Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario Council of School Board Unions, said about 73 per cent of those who voted were in favor. Walton — who had said she didn’t like the deal because it didn’t come with staffing level guarantees — said about 76 percent of the union’s 55,000 teacher members voted in the ratification process. “I thought it would be closer … 73 is a little higher than I expected,” Walton said at a press conference Monday. Employees who were not in favor said they were concerned about the lack of classroom services, such as the number of teaching assistants and early childhood teachers, Walton said. The ratification ends a whirlwind bargaining process that saw teachers walk off the job for two days after the government passed—and then repealed—legislation that gave them a contract, barred them from striking and used the override clause to override some charter rights. The two sides later returned to the table and brokered a tentative deal on Nov. 20, which the union said comes with a $1 hourly raise each year, or about 3.59 percent annually, for the average worker. “We have seen unprecedented member participation,” the union said in a press release Monday. “It is this commitment that will continue to hold this government to account and continue to fight to improve our publicly funded, publicly provided education system.” The four major teachers’ unions continue to negotiate with the government.
