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Ontario teachers’ unions are jumping into the federal election campaign with calls to defeat the governing Conservatives over their “anti-union” policies.

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Paul Elliott, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, is the second provincial union head this week to ask his members to help defeat Stephen Harper. His call echoes Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario president Sam Hammond’s rallying cry earlier this week that it’s time to “Heave Steve.” It’s a historic first for both provincial unions to get directly involved during a federal writ.

“We cannot sit idly on the sidelines of this federal election,” Elliott said Thursday at an Ottawa meeting of his union’s leadership. He said his union, which rarely wades into federal politics, “can no longer ignore attacks” by the federal Conversatives on collective bargaining rights.

He cited the government’s recent and controversial union financing bill, known as C-377, as one motivation. That legislation requires unions to disclose salaries over $100,000 and detail how dues are spent on political efforts, among other reforms. While some polls suggest C-377 was popular among the public, it’s stirred many labour groups into action on the federal campaign trail.

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Elliott also cited the Conservatives’ fondness for back-to-work legislation during their majority term. From Canada Post to CP Rail, the Tories have forced many striking or locked-out workers to start punching the clock again.

“He jumps on every opportunity to side with employers and legislate workers back to work,” Elliott said.

His hatred of unions is far from the only reason to dump Stephen Harper

“His hatred of unions is far from the only reason to dump Stephen Harper,” Elliott added, citing the cancellation of the long-form census, the “muzzling” of federal research scientists and cuts to social programs as other key motivations for the union’s opposition to another Conservative government.

OSSTF has been, through its membership in the Canadian Labour Congress, tangentially involved in federal votes before, Elliott later said. But it was, he said, the sum of Harper’s record — not just C-377 or back-to-work bills — that prompted union leadership to launch a campaign to get its members more involved than ever this fall.

Hammond earlier this week called for ETFO members to help “Heave Steve” — the first time the union has ever gotten directly involved with a federal election campaign.