It will be truly sad if our own unit president, who voted against the MOU at the Council of Presidents, is left to explain and answer for OECTA Provincial's actions come Oct 1-3. Let's hope Provincial will meet and communicate more directly and more thoroughly with our members in the days ahead. The window of opportunity for a honest, and constructive membership dialogue is closing fast!

At first Vichy France seemed like a good idea. Are we going the same way with the OECTA "Road Map", and our lack of involvement in the Bill 115 protests?

IN THE NEWS: THE LINKS-

Thursday Sept 20:

Yes! I corrected the dates. Guess you can tell  I haven't been around school much this week.

Fife + Drums in KW Record as new NDP MPP takes her seat at Queen's Park. She's also using Liz's old constituency office. Liz really could be a pretty good sort herself. See: http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/802818--fife-takes-her-seat-as-mpp

Student protests 4 teachers in Ottawa, at school and out front MGuinty's office. See: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/09/19/ottawa-students-protest-to-support-for-teachers.html

Student protests in York Public not 4 teachers, or so Yorkregion.com frames it. The student movement at Richard Green High School is really interesting, and the Twitter debates go both way, as the students flex their political wings. I am trying to refind the link. Great stuff, but be wary of this articles spin: http://www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1505506--angry-students-want-to-kill-bill-115

Who is using the students as pawns? Rabble.ca reprints article from Michael Laxer's blog. A well argued leftie spin. See: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/2012/09/19/wdr-meet-teachers-protest.html

Boo hoo! Waterloo Public board can't hire their friends any more without needing to consider seniority too. Record writer D'Amato tries to frame the issue in a stinkerooni of a neo con reverse argument wherein she is worried that only white people will be hired now. Those big, bad unions! See: http://www.therecord.com/living/article/802858--liberal-law-erodes-public-school-trustees-influence

Half the meet the teacher nights are cancelled in Greater Essex Public. Board acknowledges they are strictly voluntary. Teachers do need to be willing to meet parents during the day, of course, and there is this thing called the telephone that the parents can use too. Too sarcastic? Maybe. See: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/story/2012/09/19/wdr-meet-teachers-protest.html

Hudak's Conservatives sure are holding a lot of nomination meetings between the beer drinking and golfing events as of late. What is he thinking? Hold your nose and go see: http://www.ontariopc.com/events/

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives latest "thought provoker" is a video on CB as a fundamental right. A Dummy Guide? Ha. This group is pretty good. Go see: http://ontarionewswatch.com/onw-news.html?id=390

London Free Press Sun Media opinion piece by Brian McLoud sees McGuinty switching back to Premier Dad. He's trying to move the polling numbers back to a more popular + relatively Liberal centre while the NDP and Conservatives fight it out from the extremes. Quit credible regardless of whether McGuinty is successful or not in reversing his bad slide. See: http://www.lfpress.com/2012/09/20/polarized-politics-leave-room-for-liberals

Arf! Arf! Just 4 fun. Lassie the reading dog to the rescue in literacy fight! Makes 4 a good pet too. Actually, this is pretty interesting, though I just chuckled at first. See: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/literacy/raiseareader/Literacy+drive+goes+dogs/7265653/story.html

Lassie Come Home!!! The students need you!!!

Wednesday Sept 19: 

NDP lead provincial polls. Election would result in Tory minority government, a Liberal opposition, + party in 3rd place due to distribution of votes + seats. See: http://www.torontosun.com/2012/09/17/ndp-support-soars-while-liberals-plummets-poll

Toronto Star primer on the teacher dispute. A very general overview for folks who are just starting to wonder what it's all about. Doesn't mention CUPE or support staff. Thanks 4 pointing that out Wendy. See: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/education/article/1258722--what-s-going-on-at-school-a-primer-on-the-teacher-dispute

