Elementary Teachers of Toronto

Last updated
Elementary Teachers of Toronto
AbbreviationETT
FormationJune 1998;26 years ago (1998-06)
Type Local union
Location
Membership
11,000 [1]
President
Helen Victoros
Parent organization
 Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario
AffiliationsToronto & York Region Labour Council
Website ett.ca OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Elementary Teachers of Toronto (ETT) is a Canadian labour union and the Toronto local of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario. The organization's members are the full-time public elementary teachers employed by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). [2] [3]

Contents

The local was formed in June 1998 through the merger of 13 former Toronto elementary teacher locals. [4]

Governance

The organization is a governed by a member-approved constitution. [5] [6]

The business of the local is conducted by an elected executive, composed of three Table Officers (President, Vice-President, and Secretary/Treasurer) and 11 Executive Officers. Each Executive Officer represents two of the TDSB's 22 wards. Officers are elected for two-year terms. [7] The current president is Helen Victoros. The current vice president is Nigel Barriffe.


Members are also represented by Regional Organizers (one per TDSB ward) and at least one Steward per school. Both representatives liaise between teachers and Executive Officers. [8]

ETT is represented on the board of the Toronto & York Region Labour Council. [9]

Response to Bill 115

In response to the passage of the Putting Students First Act (Bill 115), by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, the membership of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto engaged in several forms of organized protest, including, most notably, a one-day strike action on December 18, 2012.

One-day strike action

On December 18, 2012, Toronto public elementary teachers participated in a one-day strike action to protest Bill 115 and the legislation’s perceived negative impact on local collective bargaining. The walkout closed 474 schools in Toronto, affecting 173,480 elementary students. [10] An estimated 12,000 Toronto public elementary teachers engaged in the labour action. [11]

The strike was dubbed "Super Tuesday" in the media, due to its size and scope. [12]

Rally at the Ministry of Education

On January 15, 2013, Toronto-local members organized a protest in front of the Ontario Ministry of Education building, on Bay Street. The rally drew hundreds of protestors, forcing police to divert traffic and close down part of the street. [13]

Rally at the 2013 Ontario Liberal leadership convention

The Toronto local, in coordination with the other public elementary teacher locals in the GTA, held a demonstration on January 25, 2013, on Carlton Street in front of Maple Leaf Gardens, the site of the 2013 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election. The size of protest, estimated in the hundreds, prompted police to close a section of Carlton Street outside the convention. [14]

School closures

In January 2015, the Ontario Ministry of Education released a report indicating that 84 TDSB elementary schools fell under the ministry’s definition of underutilized (less than 65 per cent capacity), and could potentially be closed. [15] The TDSB, following directives from Ontario Minister of Education Liz Sandals, conducted its own review, refining the list of underutilized elementary schools to 48. [16] [17]

ETT reviewed the 48 elementary schools highlighted by the TDSB using the data collected by the board to rank schools by external challenges to students (family income, levels of social assistance, family education, and preponderance of lone parent families [18] ). ETT’s report concluded that the majority of the schools being considered for closure fell within the areas of Toronto the TDSB considers to be the poorest and to have the fewest learning opportunities. [19] [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto District School Board</span> Public school system of Toronto, Ontario

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular francophone, public-separate anglophone, and public-separate francophone communities of Toronto also have their own publicly funded school boards and schools that operate in the same area, but which are independent of the TDSB. Its headquarters are in the district of North York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto Catholic District School Board</span> Catholic separate school board in Toronto, Canada

The Toronto Catholic District School Board is an English-language public-separate school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada, headquartered in North York. It is one of the two English boards of education serving the city of Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martingrove Collegiate Institute</span> High school in Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Martingrove Collegiate Institute is a semestered public secondary school in Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1966 and is currently overseen by the Toronto District School Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etobicoke School of the Arts</span> Public arts high school in Toronto, Canada

