These Schools Will Close If Ontario Education Workers Strike Again & It's Not Looking Good
The strike would happen on Monday.
Desks lined in an empty classroom. Right: Education Minister Stephen Lecce.
Just like last time, several school boards across Ontario have confirmed they will close for in-person learning if the province's 55,000 education workers go on strike again.
CUPE issued its 5-day strike notice Wednesday and said investments in education services came up short, despite negotiations leading to a "middle ground" regarding salary.
Hours later, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) released a statement.
"While we hope that an agreement will be reached and students and staff will be at school and work on Monday, should this strike occur, all TDSB schools will be closed for in-person learning for all students," the board said.
The move by Ontario's largest school board serves as an indication of the impact of this strike action as many other boards are following suit, in a repeat of their decisions when education workers went on strike earlier this month.
The Toronto Catholic District School Board, the Peel District School Board, York Region's public and catholic boards, and the Halton Catholic District School Board are all planning to close for in-person learning on Monday, should a strike go ahead.
However, the Halton Region District School Board has said in-person learning would go ahead as planned Monday, but students would begin remote learning the following day and until further notice if the strike continues.
According to the union representing education support workers, custodians, and admin staff, the Ford government offered $1-an-hour raises across the board, amounting to a 3.59% increase for its workers.
But while negotiations between the two sides now shift to support and investments in education services, the mounting tension has once again become hard to ignore.
"Ever so casually, they have again put the province on a path to a strike," wrote Education Minister Stephen Lecce in a tweet, kicking off a thread where he detailed the various offers his government has made in its negotiations with education workers.
\u201cOur government fulfilled our end of the deal by putting forward significantly improved offers.\n\nCUPE has rejected all of these offers.\n\nEver so casually, they have again put the province on a path to a strike.\n\nMy reflections below on what is really driving the latest strike. \ud83e\uddf5\u201d— Stephen Lecce (@Stephen Lecce) 1668642113
It was what Lecce's tweet thread ended with that caught the most attention.
"It's time for CUPE to take yes for an answer & cancel the strike. These kids have endured enough of these strikes. 2,246 days out of class to be precise, since 1989," he wrote.
That large number drew an even bigger reaction in people calling him out for spreading false information.
"I call on Stephen Lecce to show the data on this latest claim," said Laura Walton, the President of CUPE's Ontario School Board Council of Unions.
\u201cSince Stephen was 3, apparently kids have missed 2246 DAYS of classes due to strike. \nI call on Stephen Lecce to show the data on this latest claim. And please show data for CUPE as well\nThere is no room for this type of hyperbole\u201d— Laura Walton (@Laura Walton) 1668644423
Despite the tension and ongoing Twitter jabs, both sides have committed to negotiating in the lead up to Monday in an effort to avoid another strike.