With local Windsor OSSTF winning a 95% strike vote, talk of teachers' "ramping up" job actions start to spread. ETFO strategy is to continue to try to negotiate new contract locally as if Bill 115 never happened. Local union goal is to "increase pressure" beyond no extracurriculars + McGuinty Mondays. The Windsor school board director is off to Toronto Monday to meet with MOE. Start reading the tea leaves dear reader! Look for these same sentiments across Ontario as local unit strike votes receive very similiar if not higher numbers of teacher support. http://www.windsorstar.com/business/Teachers+ramping+action/7263613/story.html

Former ETFO head David Clegg speculates on elementary teacher walkout as local strike vote tallies continue to pour in from across province. Voting should wrap up in early October and then.....? If Liberal cabinet intervenes.....? Ker Booooom! Expect mucho fireworks in weeks ahead. The wick has been lit! See: http://www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1504771--cabinet-intervention-could-mean-chaos-union

Belleville Intelligencer.ca writer group's Colin McKay discusses possibility of a huge general province wide strike in support of the teacher's fight for democracy in opposing Bill 115. Hmmm. I'm thinking back to the 90's..... Widespread labour support, rumoured to include rotating strikes at car factories and nuclear plants didn't materialize in time, as the all affiliate province wide teacher protest strike claiming "We won't back down" collapsed from within. At the time it was the largest in North American history. The province's teachers' were eyeball to eyeball with Tory Premier Mike Harris and, with all due respect, ETFO blinked. Many of us were at the massive Queen's Park Rally that day and can remember the terrible shock when it happened. Just as we were about to go over the top, OECTA-OTF President Marshall Jarvis looked out from behind back stage and waved his head no. Still, that was then and this is now. You figure it out. I'm only an ETFO member in spirit. Read: http://www.intelligencer.ca/2012/09/18/teachers-fighting-for-democracy

For a good place to start, but not end, studying the 1998 protest strike, see the Troublemaker's Website labour history account of strategy and events, which inexplicably doesn't refer to OECTA or ETFO, nor do I see reference to the "Common Front", as our teacher + labour umbrella group was called: http://www.troublemakershandbook.org/Text/Strikes/La%20Botz%20Days%20of%20Action.htm

Scott Stinson considers the yays + nays of the no extracurricular strategy, and with reservations decides nay, it will backfire on the teachers. See: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/09/19/scott-stinson-at-this-point-ontario-teacher-protests-are-only-hurting-students/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Tuesday Sept 18:

Heeeeeeeeere's Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim! Hudak's on a real roll now: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1258045--hudak-says-wage-freeze-just-beginning-of-austerity-blitz

He'd also like to fix arbitration so teachers don't win all the time, I 'd suppose even when we are usually right. Seig heil mein fuhrer!? Welcome to the second coming, with Lil' Mike: http://www.am980.ca/news/local/story.aspx?ID=1775497&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Windsor Mayor doesn't think Tim's idea would make arbitration any more fair: http://www.windsorstar.com/business/Ability+good+city/7257321/story.html

Dalton + Tim pretend they don't know each other. As if. See: https://twitter.com/jmdjenkins/status/248096230918463488/photo/1

If politics doesn't work out for Dalton maybe he could become a car salesman? See: http://daltonsdeals.tumblr.com/post/31775826830/this-is-why-teachers-are-withdrawing-from

Hudak gives up politics to drive a tractor! Guess what he'd be good at raking up? One can only wish! See: http://pics.lockerz.com/s/245579607

<<<Incorrectly included article on MPP pay raise has been removed. No huge increase.>>>

NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo at the Runnymede CI student Dalton Monday walk out in Toronto: http://daltonsdeals.tumblr.com/post/31775826830/this-is-why-teachers-are-withdrawing-from

Rabble.ca writer Nora Loretto proposes a real radical list of ways to protest Bill 115 in her "Dear Teachers" letter: http://rabble.ca/news/2012/09/open-letter-ontario-teachers-dont-let-mcguinty-get-away#.UFiHnrKPWSo

