Members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation in Chatham-Kent are some of the thousands across Ontario hitting the picket lines on Wednesday.
Just after midnight Wednesday morning, members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) followed through on a promise to hold a one-day, province-wide full withdrawal of services after a tentative agreement was not reached with the province. As a result, seven public secondary schools were closed in Chatham-Kent and hundreds more across Ontario.
Joe Kuhn, a secondary school teacher at Chatham-Kent Secondary School, said members are fighting for fair treatment and hope the one day strike will send a clear message.
"I think the message we're trying to send is we are dissatisfied with contract negotiations thus far and we're really hoping we can demonstrate our dissatisfaction," said Kuhn.
On November 26, secondary school teachers started a work-to-rule campaign as a way to put pressure on the province in contract talks. Negotionas remained at a standstill and the OSSTF announced its intention to hold the one-day walkout. Earlier this fall, union members voted 95.5 per cent in favour of giving the OSSTF a mandate to strike if necessary.
On the day of the strike, Kuhn said the mood of teachers on the picket line remained generally optimistic.
"The mood's been really positive," he said. "We've had lots of support. We've had lots of support from people driving by. We've had lots of hand waves."
The OSSTF represents 60,000 members across Ontario. Kuhn said they will remain on the picket lines until 4 p.m. Wednesday with schools returning to regular scheduling on Thursday.
"Certainly it will be up to the [the Ministry of Education] to interpret this," said Kuhn. "We will be back to work, we will be continue bargaining and hopefully, they'll be a positive change."
-With files from Kirk Dickinson