As the summer weather finally arrives, Eddy and I wanted to take a moment to offer our thanks and congratulations for your dedication and hard work through another school year.
Another year of helping our children be the best they can be, supporting and encouraging them as they make their way through our primary, secondary, and adult education school system.
Everything you do matters. Every day.
You face many challenges – short staffing, ever-more-complex student needs, crowded classrooms, and violence. But you never let those challenges stop you. You show up because you know that your students need you and your communities need you.
The fall is shaping up to be the fight of our lives. The Ford government has made no secret of its desire to keep your wages as low as possible, going as far as introducing legislation to strip your Charter right to free and fair collective bargaining and impose a wage cut against inflation.
But OPSEU’s Boards of Education members, along with our 4,000 newly affiliated members in the Educational Resource Facilitators of Peel, will never stand alone.
You can always count on OPSEU’s Executive Board – and all 155,000 of our members – to stand with you, side by side, in the face of threats to quality education.
We wish you a wonderful and relaxing summer break, and we hope you’re able to recharge and spend time with your friends and family.
Thanks and in solidarity,
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas
OPSEU First Vice-President/Treasurer Eduardo (Eddy) Almeida