Collective bargaining agreements with all education workers in Ontario have expired and negotiations on new contracts are underway.
Throughout the process the GECDSB will post updated information on this page for students, families and community members.
Updates
March 8th, 2023
The Board and The Essex and Kent Counties Skilled Trades Council are pleased to announce that a tentative agreement between the parties was reached at 9am on Wednesday March 8, 2023.
The tentative agreement was reached through a collaborative process and represents the best possible outcome for all involved. The tentative agreement provides stability and security moving forward for both employees and the Board.
The tentative agreement remains subject to ratification by the Skilled Trades members and the Trustees. Ratification meetings will take place over the next few weeks.
The Essex and Kent Counties Skilled Trades Council represents 15 staff in a variety of skilled trades who complete maintenance and trades work across all school board locations.
March 1st, 2023
The Greater Essex County District School Board and CUPE Local 1348 are pleased to announce that both parties have ratified the Collective Agreement.
CUPE 1348 represents 215 GECDSB employees in a variety of clerical, administrative roles across all schools and board locations.
The agreement is a 4 year term (September 1, 2022 until August 31, 2026). This will provide stability and security for both the employees and the Board.
The Board values the working relationship we have with our CUPE Local 1348 partners. We look forward to implementing the terms of the ratified agreement together.
February 25th, 2023
The Greater Essex County District School Board and CUPE Local 27 are pleased to announce that both parties have ratified the Collective Agreement.
CUPE 27 represents 249 GECDSB employees including: custodians, maintenance staff and courier drivers.
The agreement is a 4 year term (September 1, 2022 until August 31, 2026). This will provide stability and security for both the employees and the Board.
The Board is appreciative of the working relationship we have with our CUPE Local 27 partners. We look forward to implementing the terms of the ratified agreement together.
February 23rd, 2023
The Greater Essex County District School Board and CUPE Local 1348 are pleased to announce that a tentative agreement was reached on Wednesday February 22, 2023.
CUPE 1348 represents approximately 215 staff in a variety of clerical, administrative roles across all school board locations.
This deal was reached through a collaborative process and represents the best possible outcome for all involved, providing stability and security for both employees and the Board.
The collective agreement remains subject to ratification by CUPE Local 1348 members and the GECDSB Board of Trustees. Ratification meetings will take place over the next few weeks.
February 17th, 2023
The Greater Essex County District School Board and CUPE Local 27 are pleased to announce that they concluded negotiations on a new, tentative agreement on Thursday, February 16th.
CUPE 27 represents 249 GECDSB employees including: custodians, maintenance staff and courier drivers.
The tentative agreement was reached through a collaborative process and represents the best possible outcome for everyone. It provides stability and security for both the employees and the Board.
The agreement remains subject to ratification by the CUPE Local 27 membership and the GECDSB Board of Trustees. Ratification meetings will take place over the next few weeks.
January 9th, 2023
The Ontario Public School Boards' Association (OPSBA) and education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have each ratified the tentative provincial (central) agreement reached on November 20, 2022.
In the GECDSB, CUPE represents custodians, maintenance staff, secretaries, clerks, IT technicians, couriers and media services personnel.
CUPE Locals 1348 and 27 are continuing negotiations with the GECDSB on a new local collective agreement.
November 20th, 2022
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) will not proceed with a planned strike on Monday, November 21st.
Schools will be open this week for in-person learning, student transportation will operate and services at GECDSB schools will be available, as usual.
The Government of Ontario and CUPE have announced that a tentative deal on a new collective agreement has been reached for education workers in the province (CUPE represents 600 GECDSB staff including: custodians, maintenance staff, secretaries, clerks, IT technicians, couriers and media services).
The tentative agreement is subject to ratification by CUPE members.
For accurate information, continue to monitor trusted GECDSB communication channels (publicboard.ca, Board social media channels, Edsby, SchoolMessenger).
November 17, 2022
All GECDSB schools will be open for in-person learning, as scheduled on Monday, November 21st and Tuesday, November 22nd despite the anticipated withdrawal of services by CUPE.
In the GECDSB CUPE represents secretaries, clerks, custodians, maintenance staff, Information Technology technicians, couriers and media services.