The Etobicoke School of the Arts (ESA) is a specialized public arts-academic high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in Etobicoke, it has been housed in the former Royal York Collegiate Institute facility since 1983. Founded on September 8, 1981, the Etobicoke School of the Arts has the distinction of being the oldest, free standing, arts-focused high school in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute</span> High school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute is a semestered English-language high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Bendale neighbourhood of the district of Scarborough. It was originally sanctioned by the Scarborough Board of Education and since 1998 under its successor board, the Toronto District School Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloor Collegiate Institute</span> High school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Bloor Collegiate Institute is a public secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Bloor Street and Dufferin Street, in the Dufferin Grove neighbourhood. The school was originally part of the Toronto Board of Education that was merged into the Toronto District School Board. Attached to the school is Alpha II Alternative School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in Toronto</span>

Education in Toronto is primarily provided publicly and is overseen by Ontario's Ministry of Education. The city is home to a number of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions. In addition to those institutions, the city is also home to several specialty and supplementary schools, which provide schooling for specific crafts or are intended to provide additional educational support.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation is a Canadian trade union which represents 60,000 members across Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Hill Collegiate Institute</span> Public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

West Hill Collegiate Institute is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in eastern Scarborough in the neighbourhood of West Hill. It is under the jurisdiction of the Toronto District School Board. From its founding until 1998, it was part of the Scarborough Board of Education.

Somali Canadians are Canadians of Somali origin or are dual Somali and Canadian nationality.

Christopher M. Spence is a retired former Canadian educator, author, and former Canadian football player. He is the former Director of Education of the Toronto District School Board and former Director of Education of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario</span> Canadian trade union

The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario is a labour union representing all public elementary school teachers, occasional teachers, and some designated early childhood educators (DECEs) in the Canadian province of Ontario. The union has 76 local chapters in the province, and over 83,000 members. The union was founded on July 1, 1998, by the merger of the Federation of Women Teachers' Associations of Ontario (FWTAO) and the Ontario Public School Teachers' Federation (OPSTF).

The Putting Students First Act is an act passed by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The law allows the provincial government to set rules that local school boards must adhere to when negotiating with local unions and to impose a collective agreement on the board, employee bargaining agent, and the employees of the board represented by the employee bargaining agent if negotiations are not completed by December 31, 2012. This bill also limits the legality of teachers' unions and support staff going on strike. In April 2016, the law was found to be unconstitutional.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bendale Business and Technical Institute</span> High school in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Bendale Business and Technical Institute, formerly Bendale Secondary School and Bendale Vocational School is a defunct specialized technical public high school that was located in Bendale, a neighbourhood in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada owned by the Scarborough Board of Education, that succeeded its operations into the present Toronto District School Board prior to merger. Existed from 1963 until its closure in 2019, it was the first vocational school that served in the former borough of Scarborough in which the school tailored for students with life skills or pursue career in the industry. The school's motto was Flourish Through Industry.

Avondale Alternative Secondary School is a public alternative school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It teaches grades 9 through 12. ASAS and its family schools, Avondale Elementary School and Avondale Alternative Elementary School, are part of the Toronto District School Board. Prior to 1998, the schools were part of the North York Board of Education. The school moved to 24 Silverview Drive in 2016.

The Metro Toronto Elementary Teacher's strike was a month-long labour dispute that saw nearly 10,000 elementary teachers with the then Metropolitan Public School Board in Metro Toronto, Ontario, Canada, walk off the job in a bid to achieve more preparation time. The strike ran from September 21 to October 18, 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaun Chen (politician)</span> Canadian politician

Shaun Chen is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Scarborough North in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2015 Canadian federal election. Chen was a trustee representing ward 21 in the Toronto District School Board as well as Board Chair but resigned on August 5, 2015, to run as the federal Liberal candidate for the newly established Scarborough North riding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federation of Canadian Secondary Students</span> Canadian charitable organization

The Federation of Canadian Secondary Students, French: Fédération des élèves du secondaire au Canada (FCSS-FESC) is a Canadian federally registered charitable organization.

