The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO; french: Fédération des enseignants et des enseignantes de l'élémentaire de l'Ontario, FEÉO) is a
labour union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...
representing all public
elementary school teachers, occasional teachers, and some designated early childhood educators (DECEs) in the
Canadian province of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
. The union has 76 local chapters in the province, and over 83,000 members. The union was founded on July 1, 1998, by the merger of the
Federation of Women Teachers' Associations of Ontario The Federation of Women Teachers' Associations of Ontario (FWTAO) was an association founded in 1918 to promote the interests of women elementary school teachers in Ontario, and continued to represent women teachers until merging in 1998 with the O ...
(FWTAO) and the Ontario Public School Teachers' Federation (OPSTF).
ETFO's 83,000 members join the
(representing approximately 8,000 members), the
Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association
The Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA) is a trade union that represents teachers in publicly funded Roman Catholic schools in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is an affiliated with the Ontario Teachers' Federation, the ...
(representing approximately 45,000 members) and the
Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF; french: Fédération des enseignantes-enseignants des écoles secondaires de l'Ontario, link=no, FEESO) is a Canadian trade union which represents 60,000 members across Ontario.
Founded in ...
(representing approximately 60,000 members) to form the
Ontario Teachers' Federation. ETFO is also a member of the
Canadian Teachers' Federation.
Governance
The governance framework is outlined in a number of different documents including th
BylawsConstitutionHuman Rights StatementPolicy StatementsPosition Statements
an
Equity Statement
These documents form the framework for how ETFO is governed and what it sets out to accomplish for its members.
Provincial Presidents
Karen Brown
Toronto teacher Karen Brown was elected president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario in 2021. Brown has served as ETFO first vice-president since 2015 and was first elected to the provincial Executive in 2009. Brown is the first Black president to be elected to a provincial teacher affiliate union in Ontario and the first known Black president to be elected to a provincial teacher affiliate union in Canada.
Provincial Executive
ETFO's provincial organization includes four fully released officers: President, First Vice-President, Vice-President Female and Vice-President. All four of these officers are ETFO members (teachers, occasional teachers, DECEs or other educational professionals) that have been released from their teaching duties for their term in office.
In addition to the 4 released officers, ETFO's provincial governing body includes one representative to the Ontario Teachers' Federation (OTF Table Officer), and as many additional officers required to make up the 14-member Executive. Of those remaining positions, 4 of them are open to women only.
All Provincial Executive positions are elected by the general membership at ETFO's Annual Meeting held each summer in August. All terms last 2 years.
Executive, 2021–2023
Non-elected positions
ETFO locals
Each school board in Ontario has at least 1 ETFO Local serving members who work within that school board. Teacher Locals are present in all school boards, 1 Local (James Bay) has only a Teacher Local, 10 boards have DECE (Dedicated Early Childhood Educator) Locals, and 2 boards have ESP and one of those 2 (Renfrew County) also has a PSP Local.
The objectives and priorities of ETFO are contained in the constitution:
While all boards now have DECEs as a result of the implementation of Full Day Kindergarten for children aged 4 – 6, not all of those educators are represented by ETFO.
[ETFO Reference Book 2015-2016]
Advocacy and equity
ETFO has been seen as a leader among teachers' federations on equity issues. With 80%+ female members, ETFO is particularly active in its support for women's participation and leadership.
The ETFO Executive has adopted this definition of equity:
See also
* Education in Ontario
Education in Ontario comprises public and private primary and secondary schools and post-secondary institutions. Publicly funded elementary and secondary schools are administered by the Ontario Ministry of Education, while colleges and universi ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Trade unions in Ontario
Education trade unions
Educational organizations based in Ontario
Trade unions established in 1998