Ottawa's public schools are facing a third round of strike-vote news this month, as CUPE's Ontario School Board Council of Unions branch announced its members will vote on a strike mandate in November, joining two teachers' unions that made similar moves in recent weeks.
Who's voting and when
About 57,000 education workers represented by CUPE's Ontario School Board Council of Unions will be able to vote on whether to give their union a strike mandate, with the vote set to take place between November 4 and 18.
The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association and the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario have also set strike votes for November, meaning three major education unions across the province are now on a similar timeline heading into the fall.
Why talks stalled
Current education contracts expired at the end of August, but negotiations for a new deal stalled before they even really started.
That dispute has effectively frozen broader talks. The major education unions, including CUPE's school board council, are now awaiting a ruling on the central-versus-local bargaining question from the Ontario Labour Relations Board before substantive negotiations can move forward.
What it means for Ottawa
A strike mandate vote doesn't mean a strike is imminent, it gives a union's bargaining team leverage at the table, but with three unions now aligned on timing, the pressure on the province to resolve the bargaining-structure dispute is mounting.
But families should expect this story to keep developing through the fall as the Labour Relations Board ruling looms and more unions weigh in.
What led here
This is the latest in a string of Ontario education labour developments Ottawa has been tracking. Just days ago, ottown's earlier report covered the Elementary Teachers' Federation setting its own November vote, as contract talks stayed stalled provincewide. Together, the three unions now moving toward strike mandates suggest Ottawa schools could be heading into a tense stretch of labour negotiations this school year.
Sources: CP24 (CTV/Canadian Press)
