Opening Statement



Friday 14 September 2012

Teacher Weekend Protest Guide! [Sept 13-15]


Follow up News Links still updated regularly!


Feel like a good protest this weekend? Fight the Harper public service cuts + McGuinty's contempt for Collective Bargaining Rights! Toronto rally begins at 1pm Saturday September 15 at the Toronto Court House, 361 University Ave/ just north of Queen St. W. Sounds like it will send a strong message + be very entertaining too! I understand there will be a mock trial! The rally is being organized as a part of a cross country protest by PSAC/ AFPC. Hope to see you there!

I plan to take photos for my blog so if you see me, please wave!

Toronto Star article claims an all out war exists between McGuinty Liberals + Ontario's teachers.
See: http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/1257213--ontario-liberals-go-to-all-out-war-with-teachers

Angry protests dog McGuinty + Broten across Ontario. See: http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/education-minister-heckled-in-barrie-1.957020

OSSTF Teachers + Educational workers also had a protest outside the Education Minister's constituency office at 701 Evans Avenue Etobicoke after school at 3:30 today. See: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/media-advisory-rally-minister-educations-constituency-office-on-friday-september-14-1701164.htm

See a slideshow from the Broten encounter in Barry: http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2012/09/14/school-board-holding-celebration-for-barries-newest-public-school

CUPE President Fred Hahn outside Laurel Broten's office. See: https://twitter.com/osstf/status/246707087009263617/photo/1

See the large crowd of protesters outside Laurel Broten's office. Note the OECTA flag. I saw you on Citypulse Live James. Ha. See: https://twitter.com/Leslie_Wolfe/status/246730762831929345/photo/1

A Facebook page of photos showing OSSTF outside Broten's office: www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.527360950610665.29303825.150297224983708&type=3&l=a9dbfa3164

Teachers protest outside Dalton McGuinty's office today. See: https://twitter.com/and0bot/status/246726778532528128/photo/1

Ottawa Sun video + article on the McGuinty Protest: http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/09/14/teachers-blast-mcguinty-at-ottawa-pro

For a Facebook page showing lots of cool photos from the McGuinty protest in Ottawa, see: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.480093948682065.114987.163261390365324&type=3#ETFO

CTV report throngs of teachers, students + support workers closed down street in front of McGuinty's office. See the video: http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/teachers-students-protest-at-premier-s-ottawa-office-1.956670

Brantford CUPE support workers participated in Wednesday pause: http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2012/09/13/support-workers-caught-in-fight

Mississauga South MPP Charles Sousa's office targeted in Port Credit. Brampton-Springfield MPP Linda Jeffrey, + a Peel District School Board meeting too. See: http://www.mississauga.com/news/article/1502904--teachers-protest-outside-mpp-s-office

And in Sarnia with OSSTF D10:  https://twitter.com/OSSTFDistrict10/status/246760324135538688/photo/1

ETFO protests outside Brad DuGuid's office: https://twitter.com/UnionTL/status/246803970251694080/photo/1

Windsor Star reports on protest outside Finance Minister Dwight Duncan's office. Lots of photos too:
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2012/09/14/teachers-protest-bill-115-outside-duncans-office/

Street closed with protesters outside MPP Jim Bradley's Niagara Falls office: http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/2012/09/14/teachers-protest-wage-freeze-law-at-mpps-office

Read about the combined Hamilton teacher + workers union protest outside MPP Tim McEekins Waterdown office: http://www.cbc.ca/hamilton/news/story/2012/09/14/hamilton-teacher-protest.html

ETFO Algama protests outside former teacher MPP David Orazietti's constituency office. See: http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/details.asp?c=47161

Another way to protest: OSSTF flag flies outside a teacher's home. See: https://twitter.com/IdRatherbeRidin/status/247346203719770113/photo/1

Check out the Student Movement 2012 on Twitter! This is real good: https://twitter.com/i/#!/search/?q=%23STUDENTMOVEMENT2012&src=hash

A Facebook page of photos from the August 28th Queen's Park rally is located here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.472874136070713.113110.163261390365324&type=3

