OSSTF/FEESO Ottawa Student Transportation Authority Workers Vote Unanimously in Strike Vote

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 31, 2013) - The members of the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority-Educational Support Professionals (OSTA-ESP) Bargaining Unit of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) has voted 100 per cent in favour of a strike mandate at a vote held this week. All OSTA members of the Bargaining Unit were present at the vote giving it unanimous approval.

"These workers have been without a contract since August 2012," said OSTA-ESP Bargaining Unit President Nancy Akehurst. "Our goal is to negotiate a fair agreement for our members who have been patiently waiting for a deal with our employer for over a year."

The OSTA-ESP workers arrange and coordinate transportation for all Catholic and Public-English schools in the Ottawa-Carleton area involving approximately 60,000 students. They are also responsible for coordinating transportation for children under the Provincial Schools Authority, which include deaf and blind students.

"With this unanimous strike vote, our members are showing confidence in their union's ability to negotiate a fair deal on their behalf," said OSSTF/FEESO President Paul Elliott. "This sign of solidarity demonstrates that our members are united in supporting the collective bargaining process, and stand with their union in reaching an agreement that respects the work that they do."

OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.