Building Union Power

#BlackLivesMatter

Congratulations to our successful BUP slate candidates! We’re so excited for all you’ll accomplish

What does a vote for #BuildingUnionPower mean? Take a look! Teachers united, will never be defeated!

The real issue in this election is about vision, not division. If you want your union to take more direct, school-based and local-wide action on Collective Agreement enforcement as well as daily concerns like this new remote learning reality, bullying Administrators, shoddy consultation processes, and lack of supports when you need them most ... If you want your union to provide you with well researched data, facts, and speaking points on the issues you care about If you want your union to create robust steward and member-based training programs, equipping you with both the knowledge and skills to organize 90% of your school, and implement structures and methods that build real power in every worksite and local wide If you want your union to continue building strong parent and community alliances If you want your union to be a partner with parents, community groups, and working people city-wide in fights for social justice inside our schools and in our communities, truly demonstrating that Teachers live the mantra: We’re all in this together When elected, Building Union Power candidates will work with you to immediately start moving to the most powerful, exciting, member-lead union We will move on: 1) ETT Organizing Department, supporting you and your colleagues to: Share information, challenges, direct action methods/strategies, and examples of wins (!) quickly and effectively between your schools and across your wards (Principals and Superintendents do this we will too!) 2) ETT Research Department, supporting you and your colleagues to: Quickly access well-researched facts, data, and speaking points on the issues you care about and to organize with parents on 3) A robust, regularly run Steward and School Team Training Program Based on the issues and information you tell us you need Know your rights under the Collective Agreement, Occupational Health and Safety Act, etc. Train in the methods and skills to collectively take action to enforce your rights in your schools! Remote learning, bullying Admin or broken boiler we’ve got a direct action plan workshop to get the victories you need! 4) Running organized, escalated, local-wide campaigns and actions Regular member surveys on your widely, deeply felt issues Remember your 5000 signature petition a few years ago? When you and your colleagues organized those numbers, you stopped the TDSB from making changes to the Kindergarten program until supports were put in place the only local in Ontario to WIN THIS VICTORY! Yes to more of that! 5) Parent/ETT Members Alliance ETT Member/Parent Roundtable Member workshops on Parent reach out at your schools Together, we can build the most exciting, powerful, social-justice centred, fighting union ever! www.buildingunionpower.ca

Make your voice heard!

Dear ETT Members, This year’s Federation Day sums up how I feel about our last two years at ETT. It was a lot of hard work, it came with a lot of challenges, it felt at times like we couldn’t pull it off, but when I had done all that I could, when I had tried my best and sometimes, not succeeded (Coldplay), I reached out to others. On the day of our big event, in spite of the snow, we did it. It all came together just as it should. It was an emotional day with highs and lo...Continue reading

Dear ETT Members, At the start of this long weekend, Jennifer Brown sent out her first mass email as President elect. I have to say my heart sank when I read it....Continue reading

#BuildingUnionPower candidates have a platform to build the most exciting, bold, powerful Teacher union in Ontario: A fighting union where you and your co-workers know how to win and protect the victories that will make such a difference in your school... A supportive union where all 11,000 ETT members have the knowledge, training, supports and confidence to stop what you don’t want and win what you do A committed union to build the schools our students deserve and the working conditions you need to make this happen! For more information, visit www.buildingunionpower.ca

The ballot box is officially open at 9am today! Start your Monday by taking a minute to vote for the incredible folks who are committed to #BuildingUnionPower within #ETT We need executive officers who are strong advocates for the working conditions we deserve. ... Together, we will build the most exciting, powerful, social-justice centred, fighting union ever! When elected, Building Union Power candidates will work with you to move to create the most powerful, exciting, member-lead union with: 1) An ETT Organizing Department 2) An ETT Research Department 3) A robust and regular Steward and School Team Training Program 4) Organized, escalated, local-wide campaigns and actions 5) Parent/ETT Members Alliance Structure and Workshops Vote to Build Your Union Power, May 18 - May 25!

