OSSTF/FEESO Moosonee Members Ratify Local Negotiated Contract

MOOSONEE, ON--(Marketwired - September 03, 2015) - The Teacher/Occasional Teacher bargaining unit of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) District 1, Ontario North East in Moosonee, is pleased to have ratified a local collective agreement with the James Bay Lowlands Secondary School Board. This is the first freely negotiated local agreement under the new School Boards Collective Bargaining Act and should serve as model for future negotiations and cooperation between local Bargaining Units and school board employers across the province.

"Negotiating a new collective agreement is never an easy process," said Bargaining Unit president Troy Puckalo, "but through respectful dialogue and a recognition of one another's legitimate interests, we were able to achieve an agreement that is fair to both sides."

"OSSTF/FEESO congratulates our local Bargaining Unit and the employer on reaching this agreement expeditiously and without rancour. We hope the remaining school boards in Ontario that employ OSSTF/FEESO members show the same interest in sitting down at bargaining tables and moving efficiently to new local agreements that respect teachers' contributions to high quality, publicly funded education," said Harvey Bischof, OSSTF/FEESO Vice President and Chair of the bargaining team.

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.