Brampton students protest in support of teachers on McGuinty Monday. McGuinty appeals to teachers "better angels." Blech! Gag! You just stripped my CB rights and you want me to do what?!? http://www.windsorstar.com/business/Ability+good+city/7257321/story.html

Of course a lot of students disapprove too, with extracurricular sports and fundraising being the most recent focus of attention: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/education/article/1258164--fundraising-clubs-latest-casualty-of-teacher-law

ETFO now posts links to media coverage of protest events on their website. Wow. What a great idea! ;-)
Got to love their website. See: http://www.controlyourfuture.ca/etfo_news/province-wide-media-coverage-of-protest-actions/

An OECTA Provincial + TSU/TECT Meeting Report

[Saturday news links below. Keep scrolling, but you might want to read this too...]

How odd to meet over an educational crisis during the summer holidays! However our OECTA TSU [Toronto Secondary Unit] and TECT [Toronto Elementary Catholic Teachers] membership did just that on August 22. Meeting with us starting at 1:45 in Toronto's Roy Thompson were OECTA President Kevin O'Dwyer, and Provincial CB [Collective Bargaining] Staff Officer David Church. Also TSU and TECT President's Rene Jansen and Mario Bernardo. The meeting was chaired by Doug McCarthy. Doug did an excellent job of using Robert's Rules of Order, to ensure that everybody had a chance to speak and to be heard in an orderly manner. I'm sure all of us who were there are grateful for a very interesting, informative and thought provoking meeting, regardless of how we might each feel about many of the OECTA PDT MOU [Ontario English Catholic Teachers Professional Discussion Table Memo of Understanding] issues discussed!

You should find the official OECTA reports on the meeting, soon I would hope, at one or all of these sites:

OECTA Provincial: http://www.oecta.on.ca/wps/portal
OECTA TSU: http://www.tsuoecta.org/
OECTA TECT: http://www.tect.org/

In the meantime, I will provide a few supplementary notes and personal observations from the meeting that you might find of interest. These are by no means official or complete. Be sure to visit the other websites above to learn a lot more about the OECTA PDT MOU terms and process, questions and explanations, etc. etc. etc. from the meeting reports. Here is what I saw, felt and heard:

Our TSU-TECT questions and concerns mostly focused on the PDT decision making and ratification process. I understand the members at the Sault Ste. Marie meeting last month focused more on the PDT terms, details and what they meant. Our members were certainly concerned about that too, but the questions were often more individual member orientated than general PDT term or process specific. At any rate the bigger picture will be of more general interest for our purposes here.

President O'Dwyer's and David Church's reviewed the PDT processes in detail to explain them to our members. Suffice to say here that it was acknowledged provincial will be reviewing the OECTA PDT decision making, ratification and communication process used in 2008 and 2012 on a go forward basis.

OECTA Provincial has decided to endorse the NDP candidate Ms. Fife in the Kitchener Waterloo by-election, along with the OSSTF, ETFO, + AEFO. The local Waterloo Catholic unit is remaining neutral in the race. No decision has been made yet on OECTA's possible involvement in Vaughan.

TSU President Rene Jansen and TECT President Mario Bernardo are both on record as having voted against the MOU at the COP [Council of Presidents]. Provincial will not reveal the complete list of how all the various local presidents voted until the first weekend of November. At that time the minutes from the COP meet will be approved, and the information released.

President Jansen invited our members who would like to get involved in changing the procedures to  apply for our TSU legislation committee, with an eye towards submitting motions to that effect at the Spring 2013 Provincial AGM. There are still openings on the committee, so if interested I'd suggest calling the TSU office asap!

The TCDSB got a great deal out of the OECTA PDT MOU since it removes our sick day bank and retirement gratuity, a long term TCDSB goal. Although the trustees voted on approving the MOU nothing has actually been received in writing yet by OECTA to make it official. Hmmm.

