Ontario’s Education Workers Are on Strike
Ontario’s conservative government refused to bargain with its public education workers. But the decision to impose a contract on the workers appears to have backfired — it has increased worker solidarity and organizing and provoked an “illegal” strike.
Ontario teachers picketing this month. (via Spring: A Magazine of Socialist Ideas in Action)
On Friday, fifty-five thousand Ontario education workers with Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) walked off the job in an “illegal” strike. They were joined by Ontario Public Service Employee Union (OPSEU) education workers, who also “illegally” walked off the job. Over 2.1 million students were out of school as school boards were forced to shut down schools.
Picket lines were up outside Conservative provincial parliament member offices and elsewhere in the province. In Toronto, a massive all-day picket line and rally was held at Queen’s Park, which the media estimated reached ten thousand people. But it wasn’t just striking workers — a huge number of parents, students, trade unionists, and other workers showed up. The mood was electric and defiant, and it was clear the fight was much broader than just education workers’ demands. Their strike has turned into a class-wide fight over fundamental workers’ rights and the right to fight for a better life.
How We Got Here
Education workers have faced legislated wage suppression for more than a decade. This wage suppression was enabled by the passage of Bill 115 and Bill 124, issuing from a Liberal and Tory government respectively. During the height of the pandemic, education workers were told they were essential, but their pay checks didn’t reflect that fact.
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