CUPE says education workers to strike ‘until further notice’ starting Friday

The union representing 55,000 Ontario education workers says if workers do go out on strike Friday it will continue “until further notice.”

“At this point, without anything changing, we are on strike until further notice starting Friday unless a deal is reached,” said Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions, while speaking to reporters on Wednesday.

“If this was really about preventing the strike and having those conversations, you don’t come in and tell somebody that we’re going to legislate you. You come in, and you bring an offer, and you work on this,” said Walton.

“The question you need to be asking the government is, why are you still determined to remove the rights of workers rather than coming to the table and negotiating.”

CUPE tells CityNews the Ford government has rejected its latest contract offer, noting it can’t comment on the specifics “as part of the confidentiality agreement made with the mediator.”

“Whether you’re an education worker or an ally, come out to a picket line to send the Ford Conservatives a message and to secure a real deal,” CUPE said in a statement ahead of Friday’s proposed strike action.

#BREAKING – The government has rejected CUPE’s latest contract offer, CityNews has learned.

— Richard Southern (@RichardCityNews) November 2, 2022

Earlier, Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce said he would not negotiate the details of a counteroffer from the union unless they cancel their plans to walk off the job.

“We stand ready to negotiate with any willing party, but they’ve got to take the strike off the table,” the education minister said, speaking to reporters at Queen’s Park.

“They are confirming that they will proceed with the strike, and I think that’s really unfair.”

The union has not revealed what is in its counter-offer, saying only it has made “substantial moves” across the board on all of its positions in order to try and achieve a deal.

CUPE had been seeking annual raises of about 11.7 per cent. The government is proposing to legislate a contract with raises of 2.5 per cent a year for workers making less than $43,000 per year and 1.5 per cent for all others.

“Their wage proposal is actually less than it was before because they’ve put in more pieces that would actually prevent workers from getting the 2.5 (per cent),” said Walton.

“The vast majority of our workers would only receive 1.5 per cent, which is actually less than the 2 per cent that they offered back in August.”

The Ford government has been pushing legislation since Monday that would force a contract on the workers who include librarians, custodians and early childhood educators.

If workers walk off the job it would force most GTA schools to close for in-person learning. (A full list of school board plans can be found here).

Walton says picket lines and protests will take place in front of MPP offices on Friday, not schools.

“At this point, it’s very clear where the issue is lying, and it’s with the government,” said Walton. “Our goal is not to disrupt the school day, our goal is to be out in front of these MPP’s offices.”

The province intends to use the notwithstanding clause to protect its proposed back-to-work legislation from legal challenges. The clause allows the legislature to override portions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for a five-year term.

The government legislation also states that CUPE members would face fines of up to $4,000 per day if they go ahead with a strike.

“We are part of a very large union and an even larger labour movement,” she said in response to a question about the fines.

“Workers are determined, regardless of the union that they belong to, to ensure that this government is not interfering with worker rights.”

Tempers flare in the legislature

Tempers flared in the legislature on Wednesday as MPPs continued to debate the new bill. NDP leader Peter Tabuns accused Premier Doug Ford and Lecce of lying about their reasons for using the notwithstanding clause.

Tabuns was kicked out of the chambers when he refused to withdraw his comment. One by one, the house speaker began ejecting NDP MPPs until 18 members had been given the boot.

Union supporters held a rally outside of the Ministry of Labour on University Avenue on Tuesday in response to the Ford government’s move to impose a contract.

“Doug Ford told us he cares about education workers but doesn’t like those union leaders,” said Walton. “Every single one of our members is a leader, every single one of our colleagues is a leader, and if you’re going to take on me, you’re going to take on everybody.”

Ford took aim at union leaders while speaking in the legislature on Tuesday morning during a session where MPPs were debating the back-to-work bill.

“We’re talking over a million parents that would take work off because you want to feather the nest of the heads of the union,” he said. “I think the labour needs to find new labour leadership.”

The opposition has slammed the Ford government for attempting to force the bill through on the lowest-paid group of education workers. NDP MPP Marit Stiles pointed out the province’s use of the notwithstanding clause, noting it is the first time the clause has ever been used in a labour situation.

“This government is violating the rights of 55,000 Ontario workers, and those workers are parents, too,” she says.

Several other unions, including the teachers’ unions currently in bargaining with the government, have expressed solidarity with CUPE. The most notable example is the Labourers’ International Union of North America – LiUNA – which endorsed Ford’s Progressive Conservatives in the spring election.

A fair collective bargaining process is embedded in the history and foundation of labour rights. We strongly encourage an agreement that prioritizes keeping Ontario students in school while respecting the rights of all workers who keep our schools safe, strong and functioning pic.twitter.com/zi7ANI4RGe

— LiUNA! Canada (@LiUNACanada) October 31, 2022

The government is in bargaining with all four major teachers’ unions right now, and the president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation said Wednesday she is concerned about her union’s negotiations in light of the CUPE legislation.

“It’s so heavy-handed, so draconian, so unnecessary, so unconstitutional, all of the above,” Karen Littlewood said. “It’s hard to sit face to face with another group who’s bringing in that type of action.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as well as the federal justice and labour ministers, have criticized the Ontario government for pre-emptively including the Constitution’s notwithstanding clause in the legislation, saying it shouldn’t be used to suspend workers’ rights.

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With files from The Canadian Press