The OCSTA [Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association] drew a line just short of the Principals and VP's receiving 3 unpaid PD days, like the teachers, to help eliminate the grid freeze. Otherwise they were intransigent and walked out of the OECTA PDT meeting on July 4th before the MOU was signed. They insisted upon class size caps being removed, mandatory stay after school extracurricular and school PD meetings, and a claw back in benefits, among other demands. They were apposed to fair hire language and teacher professional assessment concessions as an unacceptable violation of their management rights. Wow! Imagine that! And it's all been confirmed!

As an interesting side note, the 3 unpaid PD days are days off. Call them Dalton Days or whatever. Even the Principals and VP's won't be paid for those days, and have no right to tell you to be at school. The 3 days will fall before Thanksgiving, Christmas, and March Break during the 2013-14 school year.

OECTA has asked our lawyer Paul Cavalluzo to review rough drafts of the Liberal "Putting Student's First" legislation due to very serious, unanticipated concerns. The Liberal government is now removing our basic labour rights by tampering with the Ontario Labour Act. OECTA will then carefully consider our next move, after hearing back from Paul.

Should the legislation not pass, it's unlikely anybody will be getting a 5.5% raise. It's unclear if our OECTA members will get back the concessions made in our PDT deal, as per the terms of our last contract, or even whether the MOU then perhaps becomes null and void. Legal minds are looking the ramifications over very carefully, and nothing is certain yet. We'll have to wait to hear more from OECTA Provincial.

MOU ratification process at the meeting. Fair enough. We don't get to vote on it as the procedures stand, so it is in effect a done deal. However, it also seemed to me that a lot of our members were unaware of another very important issue. PDT agreements are now very much a question of provincial verses local collective bargaining. That is a very big picture often missed in trying to contextualize our concerns. It's changing everything!

Since our Catholic trustees surrendered the right to local taxation during the Harris Years, despite an OECTA constitutional challenge, the provincial government is now our defacto paymaster. We must also recognize that OECTA agreed last December at COP to empower our table team to follow our 2008 PDT process for this round of talks. It had worked quite well before. However, the change in the Liberal PDT process, and government demands were suddenly changed on us this spring.

While it is easy to vilify others, everyone was caught by surprise with the Liberals about turn in their previous consultative and co-operative relationship with our teacher unions. It has been very challenging for OECTA to keep up with all the changes, and no matter how one feels, nothing is black and white. The issues are just not that clear cut or easy.

Although a lot of serious questions do have to be asked, please don't expect any easy answers, nor expect simple finger pointing to suffice. We face a lot of very crucial  challenges now, and in the years ahead. Everything, politically and contract wise has suddenly become a WHOLE lot more complicated, and nothing is certain anymore.

In discussions after the meeting, it was very clear to me that a lot of us seriously doubt that the Liberals consider teacher support necessary anymore for their election success. This is a pretty big gamble on their part. Perhaps the soft conservative vote will shift over to the Liberal side with their "Hudak light" version of teacher union bashing. However, so far the polling is anything but certain.

Many members seemed to agree that we need to remind the Liberals we are here, in no uncertain terms. As always OECTA supports the most educational friendly political candidates. Of course, that does not mean now, just like before, that we always support the Liberals. There was even speculation that, as when Conservative Education Minister Don Johnson targeted teachers during the Harris years, it is imperative we strike back. Hence the increasing calls for a combined union effort against the Minister Education in her riding of Etobicoke Lakeshore during the next provincial election.

 If the general consensus is that the PDT MOU deal was made with a gun to our head, in disregard of our many efforts to help Laurel Broten and the Liberal party in years past, then perhaps the decision will be that it is not wise to let the Liberals think they can just write us off and treat us with such blatant disregard. It will be very interesting to see how this about face in our support for Ms. Broten and the party unfolds in the high stake political gamble the minority Liberal government are taking.

Of course it's a dangerous gamble for us to take too. Should Tim Hudak's Conservatives form the next government, we may very well just have "cut off our nose to spite our face", as the saying goes. Possibly the Liberals are even thinking that as they plan their moves, and are squeezing us between a "rock and a hard place?" A lot more hard political discussion and thought will have to go into whatever we do next politically, that's for sure, but in the words of Bob Dylan, "the times they are a changing". Pardon all the phrases, but allow me one last one here. It's certainly a lot of "food for thought."

