SEIU Healthcare, along with the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), stands in solidarity with the more than 55,000 members of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) who are taking legal job action and have given the five days required notice of moving to a walkout on October 7, 2019. These education workers are taking action to secure the education services and resources that students in Ontario need.
“Our union fully supports our sisters and brothers working in education as they take job action,” says Sharleen Stewart, President of SEIU Healthcare. “We stand by you as you push back against extreme cuts to the education system.”
On Thursday, October 10, you can take part in a province-wide school walk-in. Together we will rally outside of schools across Ontario to show the government that we are all united and will not accept cuts to our schools! Learn more or register a school here: www.bit.ly/walkinsignup
“Students in this province deserve properly funded education services, not government cuts that are tearing the public education system apart. Shame on the Conservatives for continuing with these cuts,” said OFL President Chris Buckley in a press statement “These workers have faced years of cuts to the critical services they provide, and the labour movement stands with them as they fight to preserve our world class education system.”
The provincial Conservatives have cut hundreds of millions of dollars from Ontario schools. This has resulted in lost services for students and lost jobs for education workers.
The Ontario School Board workers who are taking job action include educational assistants, custodians, office administrators, early childhood educators, trades people, instructors, library technicians, speech pathologists, IT specialists, as well as many other jobs.