About Developments in Bargaining and Telephone Town Hall

This has been a bargaining year unlike any other in the history of our Local, complicated by elements that seem beyond our control.
That being said, we continue to maintain our right to bargain under the Ontario Labour Relations Act.  Under that process both ETFO Locals of Thames Valley have reached an impasse and the clock is now ticking toward our Locals being in a legal position to strike as of Monday, December 3, 2012.  This is the first time ever that both Teacher and Occasional Teacher Locals have acted on the same timelines.
As ETFO Provincial President Sam Hammond stated today, “It is unfortunate that we have been placed in the position of having to strike by Education Minister Laurel Broten, but we will provide parents with ample notice to ensure the safety of students. By her actions, the minister has let everyone down by stripping Teachers and education professionals of their democratic rights, and shutting down recent talks at the provincial level.”
Bill 115 strips Teachers of their fundamental right to negotiate, and gives the Minister unprecedented power to impose an agreement if Locals and their Boards don’t reach a collective agreement by December 31st. The bill puts the government beyond the reach of the Ontario Human Rights Code, Ontario Labour Relations Act, and the courts.
On November 11th, the government invited ETFO to discussions with Ministry officials and a third party facilitator. ETFO and government representatives were engaged in productive talks when the Minister abruptly shut the session down.  “We continue to be ready to resume discussions in an attempt to reach an agreement that meets the needs of all parties”, added Hammond. “It’s time the minister got serious about reaching deals that respect the rights of our members.”
Work to Rule Strikes
ETFO has announced that it will give parents 72 hours’ notice of strikes planned for December by public elementary teachers, OTs and LTOs. These work to rule strikes will be escalated over the next few weeks to include one or more days of full withdrawal of services.
Telephone Town Hall
Additional information about the withdrawal of services strikes will be provided to ETFO members during a telephone town hall meeting to be convened at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday evening this week.  Members will receive a telephone call providing details about joining the telephone town hall meeting. 
Members are advised to contact Local President, Terry Card for further information.