Local teachers in strike position Nov. 15

Although the Rainbow District School Board is not one of the 20 school boards where the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) will begin job action Nov. 12, sanctions could begin at the board soon enough.

The OSSTF was supposed to begin job action at school boards where its members are in a legal strike position last week, but discussions with the province delayed the move. These talks broke down early Nov. 12.

In a statement, the OSSTF said it is open to further discussions at both the provincial and local levels, but at this time, no further talks are scheduled.
The release doesn't specify what actions teachers will take.

In the past, the union has mentioned actions such as refusing to administer standardized testing, participate in professional activity days, take part in school meetings or meet with parents.

James Clyke, OSSTF District 3 president, who represents secondary teachers with the Rainbow board, said his members will be in a legal strike position as of Nov. 15.

He said his local is currently in discussions with OSSTF's provincial office about the best time to start job action here. The Rainbow board will be given two days' notice before any sanctions begin, Clyke said.

“With regards to the discussions themselves, the strike action is pretty much directed towards the running of the schools,” he said.

“They have nothing to do with the teaching of the students and the helping of the students. I don't see much of an impact on the students.”

In past interviews, Clyke emphasized his members have no intention of hitting the picket lines.

The union leader said he's disappointed the talks with the province failed.
“I was cautiously optimistic about the progress, knowing that the Liberal government is looking for a new leader, and probably actively trying to move away from their position under Mr. McGuinty,” he said.

“I think this would have been a good opportunity for them to try to come back to the table in good faith and move forward.”

Norm Blaseg, director of education with the Rainbow District School Board, said the board is concerned about the implications of sanctions which could be imposed by the union.

“We want a level of normality,” he said. “We want things to be great for kids. We want them to have an education that doesn't have interruptions.”

At the same time, Blaseg said the OSSTF has been “very respectful and responsible” in its dealings with the board.

“I'm sure they'll be informing us in due to time to let us know what actions they'll be putting forth, and we'll do whatever we have to do to make sure it's safe for our kids.”

In terms of what's going on with the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), which represents the board's elementary teachers, Blaseg said the union has applied for conciliation, but no dates have been set yet.

“As soon as that happens we speculate it will run the same course as OSSTF,” in that the conciliator will inevitably come back with a no board report, meaning the two sides have reached an impasse, he said.

Sixteen days after a no board report is issued, the union will be in a legal strike position.

Blaseg emphasizes that school boards and teachers' unions are not reaching impasses because of what boards are doing, but because teachers won't accept contract conditions imposed by the province earlier this fall through Bill 115.