We do not foresee any pickets or demonstrations at school locations.
A plan is in place to operate schools safely during the strike, however if you are calling the school, please be patient. You may need to leave a message and someone will respond as soon as possible.
Student transportation will run, as usual.
All child care centres that operate in our schools will remain open, unless you are notified otherwise by individual operators.
All after school programs including sports will be cancelled, with some exceptions. Exceptions will be communicated on a school-by-school basis.
If the strike continues after Tuesday, November 22nd students will be given work that can be completed at home (asynchronously) on Wednesday, November 23rd and Thursday, November 24th. Classes will then switch to interactive, teacher-led remote learning (synchronous) on Friday, November 25th.
City of Windsor EarlyOn, GECDSB EarlyOn and third-party child care centres will remain open, unless you are notified otherwise by individual operators.
Before and After school care, YMCA and kids clubs will not operate if we switch to remote learning on Wednesday, November 23rd.
If your child(ren) require technology/devices to participate in online learning please contact your school administrator(s) and the request will be submitted.
Students who attend GAINS and STEPS programming will remain in in-person learning during the strike. GAINS/STEPS students will continue to have access to transportation to and from school.
Please rely on trusted GECDSB communication channels (publicboard.ca, Board social media channels, Edsby, SchoolMessenger) for any further updates.
| Date | Response |
|---|---|
| Monday, November 21st, 2022 | All GECDSB schools open for in-person learning |
| Tuesday, November 22nd, 2022 | All GECDSB schools open for in-person learning |
| Wednesday, November 23rd, 2022 | All students (except GAINS and STEPS) will be given work to complete at home (asynchronous) |
| Thursday, November 24th, 2022 | All students (except GAINS and STEPS) will be given work to complete at home (asynchronous) |
| Friday, November 25th, 2022 | All students (except GAINS and STEPS) will participate in at-home, interactive, teacher-led remote learning (synchronous) |
November 16, 2022
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has issued a formal notification of potential strike action to commence on Monday, November 21st.
All schools, classes and student transportation will continue to operate until further notice. Friday, November 18th is an elementary and secondary PD day.
CUPE represents secretaries, clerks, IT technicians, custodians, maintenance staff, couriers and media services personnel in the GECDSB.
Information will be shared with families as soon as possible regarding any contingency plans.
Please stay informed through a reliable, trusted source.
November 7, 2022
GECDSB schools will continue to be open for in-person learning.
And Students transportation will operate as usual
On Tuesday, November 8th education workers represented by CUPE will return to their jobs. They have agreed to resume bargaining with the Government of Ontario to, hopefully, negotiate a fair collective agreement.
November 4, 2022
All GECDSB schools will be open for in-person learning on Monday, November 7th.
Student transportation will run, as usual.
We are doing our best to keep schools open during this current labour disruption, but you are asked to be prepared if changes are necessary to maintain the safety and well-being of students and staff.
November 2, 2022
All GECDSB schools will be open, as scheduled on Friday, November 4th despite the anticipated one-day withdrawal of services by CUPE members.
In the GECDSB CUPE represents secretaries, clerks, custodians, maintenance staff, Information Technology technicians, couriers and media services.
We do not foresee any pickets or demonstrations at school locations.
A plan is in place to compensate for absent employees, however if you are calling the school, please be patient. You may need to leave a message and someone will respond as soon as possible.
All child care centers that operate in our schools will remain open, unless you are notified otherwise by individual operators.
October 31, 2022
GECDSB schools will be open on Friday, November 4th. Please check back for updates and more information throughout this week.
October 29, 2022
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents approximately 600 employees of the Greater Essex County District School Board including Secretaries, Clerks, Custodians, Maintenance, Courier, Information Technology Technicians, and Media Services, will be in a legal strike position as of Nov. 3, 2022.
Students and their parents/guardians should know this does not necessarily mean there will be labour disruption. We are in the process of developing contingency plans should the need arise and will communicate when appropriate to do so.
These employees are part of a broader CUPE group of about 55,000 school board support staff from across Ontario, whose union is currently negotiating with the provincial government and the umbrella organization representing the various trustees' associations.
We will monitor the situation and keep our school communities informed.