October 2014 Newsletter

OCTOBER 2014
ETFO Annual Meeting
Hastings-Prince Edward Delegates
Maternity Workshop
Wednesday, Oct. 22nd
at 4:30 p.m.
Federation House
New Member
Welcome Program
Thursday, Oct. 30th
3:30 p.m.
Federation House
The Delegates
(back row: left to right) Jason Surgent, Jade Holloway, Dianne Sedore-McCoy, Paul Russell
(front row: left to right) Jane Scanlan-Price, Pierre Martin, Sarah Mackay
Missing from the photo: Dave Henderson.
Affiliated with the
Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario
Over 800 public elementary school teachers (including our six delegates and two alternates) and other
education professionals attended the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation
of Ontario (ETFO) in Toronto from August 11-14 at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel. They set
policies and directions for the coming year during the Federation’s annual democratic forum.
ETFO President Sam Hammond opened the proceedings. That evening, delegates heard from
Hassan Yussuff, newly elected president of the Canadian Labour Congress. Premier Kathleen
Wynne, accompanied by Education Minister Liz Sandals, spoke to members on the Wednesday
while Ontario New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath spoke to members on the Tuesday.
This year’s social justice speaker was Diane Redsky, Project Director of the Canadian Women’s
Foundation’s Task Force on Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada.
Once again, the teachers of the Hastings-Prince Edward Teacher Local can be proud of the
delegates and alternates that they elected to send to the AGM. All were active participants in
the many debates/discussions that took place throughout the four day session.
Defined-benefit pension plans are
more efficient, say experts
October 16, 2014
A conference on pension reform concluded that destroying public pension plans would be neither
cheaper nor fairer, and that envy over such plans is misplaced.
“The message (isn’t) so much that public sector pensions are too rich,” writes Adam Mayers in the
Toronto Star. “(It’s) that workers in the private sector have been abandoned.”
Defined-benefit pension plans are more efficient and more stable financially, despite public perception
that they are not affordable, says Robert Brown. A retired professor of actuarial science at the University
of Waterloo, Brown found in a recent paper that the cost of capping plans would be higher than
maintaining them at their current levels.
The presumed savings accrued by switching from defined-benefit to defined-contribution pension plans
are outweighed by the benefits of sticking with the current system, the report continues. For example,
defined benefit plans have a steady level of financing, reduce risk by spreading costs over a large number
of members, and ultimately produce up to 77% more income than defined-contribution plans.
Brown concluded that in the end, citizens would wind up footing the bill for the money lost to
pensioners through the taxes they pay and could result in legal challenges. The cost to taxpayers
could skyrocket.
Follow this link to read the rest of the article in the Toronto Star:
http://www.thestar.com/business/personal_finance/retirement/2014/10/16/a_closer_look_at_pension_envy_mayers.html
ETFO’s 2014 Collective Bargaining
Goals for Teacher Members:
• To negotiate improvements to teacher compensation
• To negotiate improvements to class sizes in all grades and programs
• To negotiate limits on teacher workload
• To negotiate improved sick leave
• To negotiate improvements to pregnancy/parental
leave entitlements
• To negotiate improvements to health and safety
http://www.etfocb.ca
PAGE 2
OCTOBER 2014
etfo-hpe
ETFO Provincial
Collective Bargaining
Advertising Campaign
Four of our Hastings-Prince Edward
colleagues were selected to participate in
the provincial ad campaign for this round
of bargaining.
Jane Scanlan-Price (Foxboro) and
Marian Scanlan (Madoc Public)
Trustee Candidates
Monday October 27 is Election Day
Tom Biniaris
Jennifer Cobb
Bonnie Danes
Christopher Dopking
Judy Edgar
Peter A. Erglis
Thelma Goodfellow
Dianne Sedore-McCoy
(2nd Vice President)
Alex Broek
(Marmora Senior)
Mary Hall
Dwayne Inch
Lucille Kyle
David Patterson
Merrill Stewart
Larry Whitfield
Jim Williams
Questionnaire Responses on www.etfohp.on.ca
It’s Elementary
OCTOBER 2014
PAGE 3
Your Federation needs YOU!
Please consider getting involved in one of our many Committees:
EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
HEALTH AND SAFETY
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
STATUS OF WOMEN
FIRST FIVE
POLITICAL ACTION
SOCIAL AND WELLNESS
 Mileage and food is provided for attendance at the
meetings.
 Child Care funding is also available.
 You can also Skype into the meetings if you so wish.
 Your involvement can be as little or as much as you like.
To contact a committee chair, please visit:
http://www.etfohp.on.ca/executives/
Please check our Local website for committee meeting dates:
http://www.etfohp.on.ca/resources/calendar/
PAGE 4
OCTOBER 2014
etfo-hpe
Status of Women Committee
Status of Women Organizes activities for the enhancement of the status of women. Yearly events include the Take Back
the Night March, White Ribbon Campaign, The Women’s Retreat, and the Voices and Views Film Festivals. Meets
monthly on the second Wednesday. Additional meetings are sometimes scheduled around major events. Chair: Angela Silver., College St.
Professional Development Committee
Professional Development Organizes various professional development opportunities in the Local often enlisting the
resources of the Provincial organization. Workshops take place after school, or sometimes with release time according
to provincial guidelines. The committee meets on the first Monday of each month beginning in October.
Chair: Jane Scanlan-Price, Foxboro
Equity and Social Justice Committee
Equity and Social Justice Develops and implements programs, usually in the form of workshops, designed to promote
awareness of equity and social justice, and to encourage greater participation of members from equity-seeking groups.
