“And in the past there wasn’t always support for teachers.” Public sector strikes are public relations battles more than anything else, Weststar said, so winning public opinion is key. It’s not necessarily about the merits of an argument.”Nathan Denette/Canadian Press Teachers with the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario strike in Toronto on Jan. 20, 2020. The teachers’ disagreements with Premier Doug Ford’s government over class sizes and online learning aren’t so complex that they couldn’t be resolved through bargaining, Weststar said. “For the teachers, they’re trying to move the government away from mandatory online learning, from the increase in class sizes ... and they’re not prepared to concede,” Weststar said. Sam Hammond, president of Ontario’s elementary teachers’ union, said he wants to reach an agreement through bargaining but doesn’t think that’ll happen anytime soon.

Source: Huffington Post January 25, 2020 13:07 UTC