Ideas

For me, union work has always been an outlet for hope. While we all may feel alone in our individual silos, our union brings us together, allowing us to see our concerns are systemic and common to all. Union work offers actionable steps to facilitate changing, saving, and improving public education.

The role of the Teachers' and Occasional Teachers’ Bargaining Unit (T/OT BU) Vice President is to serve as the Vice Chair of the Teachers’ Executive, sit on the Bargaining Unit Administration Committee (BUAC), the Collective Bargaining Committee (CBC), and Teachers’ Council, as well as participate as a non voting member of any other standing committee. The larger responsibility comes into play if the President or Chief Negotiator are not able to fulfill their duties, then the Vice President would step into their position. The role of Vice President is all about building capacity, supporting the bargaining unit, and finding creative ways to move our work forward. 

What needs to be done:

• Defend teachers through new school board policies, such as the Attendance Support Program that is working to intimidate us out of using our collectively bargained sick leave

• Push back on board initiatives that are downloaded to teachers to figure out without enough time to properly implement

• Inform senior admin and HR about what we are seeing in schools so that real change can be seen at our sites in a timely manner

• Advocate to have school policies that truly support teachers managing a wide range of behaviours in their ever growing classes

How we are going to do it:

• Organize and empower members to fight for public education in a way that meets them where they are at

• Engage more people with a variety of perspectives

• Improve communication and education around how the union is organized and the issues we are facing 

• Increase supports available to members through presence, approachability, and availability

In order to build a strong labour movement, which will be required to have an impact on this current provincial government and its policies, we need to connect with the other labour unions in Waterloo Region, through avenues such as the Waterloo Region Labour Council. We need to come together as workers, find common areas of concerns, and build relationships through collective action to support all workers as we continue to manage unprecedented cuts from this provincial government. 

No matter how much union work one has done, there is always more to learn and new tasks to accomplish. From managing the everyday issues in our classrooms to upcoming negotiations, I am ready to take on challenges and creatively problem solve with our other bargaining unit leaders to support and protect all teachers.