Provincial seemed to be acknowledged that the OECTA PDT communications with our members since last June requires a complete review. I don't believe the virtual news blackout worked for the best, unless one wants the raucous, inchoate anger often witnessed at Wednesday's meeting. I've often lamented the lack of information from OECTA over the course of my summer blogs. I strongly believe it's resulted in a lot of suspicion and confusion.

I once again encourage you, dear reader, to avail yourself of the news links you find here on my blog and elsewhere, including of course the info on the official OECTA websites. As members we need to educate ourselves about all the many underlining PDT, structural, procedural, political, economic, labour and various union issues at play to try to really understand at any great depth what has/is/will be happening. We are professionals. We can and will think for ourselves.

There has been a very interesting, complex debate raging this summer about all the different PDT issues, coming from a wide variety of different points of view. OECTA has not been very pro-active outside of the small handful of documents that were made available to us on our provincial website private member's only area. Everything else that's been written and said can't just be considered rubbish or manipulation! The larger debate and our member feelings of confidence and empowerment will and are developing in any number of directions with or without our little handful of OECTA provincial info pieces. One remains silent at their own peril!

Both OECTA provincial and our TSU communication plans remain of great interest to me on a go forward basis. There is a new media reality that has been creeping up on us and is now even threatening to overtake our old tried and true methods of communicating with our members like in years past.

I  have always advocated for the new technology of media, be it by Twitter or this blog, as excellent methods to communicate with you, the member's who I represent as your TSU 3rd VP. I believe they help me to be accountable and transparent in communicating with you, much more so than was possible before. Of course, more blogs and Tweets alone are not going to solve all our problems. However, I'm certain that if our unit was less resistant, cautious, control orientated and often downright unaccepting of these new mediums, rather than let's say relying on monthly or bi-monthly hard copy Highlight's newsletters, official office only emails, notices, and little attended public meetings, my blog would never have been of as much interest, nor taken off like it has since a year ago last April.

I welcome the 10,000 new reader visits to my blogsite this summer. I am honoured to be able to provide you with quick, easy access to info about what's been going on, in face of an otherwise near OECTA void on the information front, even if my blog is unofficial in nature. I hope that rather than uselessly try to condemn, or ban these type of useful tools for sharing publicly available information and materials, which are all over the place anyways, we can begin to accept and use them more widely, as a part of our communication plans. Otherwise history will not be on our side, as far as the new communication's revolution is concerned. In maybe other ways too!

Anyway, I begin to ramble. Please keep checking the official OECTA sites. I will posting news links that I hope you find valuable to be aware and wise about all the PDT MOU talk swirling about us. Some new links follow below:

In the News:

OSSTF invite to Queen's Park protest Tusday August 28 12:00 to 1:30:
http://www.osstf.on.ca/upcoming-aug-23-2012

Hudak confirms Conservatives will help Liberal's pass legislation: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-pcs-will-help-liberals-pass-bill-forcing-controversial-teachers-contract/article4496844/

Liberals ask for promise in writing: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/08/24/ontario-teacher-bill-pcs254.html

Huron Superior Catholic board agrees to MOU: http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/details.asp?c=46244

OSSTF President denounces "anti-worker" legislation: http://www.osstf.on.ca/MR-Aug-23-2012

Legal firm of Hicks-Morley reports on new legislation and consequences for school boards: http://www.hicksmorley.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1339&catid=6

An excellent polling study and party prospectus for Kitchener-Waterloo By-Election: 
http://www.therecord.com/news/article/787105--fortress-witmer-under-attack-will-it-crumble

More news links added below and to follow! Be in the know!

