OSSTF D12
Member Vote on Bargaining Pathway

From CBC news

Ontario secondary school teachers have voted in favour of a bargaining proposal with the province that could include the process of binding interest arbitration, but not a strike, to resolve outstanding issues.

Members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) voted 78.4 per cent in favour of the proposal, the union said Wednesday.

In a news release, President Karen Littlewood said the vote approves a "proposal that will put all unresolved items before an independent, third-party arbitrator."

The vote, open to all members in the school board sector, was held over three weeks.

"For over 14 months, we have tried to engage the Ford government in good faith bargaining but we haven't had a partner at the table that cares about safeguarding our public education system. Now we have the opportunity to bypass traditional bargaining pathways to secure a fair collective agreement," she said.

Bargaining for teachers and occasional teachers and education workers will continue until Oct. 27. After that, any matters not yet settled will be put before an arbitrator, the release said. Local bargaining across the province will continue until March 28, 2024, at which time all remaining items not yet settled may be sent to arbitration.