Neethan Shanmugarajah (Neethan Shan) (Tamil: நீதன் சண்முகராஜா, romanized: Nītaṉ Caṇmukarājā; born December 24, 1978), is a Canadian politician who represented Ward 42 Scarborough—Rouge River on Toronto City Council from February 2017 to November 2018. Shan was the first Tamil Canadian to sit on Toronto's City Council. Shan is currently the Vice-Chair of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Shan was elected to the TDSB in 2016 and again in 2022. Shan has sought public office 13 times since 2003; 8 of which were municipally and provincially, 5. He won 4 times: YRDSB Trustee in 2006, TDSB Trustee in 2016, Toronto City Councillor in 2017 and TDSB Trustee in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 Ontario teachers' strike</span> Province-wide walkout by Ontario teachers

The 1997 Ontario teachers' strike was a labour dispute between the government of Ontario under Premier Mike Harris of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PCs), and the Ontario Teachers' Federation (OTF) and its member labour unions. The strike occurred in the context of Harris' Common Sense Revolution, a program of deficit reduction characterized by cuts to education and social services. In September 1997, the PCs introduced Bill 160, which sought to reduce education spending and transfer numerous aspects of school administration from local school boards to the provincial government. In response, teachers participated in a province-wide walkout beginning on October 27, 1997.

References

  1. ↑ "TDSB elementary teachers preparing to walk off the job". Metro News. Torstar. December 13, 2012. Archived from the original on September 10, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Elementary Teachers of Toronto: About Us". Elementary Teachers of Toronto. July 12, 2012. Archived from the original on September 1, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ Rushowy, Kristin (September 4, 2013). "TDSB won't punish teachers for one-comment report cards, union says". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Elementary Teachers of Toronto: History". Elementary Teachers of Toronto. July 12, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Constitution and Bylaws of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Local 12, Elementary Teachers of Toronto". Elementary Teachers of Toronto. February 21, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  6. ↑ "ETFO Locals". Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario. September 2013. Archived from the original on August 24, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Elementary Teachers of Toronto: Who We Are". Elementary Teachers of Toronto. July 12, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Constitution and Bylaws of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Local 12, Elementary Teachers of Toronto". Elementary Teachers of Toronto. June 2, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Labour Council's Executive Board and Committees 2016 - 2018". Toronto & York Region Labour Council. 2016. Archived from the original on November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  10. ↑ Nesci, Gianluca (December 18, 2013). "Nearly 800 GTA schools close for the day as teachers hit picket lines for 'Super Tuesday'". National Post. Postmedia Network Inc. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  11. ↑ Reason, Cynthia (December 18, 2012). "Etobicoke teachers hit the picket lines for 'Super Tuesday'". Inside Toronto. MetroLand Media. Retrieved September 16, 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  12. ↑ Jeffords, Shawn (December 17, 2012). "Elementary teachers take Super Tuesday to Broten's doorstep". Toronto Sun. Sun Media. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  13. ↑ McCusker, Kris (January 15, 2013). "Toronto teachers rally against Bill 115 at education ministry". 680 News. Rogers Communications. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Teachers protest outside Liberal convention". CityNews-Toronto. CityTV. January 25, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  15. ↑ Wilson, Margaret (January 15, 2015). "Review of the Toronto District School Board" (PDF). Ontario Ministry of Education. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  16. ↑ "TDSB names 60 schools in review of under-used space". CBC News Toronto. CBC. February 4, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  17. ↑ Wilson, Codi (January 29, 2015). "Several TDSB schools could be closed due to declining enrollment". CP24. Bell Media. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Learning Opportunities Index" (PDF). Toronto District School Board. 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  19. ↑ Brown, Louise (February 9, 2015). "Majority of schools on TDSB hit list in poorer neighbourhoods". Toronto Star. Torstar. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  20. ↑ "School Closures". Elementary Teachers of Toronto. February 8, 2015. Archived from the original on November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.