OECTA Everyday Teachers Video

The link for the next stage of our OECTA "Who Speaks for Children?" education campaign  can be found by clicking on it's title below:


Everyday Teachers, Extraordinary Impact


You can find my "Who Speaks for Children?" report and Youtube link in my October blog archives. During the fall Ontario provincial election it drew a lot of kudos for providing a graceful and poignant reminder. Voters were encouraged to consider each party and candidates stand on education in deciding who they'd vote for. Our election endorsements then followed based upon that criteria.


Our focus remains on our students, teachers and our schools. "Who Speaks"  emphasized the hard work that has gone into building our Ontario education system into one of the best in the word. At last count we rated third place amongst all the world's school systems. Our campaign, be it by video, flyers, buttons, posters and street or media ads helped make sure education remained a front burner election issue. We did not want to see all the good work over the last eight years be destroyed to help balance the provincial budget, like during the 1990's.


Our new minority provincial Liberal party government at Queens Park has pledged that education will not be cut to pay off the current deficit.  This is good. It's commitment seems to have focused on two key Liberal policies OECTA has strongly supported; all day Kindergarten and class size caps. Our teacher association is pleased because we fought hard for both of these. Please see my Sept. 16 Who Speaks for Children? post in my Blog Archive.


Our concern now is for our teachers, who make the system work so well. The government can spend as much as it will on the education system.The human element is the professional, well trained and caring everyday teacher.  You can't have one without the other. Unfortunately, in our recent PDT [Provincial Discussion Talk] on our new contracts, that same Liberal Government has surprised us by asking for a pay and salary grid freeze, a reduction of our sick days, and a cap on it's contribution to our pension plan. Please see my March 1st PDT Contract Shocker blog.


The OECTA PDT talks continue, under a news blackout, as our association works quietly behind the scenes to find a better solution. Such "quiet diplomacy" has been OECTA's well respected trademark. Please see my March 11 Windsor AGM Education Minster Reception blog.


The government is in a financial bind. As proud Ontario citizens we understand that. The recent budget called for a 2 year public service salary freeze, so the freeze seems pretty certain. What about the other cuts they have suggested in PDT?

Let's see if OECTA can work together with the Liberal government as we have for the past 8 years, to find more creative and effective ideas that help with the deficit but recognize our professional and personal commitment to making our education system work. Everyday Teachers then, is intended to help the public, and hopefully the minority government appreciate how every day teachers work to inspire and help our students. As such we provide the human spark which ultimately has the most extraordinary impact. It is the everyday teacher who makes Ontario's education system work so well for our students!

All my blogs can be accessed via the Blog Archives at the bottom of this column.

PDT, GSA, Inclusivity + Fee Excitement Ahead!

This weekend is the annual OECTA [Ontatio Catholic Teachers Association] AGM [Annual General Meeting]. Hundreds of teacher delegates will gather from across the province to hear reports, presentations and vote on our teacher association business. This year we are meeting in Windsor Ontario. It promises to be an especially interesting and even exciting 3 day event.

On Sunday afternoon, our Ontario Provincial Education Minister Laurel Broten will speak to the gathering, our first Q+A opportunity as members since the official PDT [Provincial Dialogue Table] announcements of a 2 year salary freeze, sick day reduction and provincial pension plan contribution cap last week. [See my March 1st blog]. OECTA has, of course, refused the province's opening contract offer. Unless there is a breakthrough during the two days of PDT talks this week, one can expect the frosty reception Laurel received at our BTC [Beginning Teachers Conference] will quite likely change to down right cold. [See my February blog]. It's a pity. She has been a big teacher supporter and advocate, who has enjoyed strong OECTA support since the 2003 election.

It will be interesting to see how Minister Broten handles the questions. The Liberal government's recent change in direction, from 9 years of working cooperatively with our teacher associations, is a contract shocker none us had foreseen. Now here we stand poised for perhaps a return to the deepest depth of labour strife and unrest since the Harris era. There hadn't been a single day lost to teacher strikes or work to rule since then, but now? Laurel, please prove to us it isn't so!

