Vigorous Defence of Education in
Ontario
More Teachers and Education Workers Engage in Strike Action
- Laura Chesnik -
Teachers and education workers protest Premier
Ford's visit to Windsor, January 21, 2019.
Across the province on January 21, teachers and
education workers employed in the publicly-funded English Catholic
school system issued their No! to the Ford government with strike
action. This week as well, other secondary and elementary teachers and
education workers also withdrew their services in selected school
districts across Ontario as part of their unions' rotating strike
actions. It is all part of their ongoing militant resistance to the
Ontario government's neo-liberal wrecking in the education sector that
is aimed at cutting investments in K-12 education and turning the
delivery of public education into a scheme to enrich private business
interests.
Two features of these actions are of
importance:
1) The spirit of unity amongst the workers was
very strong. This is significant as the
government is banking on divisions between the
unions to try to get one of them to agree to its
anti-social provisions. The united actions, with
people joining one another's picket lines, make
it clear that the grassroots educators stand as
one and see that they are fighting for the same
thing.
2) The demands are directly targeting the Ford
government, its MPPs and Premier Ford himself.
The workers are demanding in a militant and
spirited fashion that Ford cease and desist from
his anti-social agenda. Even when he tried to
sneak unnoticed into meetings held with selected
representatives of the rich in Windsor-Essex on
January 21 he was met with a united wall of
determined educators, parents, students, nurses,
auto workers, postal workers, city workers and
many others. This unity in action is a critical
factor for the advancement of the independent
movement of the working people for investments
in public services and social programs and
respect for workers' rights.
 
Striking Catholic teachers and supporters picket outside Ford 's
Windsor Engine Plant, one of Premier Doug Ford's stops during his
stealth visit to the area.
Members of all education unions were joined by workers
from other sectors at a January 21, 2020 protest rally outside a
PC Party fundraiser in Amherstburg that Ford attended
Photos of January 20-22 Actions
Ottawa Catholic School Board
 
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
Trenton, Hastings and Prince Edward District
School Board
Trillium-Lakelands District School Board
 
York Region District School Board
Toronto Catholic District School Board
 
Toronto District School Board
 
Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board
Peel District School Board
Halton Catholic School Board
Grand Erie District School Board
Thames Valley District School Board
 
Windsor-Essex Catholic School Board
Near North District School Board
Sudbury Catholic District School Board
 
Superior-Greenstone District School Board
This article was published in
Number 2 - January 22, 2020
Article Link:
Vigorous Defence of Education in
Ontario: More Teachers and Education Workers Engage in Strike Action - Laura Chesnik
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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