Ep 41. What Value Does the Ontario Teacher Federation Provide Teachers? Ft Chris Cowley

Unions. Unions. Unions. You love them or you hate them! Teacher's unions have been front and centre in the news over the last few years. Even if you aren't a teacher, you know at the very least they exists. But other than sitting at the bargaining table, what other value does the Ontario Teacher's Federation provide teachers? 

So today, I bring in Chris Cowley, the 78th President of the Ontario's Teachers Federation. In his role as President, him and his organization is responsible for advocating for all 160,000 Ontario teachers at publicly funded schools. Previous to this role, Chris was a teacher at St. Johns College in Brantford teaching Canadian and World Studies and Religious Studies. He was also involved with his schools in athletics, coaching the schools baseball,  and involved with student council. Chris received his Bachelors, B.Ed, and M.Ed all from Western University.

On this episode we talk about:

What is the Ontario Teacher's Federation (OTF)? What do they do?Whats the difference between all the different affiliated teachers union (ie.AEFO, ETFO, OECTA,  OSSTF)  and OTF?Teacher shortage - is there anything being done to rectify this?Are unions necessary in this day and age?Do teachers union protect bad teachers?What are the recent OCT governance changes? Good or bad?What is OTF's relationship with the Ontario Teachers Pension plan?What can be done to improve Teacher Education Programs?

You won't want to miss this episode with Chris! Check it out!

Website: https://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/
Twitter: Chris Cowley

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