Windsor is in Finance Minister Dwight Duncan's riding. Perhaps he should come to speak too, so we can figure out who is really pulling the strings here! A provincial Liberal Leadership race is possibly not too far off. Could both Laurel, and our previous teacher friendly Education Minister Kathleen be having their teacher support rug pulled out from under them by Dwight "the cost cutter" Duncan as the party takes a sharp policy reversal that out Tories Tory leader Tim Hudak's Conservatives? Please see my February Blog Archive and roll this one around in your mind for a bit.....The implications are a very scary thought indeed!

Please note Laurel will not, repeat not, be staying to host the Liberal hospitality suite, as past Education Ministers usually have in year's past. I know for a fact that this is due to a previous scheduling conflict. She's off to speak at the OSSTF AGM in Toronto next. So Sunday morning AGM will be the moment of truth, her first public opportunity to take the floor and address our teacher troops as a partnership era of Liberal Party and OECTA co-operation quite possibly comes to an end. The NDP [New Democratic Party] must be rubbing their hands in glee! Who would've ever thought it would come to this?

The Harris Conservative era was an 8 year period of labour war with our teachers. The NDP government before them saw a previously pro-labour party impose a wage freeze and unpaid Rae Day "holidays" on our public sector unions. We have not had trouble with the Liberals alone. It was a proud, productive and relatively blemish free period of government, until now......

So what else on the agenda could be quite exciting? Well AGM's are hardly ever exciting, except maybe when Conservative Education Minister Liz Witmar showed up in 2003 to tell us if we didn't like the way we were being treated to go get a another job somewhere else. Whew! She did not walk out of there to a shower of praise let me tell you! I hope, hope, hope NOTHING of the sort happens to Laurel. She is indeed a fine, fine Liberal MPP and person as well who strongly supported us back then through until now. Barring that rather unlikely prospect there are still a few other policy potboilers ready to bubble over too. For example:

A Fee Increase? Our emergency reserves currently show a surplus but it would disappear quickly if we face a flood of job actions in the terse times ahead. We have a past AGM promise to roll back last year's election fee increase, but now the question could be, by how much? The fee proposals on the floor are from $950 to $975 per member a year but the issue now seems quite volatile. What happens next if we don't have contracts in place by August 31 this year?

Gay Straight Alliance Clubs [GSA's]? A TSU [Toronto Secondary Unit] policy motion for them to be recognized by OECTA pits denominational against civil rights in a quite possibly very divisive fight that would without doubt draw a lot of public attention to our Catholic school funding and Religious Affair issues. That could become a big problem in the next provincial election should anyone choose to use this as a political grandstand for eliminating public funding for our Catholic school system!

It will be very interesting to see how the issue is received by many of the OECTA units, especially those from outside Toronto. They  could well either make or break the question of GSA approval. Gay inclusivity issues have not been favourably received on the AGM floor in years past. A lot could hinge on the premise given in the motion's rationale that the GSA's enjoy the support of the Ontario Catholic Bishops. Cardinal Collins has recently stated that they don't. This could be a real nail bitter from both points of view as we see how the debate unfolds!

Another Human Rights Committee policy motion calls for OECTA to support  an inclusive learning and working environment for both students and teaching staff regardless of their sexual orientation.
The Ontario Government has insisted that bullying on sexual or any other grounds is unacceptable. That should be reasonably clear and acceptable to all Catholics who abide by the golden rule to love one another. However, if we extend that to openly accepting non heterosexual gender relationships within our Catholic schools, we are again facing a very heated denominational rights conflict for many members of our Catholic community. Many delegates could well find the motion totally unacceptable should it reach the AGM floor for debate. Expect even more fireworks here too, as the two opposite sides of the issue clash!

A complete OECTA AGM 2012 Agenda and Resolution handbook is available at the http://www.oecta.on.ca website should you require further info and details on these and the wide range of other speeches, motions and debates in the action packed weekend ahead. Please also keep checking on my blogspot for more of my own hopefully timely teacher news and views! This year's AGM could prove very interesting and perhaps even explosive in more than one starting this Saturday in Windsor!

