EDUCATION WORKERS ARE THE
BACKBONE OF OUR SCHOOLS
The OSBCU is made up of 55,000 education workers in 600+ different jobs in schools across Ontario.
The lowest paid in the sector, education workers play a vital role in student success.
The stories are personal
Laurie Lucciola is a custodian who’s responsible for looking after an entire elementary school. She keeps the yard clean and safe for kids to play, and her work is crucial for having a healthy learning environment. Laurie knows it’s not possible to explicitly negotiate respect from the government. But proper staffing to take care of special needs students – and every student – and the resources she needs to do her job well would go a long way. Laurie and her coworkers are bargaining for these things to be guaranteed in writing as part of the next contract.
Together, we can support
education worker demands to:
Improve the quality of education
Better meet students needs with increased help from educational assistants, early childhood educators, youth workers and more
Ensure enough clerical workers to run schools safely and smoothly
Keep all school libraries open for students
Guarantee healthier cleaning standards and tackle maintenance backlogs
Keep wages above the poverty line, especially under current inflation pressures
Holly Buffalo Rodrique
Chief Custodian
Holly Buffalo Rodrique is a chief custodian in Timmins, Ontario. She ensures cleaning supplies are stocked, classrooms are clean, and it's safe for children to be in the school yard. Holly takes care of our children and our community. Now it's time for us to take care of her. Inflation has made it difficult for custodians like Holly to pay bills on time and make ends meet. Our education workers need livable wages today, so we can all protect the students of tomorrow.
Debbie Popovic
School Librarian
Debbie Popovic is an elementary school librarian who works with over 550 students in her school every week. For many students, being in the library and working with Debbie is their favorite thing to do at school. But as student populations grow and schools face devastating budget cuts, librarians like Debbie are struggling to keep up with the work — and their bills. We all want the best education for our kids, and it starts with livable wages for our librarians.
Kristine Hamilton
Educational Assistant
Kristine Hamilton is an educational assistant in an elementary school. She works with high needs students who may be vulnerable to crisis, may be new to school or even new to the country. The students she works with need more help and, between budget cuts and inflation, there's not enough money to go around.
By the numbers
The lowest paid in the sector, education workers have faced a real wage cut of more than 11% over the last 10 years due to provincial legislation. Significant increases to the education worker wage are needed to face current inflation pressures, keep education workers above the poverty line, and prevent valued and experienced workers from leaving the field.
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