OSSTF/FEESO Members in Ottawa-Carleton and Halton Announce Job Action

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - May 15, 2015) - Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) Teachers and Occasional Teachers in District 20, Halton, and District 25, Ottawa-Carleton, will begin a selective withdrawal of services on Thursday, May 21, 2015, against the Halton District School Board and the Ottawa-Carlton District School Board respectively, unless local agreements can be reached between those boards and OSSTF/FEESO before that time.

Local leaders in both OSSTF/FEESO Districts said that a lack of progress at their local bargaining tables is responsible for the decision to take job action.

"It's been extremely frustrating," said Brad Fisher, President of OSSTF/FEESO District 20, Halton, Secondary Teachers. "Our members have been without an agreement for more than eight months, but the board is showing no sense of urgency at the bargaining table. Negotiations have progressed at a glacial pace, and we're very disappointed to have to take this action in an effort to move things forward."

Dan Maxwell, President of OSSTF/FEESO District 25, Ottawa, said, "We want to achieve a negotiated agreement, but the board has shown no interest in addressing our concerns in any meaningful way. Unless their approach at the table changes dramatically, we'll be commencing job action on Thursday."

Negotiations are continuing between OSSTF/FEESO District 24, Waterloo, and the Waterloo Region District School Board, and between OSSTF/FEESO District 6A, Thunder Bay, and the Lakehead District School Board. In both of those Districts, talks are moving forward and additional bargaining dates are being arranged.

OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.