Dear ETT Members, This election is about vision, not division. It’s about continuing to build union power together, or stopping the exciting momentum you’ve begun in its tracks.... Look at what a building union power vision, platform, and your hard work, has accomplished so far.... When you and your colleagues reached out to parents on the sidewalks outside your schools, you built relationships from the ground up. You built the most massive support you’d ever seen from parents. You built something few Teachers dreamed possible even a year ago! When you and your colleagues organized in every school to get over 5000 petition signatures in a matter of days - you STOPPED the TDSB from changing Kindergarten reports till you got the support you needed - The only local to exert this kind of power and get this kind of win in Ontario! When you and your colleagues showed up at rallies, and signed $15 and Fairness petitions demanding every worker in Ontario get paid sick days, workers across Ontario showed up for you - on your picket lines, on social media, in letters of support to MPP’s in this last round of bargaining. Building Union Power candidates have been at the forefront of every single one of these initiatives, with you, with parents, with other union locals, and community members. You know you can’t win the system wide changes you need in your schools and for your students, as an isolated island. You know you can’t win without the serious power of you and your 11,000 colleagues organized to take direct action. You know you can’t win without serious parent and community alliances. We don’t believe you want to go backwards now. The methods, strategies and alliances to build true union power get results for every single ETT member like no other. You’ve seen it. You’ve experienced it. Your choice is clear in this election. Keep building collective union power internally using the methods and strategies that work. Scale up the broad based alliances that have emerged to even greater force. Or stop this momentum. If you’re excited by the Building Union Power vision and plan... If you believe this is the direction you and your colleagues need your union to keep moving in to get real, system-wide results on the issues you care so deeply about.... Vote Joy, Yolanda, and Natasha today.

Have you voted for Natasha, Joy or Yolanda yet? #buildingunionpower #VoteForChange

Anti-Black racism is a poisonous weed that has entangled itself into the very fabric of society. Its roots have spread far and wide, and we don’t need to look any further than the responses to the mere existence of our caucus in social media to see it. Read our full statement www.BuildingUnionPower.ca

In unprecedented times like this, it's imperative to support our labour partners on the front lines. Come join us to hear about the stories of front line workers, so we don't forget the sacrifices they're making. For the zoom link: https://www.labourcouncil.ca/voices_from_the_frontlines_ser... May 06, 2020 at 2pm - 3:30pm Voices from the Frontlines - Service Sector

Dear ETT Members, There has been such a lack of clarity around campaign rules in this election. So much so that we’ve just been made aware that two more candidates, from the GoverningforAll slate, Jamie Thom and Mike Martin, have been hit with campaign rule violations as well.... This is the exact same campaign rule violation that all 13 candidates from the Building Union Power caucus were hit with on Friday, just hours before the election polls opened. If Jamie Thom, one of the two current ETT Executive Officer Liaisons to the Governance Committee which oversaw the drafting of the rules for this campaign in the first place, now finds himself in violation of these rules, it seems obvious to us that the campaign rules are very unclear to everyone. Much damage has already been done to the 13 Building Union Power candidates because of this lack of clarity and process which contains no appeal procedure. Going forward, we hope that the GoverningforAll slate, which has Jennifer, Jamie, and Doris in leadership, recognizes how flawed these rules and procedures are. We hope there is an end to the smearing of Building Union Power candidates for things that some of GoverningForAll slate candidates are now in violation of themselves. And we sincerely hope we can focus on what is key in this election - that there is actually a critical difference in vision and platform between these two slates, and that members have a very important decision to make about the kind of union you want to have going forward. If you and your co-workers believe in continuing to build the most massive parent and community alliance with Teachers and Educators possible. If you and your co-workers know in your bones that organizing and building union power around the issues you often struggle with everyday in your schools, is key to winning victories and making sure they last... Please check out our Building Union Power website to read more about our platform and join the discussion! Vote for Joy, Yolanda, and Natasha! AND reach out to Building Union Power candidates to talk about your ideas. We’re so excited about what we’re going to do together!

An amazing team of Table Officers! And great dancers, too. Joy, Yolanda and Natasha.

Dear ETT Members, On Friday May 1, a ruling by the ETT Elections CRO occurred against 13 candidates with the Building Union Power slate. In the spirit of openness, we want to address this issue directly. The election complaint questions if we violated the Code of Conduct for Candidates. This complaint refers to using a method of communication that was not accessible to all other candidates when Building Union Power sent out an invitation to an event on Thursday April 30, ...Continue reading

We will continue to stand up for workers' rights. We demand a #livingwage. Through the collective action we can WIN and defend the rights of all working people. #mayday #mayday2020 #workersrights #forwardtogether

Let Natasha streamline our union. Take a step in the right direction for our union by voting for transparency, efficiency and integrity. #buildingunionpower

On May 4th, choose Building Union Power. You are the union. Your voice matters.

The recording of our Arts Webinar. Thanks for all the great contributions!