We are rank-and-file education workers who are refusing to choose poverty. As we enter the new school year, inflation is at a 39-year high of 8.1 per cent. This comes on the back of 11 per cent in wage cuts education workers suffered over 10 years under Liberal and Conservative wage-restraint laws. Amidst this cost-of-living crisis, the right-wing Ford regime wants to impose a six per cent wage cut each year for the next four years, when inflation is taken into account. We demand to catch up on what was previously lost, while also keeping up with inflation by including a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) clause in our collective agreement. Education workers must be prepared to strike if necessary to achieve these aims. We cannot afford to go backwards.
Stage set for a breakdown in negotiations
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has entered bargaining for a new contract for school board workers through the central bargaining committee of the Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU). The OSBCU represents 55,000 CUPE workers in Ontario and forms the backbone of public education. It includes early childhood education workers, custodians, librarians, administrative assistants, tradespeople, social workers, and many others. The question of wages has been central in the first several rounds of negotiations, as inflation is at an average of eight per cent currently. The government is offering a two per cent wage increase per year and a four-year contract instead of the usual three-year duration. Meanwhile the OSBCU is asking for an 11.7 per cent, or $3.25 per hour wage increase each year of the usual three-year contract, as well as a higher overtime rate and an increase in funding to hire more staff.
On June 11 and 13, the Toronto Education Workers/CUPE Local 4400, the largest CUPE local in Ontario representing 17,000 workers, voted with a 97 per cent majority in favor of adopting a COLA and catch-up clause as key demands for contract negotiations this fall. The motion was submitted by the CUPE 4400 Rank and File group which is composed of education workers across Toronto with the aim to arm the OSBCU and the labour movement as a whole with these demands, the only serious way to fight inflation.
In the 2022 budget, Doug Ford admitted that $50,000 annually constitutes a low-income wage. Many public education workers earn less than $40,000. It comes as no surprise that more than 50 per cent of CUPE workers are working a second and third job to make ends meet. In fact, we are some of the poorest workers in the province. And yet, we get asked to accept a pay cut of six per cent annually, which amounts to a loss of one-quarter of our income by the fourth year of the contract
This is an insulting offer. We absolutely cannot afford to step backwards any more than we have in the last decade. While the Conservatives are concerned about wage increases for the poorest workers, they appear totally unconcerned about the wages of CEOs whose pay increased by 32 per cent in 2021 alone. In addition, corporate profits have increased by 109 per cent since 2020. The money exists in society to pay fair wages; Ford’s capitalist regime just prefers this money go to the rich rather than the poor.
Lecce’s lies will not work!
The Ford regime is doing all in their power to make the union’s proposal sound unfair. Stephen Lecce, the Ontario minister of education, has been reported saying, “In my entire life, 35 years on Earth, the one commonality is that parents and their children have had to pay for these types of escalation attempts that only hurt kids.” In other words, he is saying paying education workers a living wage hurts kids. In fact the wages of working class parents are a vital component of the conditions of working class children. Also, paying decent wages to education staff is a vital component to the quality of education. Lecce is hiding behind children while presiding over the erosion of the general quality of education.
Among the barrage of lies was the attempt to scare taxpayers by comparing the union proposal to the entire budget of Saskatchewan. However, for those who have been paying close attention in geography class, you may notice that Saskatchewan is small while Ontario is big.
Lecce further stated, “What we do with CUPE, what we sign with CUPE, becomes the floor in every other education negotiation.” Lecce presents this as a negative when in fact inflation is affecting all workers adversely and we all deserve good living conditions. If we are paid a decent wage then all education workers should ask for the same. That’s what we call a fair deal. If we win this contract negotiation we will set the stage for all education and non-education workers to win what they deserve. And this solidarity in common interest makes our movement powerful. The reality is that all working class families have sharply felt the burdens of COVID and the economic crisis and sympathize with frontline workers fighting for a living wage. Public support is on our side!
COLA most effective against inflation
The Aug. 2 bargaining update from the OSBCU reported that their proposal for wages to the Ford government was a $3.25/hour raise for three years. That amounts to an 11.7 per cent raise per year. Where does that leave us in three years? The OSBCU projects a modest 15-17 per cent inflation in the coming years; the real situation can be a lot worse—meaning that if this proposal is accepted, in three years, we will be even further back than we are today. From the point of view of rank-and-file workers, proposing a mere dollar amount which does not account for inflation is dangerous.
