Deborah Buchanan Walford elected as Executive Officer of Toronto Teacher Bargaining Union

BY PAUL JUNOR

The election of Deborah Buchanan Walford as Executive Officer of the Toronto Teacher Bargaining Union (TTBU) in a by-election has received widespread media attention as a result of her work in calling on the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) to address anti-black racism within its ranks.

She has been part of a group called Disrupting Anti-black Racism Advisory Committee (DABRAC), which is intentional about dismantling anti-black racism at all levels, in one of the largest teachers unions in Ontario. Ontario high school teachers want their unions to go beyond mere words to actions to unravel the deep tentacles and roots of anti-black racism.

It described a public petition that was launched to force OSSTF to confront the issue.

Deborah Buchanan-Walford mentioned that the equity plan that was put forward by the union is “All lip service,” and she states, ”They say these things publicly-that they’re all about equity and addressing anti-racism when it’s the complete opposite.”

The article revealed that there was a press release from a group of teachers who identified themselves as “OSSTF Disruptors” who “Accuse the union of failing to act and resisting efforts to address anti-black racism and oppression within the union.”

Gord Gallimore, a high school teacher in Peel, told the Star, “We had to resort to a public petition since no real change was being advocated by our leaders. They left us no with no choice.”  Buchanan-Walford told the Star, “We want to make changes first, we have to start within ourselves. If we’re not even willing, as a union body, to bring equity to our membership, how are we going to do that in our schools, in our classrooms, and in our communities.”

The OSSTF outlined its equity plan, but the request for two new executive officer positions for BIPOC members was rejected. Motions that were presented in favour of them were not sustained. On May 3^rd, 2021, Buchanan-Walford tweeted that she was running for Executive Officer in #OSSTF. It states, ”I believe that disruption and dismantling need to coincide with rebuilding and I am to be a part of that.”

On June 1^st, 2021, she was part of a forum titled, “Disrupting OSSTFEESO.” It was open to the public and was held to “Provide an opportunity to hear from the group. We will discuss the background of how this group began and give an update on where we are now.”

There were revelations that Buchanan-Walford was removed from the annual meeting of the OSSTF when she attempted to begin a starting committee for dismantling anti-black racism. This occurred when four OSSTF members who were part of the Black Persons and Persons of Colour Work Group were silenced in the midst of discussion with the executive team.

She states, “We worked very hard to get those motions together to bring it, so it could be voted upon and put in our constitution.” She revealed that she was kicked out because she insists on addressing the motion.