OSSTF/FEESO Announces Support Staff Central Job Action

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - September 30, 2015) - Educational support staff represented by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) will begin a selective withdrawal of services in several Ontario school boards on Monday, October 5. The job action was announced this afternoon following a meeting of local union leaders in Toronto.

Negotiations between OSSTF/FEESO, the Ontario government and the Council of Trustees' Associations have failed to reach an agreement, and came to a halt on the weekend.

"This bargaining process has been underway for well over a year now, and our members are extremely frustrated that they are still waiting for a settlement," said OSSTF/FEESO President Paul Elliott.

"The services our support staff members provide are crucial to publicly funded education in Ontario and to the success of thousands of students," continued Elliott. "But it's clear that neither the government nor the Council of Trustees' Associations appreciate the value of that work in any meaningful way."

OSSTF/FEESO support staff bargaining units represent educational assistants, early childhood educators, professional student services personnel, student support personnel, office and clerical staff, custodians, maintenance, and technicians in publicly funded elementary and secondary schools in many Ontario communities.

At this time no future bargaining dates have been scheduled.

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.