We welcome a $3.25/hour raise, as this would undo the impact of a decade of wage restraint laws. But without a COLA clause, any dollar figure simply melts away due to skyrocketing inflation. The OSBCU has taken the first step in demanding a modest raise for educators, but to protect our living standards and put food on the table, we need a COLA clause in addition to the $3.25.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, when inflation was in the double digits, COLA clauses were a common feature in most collective bargaining settlements. Facing an even deeper economic crisis today, unions must once again adopt this demand and settle for nothing less at the bargaining table. The re-elected Ford government will not concede without a fight; it’s about time the union goes on the offensive.
Preparing for this struggle means reaching and educating union members on the need to fight, reaching out to other unions to strengthen solidarity, reaching out to the parents who are also workers and face the same obstacles posed by inflation. The union leadership needs to lead such an offensive with their connections and resources. Such action will show the Ford regime we mean business. If need be, the union must also be ready to form solid pickets and keep the schools closed. The success of such pickets would depend on rank-and-file education and discussions on their importance, and a successful campaign of reaching out to the public to explain our position and gain support.
Why support a strike?
Some of our coworkers may have reservations about going on strike. Workers don’t go on strike for nothing. Fighting for better than poverty wages is vital as we cannot afford to take another step back. Some people may worry they cannot afford to go on strike. We say with a quarter of our paycheque at stake we cannot afford not to. We are more than justified in asking for a fair wage that keeps up with inflation. If the government refuses to give us what we deserve then we should be ready to go on strike. We are the ones who keep the schools operational and we can easily shut them down if our needs are not met.
While the modest 11.7 per cent increase proposed by the OSBCU is an okay start for the bargaining process, this demand should have been voted on by the rank-and-file membership before it was put on the table. There will be pressure from the government and the right-wing media for the union to further moderate its demand. However, 11.7 per cent is the minimum that allows us to keep our heads above water. If the bargaining committee decides to go any lower than 11.7 per cent this must be voted on by the membership. The $3.25/hr addresses the losses of the previous decade and the current rate of inflation but would leave us helpless if inflation goes into the double digits as has been projected by some studies. We cannot go backwards in our standard of living. COLA and catch-up, as passed by our local, are superior than this dollar amount as they account for future changes in inflation. In fact, many of the questions at the launch of the OSBCU “Why Vote Yes” campaign” on Aug. 22 were about COLA. Meanwhile, British Columbia government workers are striking to achieve COLA. We should be fighting for COLA!
For the best chance at success the direct involvement of the rank-and-file union members in decision-making and organizing action is essential. We need frequent in-person meetings to discuss among each other and select the best tactics going forward. Participation in the preparations for a strike is also important for boosting workers’ morale and confidence in our ability to win this struggle.
In these conditions of generalized working class struggle against inflation we need a union leadership that organizes and builds solidarity. We need the rank-and-file membership to be directly involved in actions, educating the parents and broader public, with the leadership aiding and not hindering these efforts. Weak demands and inaction will only invite aggression on the part of the Ford regime.
Some union bureaucrats say that you need to moderate to win support. We say the opposite. We say that by unapologetically putting forward our demands, we will build the confidence of the working class to support us and fight for those issues themselves. We will show people and the government that we are serious and our fight is just. Our fight is the fight of the entire working class in Ontario and the inherent strength of this movement just needs to be mobilized. If we mobilize, we can win.
Strike against Ford
The Ford regime works in the interests of big business. For any worker who considers the Ford regime their friend—we ask, would a friend ask you to continuously take cuts? It is important that every union member understands that the Ontario government does not care for the interests of workers and will do the bidding of corporations to push down our standard of living. This is a capitalist government that does the bidding of the capitalists.
The fight of education workers is not an isolated struggle. The issues we are facing, inflation and austerity, are the same issues that all workers are facing. And Inflation and austerity are inevitable consequences of capitalism. In that sense our struggle is just a component part of the wider struggle against capitalist exploitation and capitalist governments like Doug Ford’s. The laws of capitalism state that the rich will get richer; CEOs and corporations will amass wealth while they demand poor workers like us go backwards. To this we say: no! By fighting against each individual injustice like the insulting wage offer of the Ford regime, we aim to build a mass working class movement to fight against all of the injustices of the capitalist system. We call on everybody who agrees with us to join us in our fight!
