HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-01-23, Page 1616 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Six buses of Avon Maitland teachers, support staff
headed to Liberal leadership convention to protest
Susan Hundertmark
The Huron Expositor
Six buses full of close to 250 Avon
Maitland teachers and support staff
are expected to travel to Toronto this
Saturday, tan. 26 to loin their voices
with over 100 busloads of their peers
from across the province at the
Ontario Liberal leadership
convention.
Jeff Denys, president of the Avon
Maitland Loral of the Ontario Sec-
ondary School Teachers' Federation
(OSS'I'l?), organized the buses from
the region's high schools with the
Elementary Teachers' Federation of
Ontario.
"'Phis is all about the collective
bargaining piece. Our message has
always been that we just wanted to
come to the table - it's not been
about asking for a wage increase," he
says.
Willie the Avon Maitland second-
ary teachers signed a deal with the
school board on Nov. 27, Denys
points out that the Education Minis-
ter Laurel Broten was given the
power through Bill 115 t0 change it,
a move that killed the deal.
"'that is not how this is supposed
to work. She was supposed to say yes
or no, not make changes to a negoti-
ated contract. If she didn't like it, it
should have conte hack to us so we
could figure it out," he says.
Ile adds that local teachers and
support staff are still angry that the
Minister imposed contracts on pub-
lic elementary and secondary school
teachers on tan. 3 and 1111111y are
continuing to make the choice to
discontinue any extracurricular
activities in the schools until their
unions are given a chance to
negotiate.
"We can't tell people not to do
extra -curriculars because we're not
in a legal strike position anymore.
Itut, many are making the choke on
their own because of the way they've
been treated by the province," drys
Denys, adding he thinks extra -cur-
ricular activities will "begin the next
day, once Weir(' U'l'atetl ill it respect-
ful manner and can sit down and
bargain."
Denys stresses that teachers
understand there is a $14 1)1111011
provincial deficit and want to partic-
ipate in creating a solution to that
problem.
"No one has said they are not will-
ing to find ways to save money," he
says.
Denys says he's hopeful the can-
didates in the provincial liberal
leadership race will get the message
from teachers and support staff.
"We have a game plan that
revolves around creating an atmos-
phere so that the Premier under-
stands the problem is not going
away. And, there's an easy way out
of it if you're willing t0 sit down and
negotiate," he says.
Merlin Leis, president of the L'l'I:O
local, agrees that teachers anti sup-
port staff are still very upset by the
imposed contract.
"'1 he entire issue of going outside
the legal framework to impose a
contract is what we'll be protesting.
'1'o go down that road is not treating
the citizens of Ontario with the
respect they deserve;' he says.
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