Ontario school support staff to consider strike vote

As bargaining continues with the province and school boards, the union representing support staff has set a meeting to discuss holding a strike vote.

In the memo, obtained by the Star, the Ontario School Boards' Council of Unions has set Aug. 22 to meet with local leaders to provide a negotiations update from the latest talks - held Aug. 8 and 9, with more on Aug. 15 and 16 - as well as discussions around province-wide central and local strike votes and the organizing plan to achieve high participation."

This meeting is open to all school board members interested in joining the campaign to build power to win in central and local bargaining," the memo says.

OSBCU President Laura Walton told the Star any move to hold a strike vote must first be endorsed by local leaders, and only after a strike vote could job action be called.

No strike is planned at this point, she said.

All education union contracts expire at the end of August. Typically, no agreements are reached by then and bargaining continues into the school year.

The support staff union was the first to notify the province of its intent to bargain - which it did the day after the June 2 provincial election - and last month Education Minister Stephen Lecce said he is insisting on a normal start to the school year, complete with extracurricular activities.

After-school clubs and sports, however, remain voluntary.

Lecce also warned that parents have little tolerance" for disruptions after two-and-a-half years of turmoil because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

No union has signalled any plans to curb extracurricular activities, though leaders have noted that it is up to individual teachers and staff to run them.

We have said repeatedly, we have every intention of being in the classroom face-to-face in the fall. We look forward to working with students and rebuilding post-COVID or during COVID, whatever it is" at that time, Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation President Karen Littlewood has previously told the Star.

People are going to do their best for the students of the province."

The support staff union is seeking wage hikes of 11.7 per cent annually, or about $3.25 an hour, given inflation and public-sector wage increases capped at 1 per cent in the last contract.

It represents about 55,000 workers including educational assistants, caretakers, school office staff and early childhood educators, and has been posting all bargaining documents online.

School board staff are the lowest paid workers in schools, and their wages vary.

An educational assistant in the Kawartha-Pine Ridge public board, east of Greater Toronto, earns $24.95 an hour for 43 weeks a year, or about $35,000, whereas a custodian in a northern board might earn almost $50,000 and a maintenance/trade worker in Hamilton-Wentworth about $56,500.

Kristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @krushowy