TORONTO, ON – August 15, 2019 — Speaking in Toronto today, Harvey Bischof, President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO), confirmed that OSSTF/FEESO members will be in the classroom on the first day of school in September.

Addressing more than 400 delegates at OSSTF/FEESO’s annual Leadership Conference, Bischof said, “Let me be absolutely unequivocal: we will be at work on the first day of school. In spite of the already serious staffing losses afflicting schools all over Ontario, we will do everything we can to provide students with the best possible education.”

Current collective agreements between OSSTF/FEESO, the government and school boards will expire on August 31, and school boards across the province have laid off teachers and support staff to accommodate the Ford government’s funding cuts.

“The Ford government has declared war on one of the best education systems in the world,” said Bischof. “But we will go to the bargaining table with proposals that are good for Ontario’s education system and for the province’s economic future. We hope this government sees the value in changing direction before the damage becomes irreversible.”

OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.