Thousands of teachers, education workers rally outside Kitchener city hall

Thousands of teachers and education workers from all four Ontario teachers’ unions gathered at outside Kitchener city hall Friday morning to rally during a province-wide strike.

Organizers estimated that the event, which was titled ‘Picket for Education’, drew between 8,000 and 10,000 people.

Members of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA), the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) and Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO) were all in attendance.

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The four unions all walked off the job province-wide on Friday in a move that has closed all public and Catholic schools in the area.

A giant stage was erected in the middle of King Street in front of Kitchener city hall and speakers took to the stage at noon to address the crowd.

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King Street between Ontario and Francis streets was closed for the rally as thousands were amassed in the frosty temperatures caused by biting winds.

“We’re all here for the same reason,” local OECTA President Patrick Etmanski told the crowd. “We’re fighting for our students. We’re fighting for publicly funded education.”

Not unexpectedly, Etmanski, and other speakers did not mince word when mentioning Ontario Premier Doug Ford or Education Minister Stephen Lecce.

ETFO Waterloo Region vice president Jeff Pelich alluded to the fact that an election is not far off when they addressed the crowd.

“That is why we are here today, not only to show the premier and the minister of education, but also our local PC MPPs Mike Harris, Amy Fee and Belinda Karahalios that we will not stand for this and the election is left just over two years away,” Pelich said.

He continued: “Our community is united around this. Get back to the bargaining table and let’s negotiate a fair deal for our students.”

The labour groups said today marks the first time since 1997 that teachers and education workers from all four major unions walked out on the same day.

Education Minister Stephen Lecce criticized the walkout and said the unions should ensure students remain in class.