Hooray Laurel Broten: Our New Minister of Education!

Congratulations to MPP Laurel Broten [Etobicoke Lakeshore] our new Education Minister!!! I myself take great personal joy in her new appointment after having known and worked with Laurel for over 10 years on her campaigns from 2003 through 2008. Although I am still a proud member of her riding association, please know it was Bianka and Mark from TSU who saw her through her third election victory this fall. They are hardly strangers to Laurel either. Mark is retired now but still helps her out. Bianka is our main TSU executive point person, having been the one on TSU full time release this time around. So continues a long and happy working relationship between Laurel and OECTA TSU.


Laurel made Ontario history a while back when she became the first woman minister to get pregnant and have children, two twin boys, while in cabinet! She has previously served on Premier McGuinty's Liberal cabinet most notably as the Environment Minister, and the Minister of Child and Youth services. OECTA worked closely with Laurel on the new province wide Kindergarten program. It was a very fruitful and rewarding relationship that will serve our youth and their families well.


In 2002 our TSU PAC at the time decided to embed teacher reps in the riding's of each provincial election candidate who we considered educationally friendly. It proved a very positive way to organize our teacher support in the Toronto riding's. At a loss where to go, I called up my college buddy Rob Foote. He's made a good name for himself as a succesful Liberal campaign manager. Rob and I used to be the President and Program director respectively at CFRE Radio Erindale during our university years. That's a great story I can share at a later date. The point is, I asked Rob to recommend a good candidate from our list who was not only top notch but a pleasure to work with, and he introduced me to Laurel. He couldn't have made a better pick.


Laurel has solid credentials at her lawyer's office down on Bay Street Toronto, as does she supporting and promoting the women's shelters in her own home riding of Etobicoke Lakeshore. Eight years in government and Laurel still walks door to door, regardless of whether it's an election year or not, meeting her constituents personally to hear their concerns! You will find her at every civic function and town hall meet always eager to answer questions or engage in a good debate. Anyone who works with Laurel invariably enjoys it so much they keep coming back, myself included. She is genuine and sincere, highly professional and yet down to earth. Laurel is the real McCoy. She's a politico you can really believe in!


I sincerely regret that I was not released by TSU to work on her campaign this year as originally planned.Still I look forward to continuing to work with her and see her now off the campaign trail, wearing another hat, since I am no longer on TSU PAC. Yup, that's over. I think I all ready told you how I will be focusing on the Ad Hoc Special Education, Beginning Teacher and Religious Affair Committee portfolios, as well as helping Dave with the Solidarity grants instead in my role as your TSU 3rd Vice President this year.


I know Laurel has always been very interested and concerned about our youth. We have discussed my own Special Education classes, most notably the Autism Developmentally Delay Multiple Exceptionality [AU-DDME] one at James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic Secondary, my school where I teach. Our TSU Ad Hoc Special Ed Committee is working on an indepth review of our board's special education programs. So far the teachers, department heads and even our board superintendants have shown a lot of interest in contributing to the project as a group effort, and we look forward to making a number of reports and important recommendations to our TSU executive, our Local Collective Bargaining Team [LCBT], and of course first and foremost you our members.


It would be interesting to talk some more about this directly with Laurel, in time, as she settles into her new job as Minister of Education. My understanding is that right now Laurel is catching her breath after the vigorous election campaign. She's cracking open the books on her new ministry as she sets up shop. I would never want to seem pushy or opportunist as a teacher politico myself, that's not my own style, nor is it Laurel's. Still, I do look forward to seeing and helping her again as soon as I can.


So, once again, congratulations to Laurel Broten. It is with a huge sigh of relief, I'm sure, that we all welcome her back as our new Liberal Education Minister, after having again helped keep the provincial Tory's at bay! Please know, as teacher's we couldn't have done better than with Laurel. We can rest assured we will continue looking forward to making our education system one of the very best anywhere working together with her!

Victoria, Laurel and I have fun and talk shop.