Liaise with the Board and Provincial ETFO regarding equity issues. Meets on the third Thursday of each month.
Chair: Paul Russell, HJC
First Five Committee
First Five Plans workshops and social events focussing on support for and participation from teachers in their first five
years. Meets on the third Monday of each month.
Chair: Sherry Simm, Queen Elizabeth Trenton
Political Action Committee
Political Action Promotes awareness of political issues and participation in the political process. Becomes involved in
election campaigns at all three levels of government. Works closely with the Quinte Labour Council and other affiliates.
Usually meets on the third Tuesday of each month.
Chair: Andrew Clarke, Pinecrest
Social and wellness Committee
Social/Wellness Committee Organizes social events and wellness activities for the Local in a variety of geographic
locations designed for active participation and teacher morale.
Chair: Ian McKendry, Tweed.
Health and Safety Committee
Health and Safety A new committee this year which will examine issues around Health and Safety. Meets on the first
Wednesday of each month.
Chair: Jason Surgent, Maynooth
During this workshop, you’ll learn about:
Retiree health insurance benefits
Retirement gratuities
RRSPs
Tax and estate planning before and after retirement
Investments
Lifestyle planning
This free workshop is open only to members and spouses. It covers valuable
information that will be useful to all those planning to retire within the next five years.
Date:
***Revised***
October 30, 2014
4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Travelodge Hotel
11 Bay Bridge Road, Belleville
Time:
Location:
To Register:
PAGE 6
Please email jdeshevy@otip.com – register early as space is limited!
Please note any dietary requirements at time of registration
A light dinner will be served.
OCTOBER 2014
etfo-hpe
Good Backpack Program
“Thank you to all our
elementary school teachers
for making a difference in
the lives of children in our
community”.
(On behalf of all at United Way of Quinte
and those who participated in the
Good Backpack Program this year)
The Good Backpack Program distributed over 1200 backpacks throughout Hastings and Prince Edward Counties this
year. Approximately 400 backpacks were distributed in Belleville, 150 to Quinte West, 200 to Prince Edward County,
475 to Deseronto, North Hastings and Central Hastings and an additional 125 backpacks were distributed to community
support agencies to issue to recipients of their services. A special thank you to ETFO for your continued support, for
investing in our community and ensuring that children throughout Hastings and Prince Edward Counties are able to
start school with the essentials they need to learn. Your donation allowed us to purchase much needed supplies locally,
with your contribution we were able to purchase 65 quality backpacks that we were then able to stuff and distribute.
On Eve of World Teachers’ Day, ETFO Teachers
Reveal How Their Work is Building Better Schools
October 3, 2014
A social media campaign by members of the Elementary
Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is revealing how
their passion and work are helping to contribute to one of
the best education systems in the world.
and instruction to classrooms to create a successful learning
experience for all students.”
In celebration of World Teachers’ Day on Sunday October 5th,
teachers have taken to Facebook and Twitter to speak about
some of the amazing and inspiring things that characterize their
profession. They are sharing their Twitter messages at hashtags
#teachersrock and #worldteachersday and on the Federation’s Facebook page.
“Ask any teacher and they’ll tell you that teaching is a calling.
That is what drives them to work hard and love the work
they do,” said ETFO President Sam Hammond. “Our
children’s educational growth and development are in the
hands of teachers who bring superior instructional expertise
It’s Elementary
Ontario has one of the highest performing education systems in
the world and teachers are a big part of that success, according to
reports from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development. Ontario’s teachers, who are required to obtain
two university degrees to become certified, are some of the
most highly qualified teaching professionals in the world.
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario represents
76,000 elementary public school teachers and education
professionals. Its work is guided by Building Better Schools,
ETFO’s education agenda for building a better learning
environment for all students, which can be viewed at
www.buildingbetterschools.ca
OCTOBER 2014
PAGE 7
Congratulations To:
• Alisha Cox (York River P.S.) and her husband
Shawn Prindle who had a baby girl on July 23rd.
Welcome to Marlee Diane Mae Prindle.
• Jeannie Curtis (Madoc P.S.) on her marriage
to Dave Caldwell
the
You are invited to attend
OME PROGRAM
NEW MEMBER WELC
Members &
FO
Come Meet Other New ET
bers!
Local ETFO Executive Mem
Thursday October 30, 20
• Megan Hicks (York River P.S.) on the arrival
of her baby
(Dir
• Dave Henderson (ETFO HP-Local President)
whose mother passed away
• Susan Aide (Frankford P.S.) whose
mother-in-law passed away
at FEDERATION HOUSE
session
ectly following the NTIP
3:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Our Sincere Condolences To:
• Jen Wright (Harry J. Clarke) for the loss of
her grandmother
14
at the Board Office)
DINNER WILL BE SERVED
RSVP by Oct 27 to: Dia
nne Sedore-McCoy (2
nd
AT 4:30
PE)
Vice President ETFO-H
p.on.ca
dsedore-mccoy@etfoh
ville
4 Victoria Avenue, Belle
FEDERATION HOUSE 11
New Steward training took place on Thursday, September 25, at the River Inn. Six new stewards as well as the local released
officers (Dave Henderson, Pierre Martin, Dianne Sedore-McCoy), provincial staff officer (Michaela Murphy) and executive members
(Jason Surgent, Paul Russell, Angela Silver) were in attendance.
Welcome New Stewards: Andrew Clarke (Pinecrest), Mike Vanderwal (Susanna Moodie), James Kirby (Parkdale),
Muriel Smith (College Street), Derek Watt (Prince Charles - Belleville), and Jennifer Walmsley (Kente)
www.etfohp.on.ca
http://www.etfohp.on.caresources/calendar/