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ETFO members have been directed to send “at least one” letter to an MPP and to Minister of Education Stephen Lecce, “urging them to invest in public education and negotiate fair agreements at EFTOs central bargaining table,” according to the work-to-rule protocol.

A template letter is provided.

Members should send the template to “at least five other people” who are not educators and ask them to send the letters as well, says the protocol.

Photo by Denis Langlois / Postmedia

ETFO members are also supposed to send a letter to their school board trustee “urging them to take action to defend public education and oppose the proposed cuts.”

A provincewide “online picket” is planned for March 6, when teachers will use “collective tweets,” posts and pictures to “promote the importance of investing in public education and provide specific examples of how the cuts proposed by the PC government will hurt students.” Pictures that communicate “key messages” should also be posted on personal social media accounts, says the protocol.

Parents who receive an email from a teacher might notice another sign of the political pressure tactics.

The union is providing a “solidarity signature” that members are directed to add to their school board email signatures. The signature is described as “Value Students. Respect Educators. Fund our Schools.”

In addition, members are told to participate in an information picket outside their schools at least once a week.

At school, the latest strike protocol says teachers should only do their scheduled teaching and supervision during their regular instructional times. They should not fill in for an absent teacher during their prep time or take extra students into their class.