RED ROCK, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 1, 2012) - Members from two OSSTF/FEESO Bargaining Units of District 6B, Superior North have voted overwhelming in favour of a strike mandate.

The Education Support Staff (ESS) members voted 96.6% in favour of a strike mandate, while the Teacher/Occasional Teacher Bargaining Unit (T/OTBU) saw 95.2% of members vote in favour.

OSSTF/FEESO Provincial Executive Officer Cindy Dubué stated, "This vote is not about our members wanting to go out on strike. It is about using our rights recognized by the Ontario Labour Relations Act to bargain a collective agreement with the employer. It also sends a strong message to the Minister of Education to stop interfering in the local negotiations process."

"The vote clearly shows the confidence that the membership has in our local bargaining team," said Buzz Grebenc, President of the District 6B Teacher/Occasional Teacher Bargaining Unit. "They are upset by the unchecked power Bill 115 gives the Minister of Education to impose her will on us from far off Toronto, without regard for the principles of collective bargaining or the ability of the Superior-Greenstone District School Board and ourselves to get an agreement."

District 6B Education Support Staff President Sandra Corrigan added, "Our members want a collective agreement that is negotiated locally. They are very angry and frustrated that the McGuinty government has continued to interfere in the local bargaining process."

OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.