Gee! As an OECTA member I SURE wish I could find or take some photos of us participating in the fight against Bill 115. Surely, it is not what we agreed to either! Saying it is unacceptable is not enough!!! Furthermore, see the OECTA Provincial letter sent to our members this week: http://www.oecta.on.ca/wps/portal/!ut/p/c1/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3jDIBNLI2cfIwP30GBjAyNLdyNzc4sgQ3cvI_1wkA6zePdQJ9dQI0N_A3_jQDMDI49QC_dQHw9jAwM

Kindly notify me in advance and send a link +/or pdf flyer for your protest event if you'd like it posted on my blog! Perhaps I'll make this protest guide a weekly feature.

Crisis What crisis? Provincial deficit magically shrinks $3.3 billion! What will the Liberals pull out of their hat next? See: http://www.torontosun.com/2012/09/13/ontarios-deficit-shrinks-to-13b

Hudak gets haughty with McGuinty over more public wage freezes. No surprise. Tim just doesn't get it. Pay attention folks! Chances are if there were an election right now it would be the Conservatives, not the NDP forming our next government. Yikes! Hold your nose and read: http://www.ontariopc.com/news/hudak-to-mcguinty-stake-your-ground-on-wage-freeze-now/

Kawartha students walk out in support of their teachers. Teachers under gag order. Principal claims 6 students, but reporter sees at least 200. Read: http://www.mykawartha

Backlash reported at some Toronto schools as extracurriculars and curriculum nights cancelled. Students and parents protest: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/education/article/1256482--teacher-boycotts-hit-curriculum-nights-as-well-as-sports-clubs

Mixed feelings in London as parents discover curriculum night is cancelled. They seem to understand the situation. See: http://www.lfpress.com/2012/09/13/parents-turn-up-at-school-find-no-teachers-to-meet
Find the CUPE protest guide and materials at: http://www.cupe.on.ca/supporteducationEN

Easy to use OSSTF on line kit can be used to let your MPP know how you feel about Bill 115. This is for their members but I would think the messaging could be adjusted accordingly for protesters from other affiliates: http://www.osstf.on.ca/bill-115-express-your-outrage

Poll: Who do you blame for the cancellation of extracurriculars? OECTA members: This does not directly effect you but you can participate to help our OSSTF + ETFO colleagues too. Vote at: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/education/article/1256482--teacher-boycotts-hit-curriculum-nights-as-well-as-sports-clubs

See the The Student Movement 2012 youtube video: Wow!!!! At: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSapQYeZhe8&feature=youtu.be

For more on OECTA's response to Bill 115 being voted into law see my Sept 13 blog below about the letter sent to our members this week! Vichy?

My Sept. 15 Blog: A Vichy Mentality: One can either vigorously oppose or isolate ourselves when one feels powerless to change a policy being forced upon us. On the other hand, to think Vichy, one can instead cooperate and modify our own policies to seek appeasement. 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. 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 needs to be said.
Read my blog.

Huffington Post Canada declares teachers must be the saviours of democracy. Sound a little over the top? This is a real blockbuster! A must read: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/danielle-s-mclaughlin/bill-115-pass_b_1877621.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

Toronto Star columnist Rick Salutin argues only teachers can save our schools. See: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1256492--only-teachers-can-save-our-schools#.UFKKiy7vZTs.twitter

ETFO President Sam Hammond remarks on Democracy Week in Canada: http://www.etfo.ca/MediaRoom/MediaReleases/Pages/Sad%20Day%20for%20Ontario%20as%20Canada%20Marks%20Democracy%20Week.aspx

So our gratuity payments are being grandfathered eh? Take a gander at what the MPP's get. Also under Mike Harris they got a pay out when the system was changed, but we don't from the Libs: http://www.chathamthisweek.com/2011/10/27/retired-and-defeated-mpps-receive-compensation

Counterpoint: Having been attacked by all three main Ontario political parties when they are in power,
whom do we realistically turn to now? Hold your nose if need be but read the National Post commentary at: http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/09/13/kelly-mcparland-ontario-teachers-run-out-of-political-parties-to-hate/

OECTA TSU members! Our Oct 1-3 MOU meetings might not have anyone from provincial executive present to answer your questions. Rene will be there. I will enquire further at our executive meeting this Tuesday. No, that doesn't seem right to me either!

