Peel Teachers urge executive to “Unequivocally condemn racism and anti-black racism!”

BY PAUL JUNOR

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federations has over 55,000 members across the province. It represents not just public high school teachers but other education workers. The fact that the Peel District School Board (PDSB) has been under the microscope is well known.

The Ministry of Education review that the PDSB received had 27 ministerial directives, which it has agreed to implement. In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, some teachers from OSSTF have decided to put pressure on the bargaining unit to show its unwavering support of the scathing Ministry’s report. Some members have put forward a petition to call on OSSTD D19 and its executive to, “Unequivocally condemn racism and anti-black racism.”

The petition presented online called on the executive of OSSTF D19 to, “Apologize for their prior statements which do not adequately address the scope or the severity of racism, and their delay in issuing such statements.” The petition is available at Change.org. It acknowledges that the PDSB has been complicit in perpetuating racist policies and practices directed against: Blacks, Indigenous and People of Colour. They ask that executive members take, “Mandatory anti-black racism training from an external expert or organization that included learning about and normalizing the use of language to address racism, including white supremacy and privilege.” As of June 1^st, 4,565 teachers have signed the petition, with about 5,000 expected.

There are other actions that the members of the teachers bargaining union are calling on the executive to do. They must accept all the recommendations of the Ministry Review and issue a firm public acknowledgement of its findings as well as: agreeing to participate in de-streaming pilot projects, reduction of suspensions to low levels, and engaging in community consultations.

In addition, the petition requires the executive to promote anti-black racism initiatives in a meaningful way and encourage and protect racialized members who are at the forefront of this work. Furthermore, there is a call to collect data that is both qualitative and quantitative in nature to ensure that accurate information is available to understand workplace safety and anti-racism, to so that BIPOC members are able to thrive and flourished.

The executive of OSSTF D 19 responded to the demands in the petition by releasing a statement online. It agreed to some of the demands of the petitions and issued an apology. It notes, “We are sorry for the hurt that our public silence has caused. We acknowledge that this statement should have been made long ago. Moving forward we commit to doing better. We have a lot left to do. We will learn and we will act. The membership has communicated both in emails, through a petition, as well as concrete calls to action. We are committed to doing the work.”

In addition, the executive has decided to engage in five things that the petition had asked for. These include:

1. Provide anti-black racism and other equity training to our executive team
2. Work with our standing committee to develop strategies for removing barriers to leadership and engagement for BIPOC members
3. Work with experts and members of BIPOC communities so that we can better reflect and represent the members we serve
4. Represent our membership on the PDSB committee created to address and implement the Ministry Directives
5. Create an advisory group comprised of grassroots members to advise the teachers Bargaining Unit Executive

A statement by the executive notes, “Systemic racism exists in our public institutions and in our schools. White privilege exists. We are committed to holding the PDSB accountable for addressing all of the directives from the Ministry Review in a meaningful way.”

This augurs well for students in Peel schools, which encompass Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon. In a positive affirmation, the OSSTF D19’s executive notes, “The above commitment marks the beginning of our public work to address and combat anti-black racism and all forms of oppression. We remain accountable and will update regularly on our progress with these commitments “