And in the States:

Big news from south of the border! Wisconsin judge strikes down law that prohibits Collective Bargaining. Finds it "unconstitutional"! Appeal expected, but a big salute to our brother + sister teachers in Wisconsin! You rock! See: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/922a5cf7f9b5498c9f91992638d61514/US--Wisconsin-Union#share

We think we got it bad? Check out what US teachers are up against! The folks who propose this type of teacher evaluations ar Tim Hudak's hereos! See: http://dianeravitch.net/2012/09/13/why-the-teacher-bashing/

Ditto. Read + weep at the stupidity: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/13/mitt-romney-teachers-unions_n_1881572.html?utm_hp_ref=education&ir=Education

And get this!!! From Chicago: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/how-things-look-to-a-returning-chicago-teacher/2012/09/13/22c8cfd6-fd42-11e1-8adc-499661

Wow! American readers! We feel your pain! Keep up the good fight!!!



CUPE in solidarity at the Toronto Court House Protest in Toronto on Saturday.

5 comments:

J. Ross-Holton said...

Why do you think OECTA members aren't more upset about this bill? I'm an OSSTF member, but my husband is an OECTA member in a neighbouring Catholic high school. His colleagues will say they aren't happy about the MOU agreement, but they show NO sign of mobilization or desire to express their displeasure publicly. The apathy just makes me more mad! Their board filed for conciliation, so they really don't need to worry about irritating their employers...
My theory is that most OECTA members are just happy to have a separately funded system and don't want to raise the ire of the public, who, when polled, want one school system in the province. Curious to know your opinion on this matter.... Thanks.

Kulture Kult Ink said...

Many members who I talk to are upset. We've been in the dark about what has happened during the summer. I suspect the strategy was to hope this would just blow away, deals would be reached, and that teachers would be too busy when they get back to pay much attention. Of course both Oecta and the Libs have shot themselves in the foot, and our provincial executive is in hiding, maybe even deluding themselves that this will work out for the best. Meanwhile the eternal split over communications and ratificAtion are deep and profound and will explode sone or later. When it blows it will blow big. In the meantime rank and file are happy just to be back teaching, and are very busy right now, but once this sinks in....? Just my opinion but i hope this helps. Thanks for reading and writing. Solidarity. Dc

J. Ross-Holton said...

Thanks for your reply. However, I still feel there is something deeper than just being happy to not be on strike and being busy. I'm just as busy and I'm happy to be working with a great group of new students, but I was at my MPP's office on Friday protesting. I've attended a districct wide union meeting that Ken Coran came and spoke at. The local OECTA membership has not had any meetings or communication from their president. If I were an OECTA member I'd be asking for the leaders heads on platters. My husband tells me there would be no one in his school interested in replacing them. Maybe his school is an exception, I don't know.

Kulture Kult Ink said...

Hmmm. I'm not sure the majority of our teachers are practicing church going Catholics anymore. Job security is always reassuring, but I don't think the MOU is a Catholic school issue at the rank and file level. I'm not so sure about OECTA Provincial, who could have calculated this was a good gamble with the Liberals, in part for the same reason.

It took a lot of hard work and good communications to mobilize our teachers during the Harris years. We did manage to waken the sleeping giant of member engagement. Now? I don't see that happening. I post more info links here on my blogspot most days than provincial has since July 5th, so I would imagine many of our members are largely suffering from a mushroom mentality, if you will, where they have been kept in the dark and fed #%@&. The ignorance and apathy are very disconcerting indeed! Please see today, Sunday Sept 16s blog.

Kulture Kult Ink said...

I have been thinking a lot about what you said. Please read my Sept 17 blog. Thanks!

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