Elect Kim Fry for ETT, Building Union Power

Joy is a phenomenal leader and member of the executive. I can't even imagine not having her at the helm as we work through this pandemic, engage in local bargaining, build our strength as a union and prepare for a provincial election. An experienced teacher, a dedicated and experienced executive member and union activist, a Mom with a child *in the public system* and kind, caring and inspiring person. I could go on and I will at a later point. Please support Joy!

Re-elect JOY LACHICA for PRESIDENT of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto

By: Karen Jutzi

I had never personally met Joy 2 yrs ago when I first voted for her to become the President of Elementary Teachers of Toronto. I went on the advice of a few trusted friends, one of whom had her as an executive officer and described her as a strong advocate. As a teacher in a workplace that unfortunately can frequently feel oppressive, having a strong advocate in my corner is very important to me. But Toronto is big, and I often haven’t a clue who the people are who are running, and I know even less about how they would perform on the executive unless I have personally had them as an executive officer. Over the last year, I have had the privilege of working more closely with Joy, and would like to share my experience in the hopes that I can help others to decide how to cast their vote during a time when it’s very difficult to think about anything other than the pandemic that we find ourselves in.

Close to a year ago, I found myself in a unique predicament where I desperately needed the intervention of the President. I emailed her a brief summary of my issue and she suggested we talk on the phone. When I called her, I was filled with trepidation. I required her help because of her particular position of power, but I didn’t know her personally and had no idea how she was going to respond. Would she understand? Would she help, or would she see this as something I needed to resolve on my own? Worse, would she see my predicament as my own doing, and something that I could have avoided? And if the worst happened and she didn’t understand and/or wasn’t going to help me, I greatly feared how I would function in my profession without the protection that I believed I needed from my union. Thankfully, I was reassured early in our conversation that she was listening, and soon after, that she understood and cared, and finally that she was indeed going to help me. I felt so relieved of my anxiety and a great weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I’d like to describe the qualities in Joy that I have noticed over the past year that have sold me on her as a strong and effective President.

Joy is empathetic. This was the first thing I learned about her in that conversation, and quite possibly the most important one. She heard my story. She reacted. She sounded angry at the parts of my story that enraged me. She reacted with disbelief at the outrageous parts. All of the emotions that I felt throughout my ordeal, whether it was anger, shock, disgust, fear, sadness..... I really felt as though she was feeling those things along with me, and that she understood. And that has consistently been my experience of her during this past year as she has continued to help me and my colleagues.

Joy is a strong advocate. When you feel you are being mistreated at work, this is the person that you want in your corner. She is not simply there to listen. She is there to act the moment you ask her to. She wants positive change in your workplace, and she does what she needs to do to achieve it. She speaks boldly. All teachers I have known who have had Joy represent them in a meeting with administration have been fully satisfied with Joy’s advocacy and support during the meeting. They all felt as though the meeting was a step forward in the goal of better working conditions for them because of her strong defense of those working conditions.

Joy is wise. She wears a lot of hats but knows how to prioritize to get all of her work done. I know that if I contact her about something non-urgent, I won’t hear back immediately (although we will connect before too long), but I know that if I contact her about an emergency or at least a more pressing matter that is time-sensitive, I will hear back from her quickly. It is crucial for someone in her position to have the wisdom to prioritize in this way, and she does it well. She also knows the most effective way to deal with a variety of problems. Sometimes it means giving advice to teachers about how to deal with a particular situation. Sometimes it means taking action on their behalf when they indicate that they are ready for it. Sometimes it means documenting a situation and waiting for the appropriate moment to proceed once sufficient data has been collected. Joy understands that what is needed is lasting and positive change, so sometimes it means taking the time to go through appropriate protocol so that results are most likely to be effective and permanent. I have seen her go through such a process many times throughout this past year and I have full confidence in her methods.

Joy is connected. As well as being the President of ETT, Joy is also a member of the ETFO Executive. Not only does this give Toronto teachers a strong voice at the provincial table, but it also gives her knowledge that helps her advocate effectively for her members. She is well versed on the policies of ETFO. She knows what policies will support whatever action she takes on behalf of members, and if she needs confirmation on anything, she knows exactly who to contact at ETFO. I have found her connection to ETFO to be a useful asset in moving issues forward on behalf of teachers she is advocating for.

Joy has vision. Joy is not satisfied with the current public education funding, or the way that many teachers are being treated on the job, and she has a vision to change that. She is a part of a team of candidates in this election who are running under the banner of “Building Union Power”. You can find out more about this vision and the candidates on her team at buildingunionpower.ca but in a nutshell, it’s about greatly expanding the number of members who are actively engaged in our union so that our 11,000 members will give us more power and allow us to improve our working conditions and student learning conditions. Joy is tireless in her efforts to build a stronger union.

Joy wants justice. She wants justice for teachers in the workplace. She also craves justice for those in society who are currently experiencing injustice. She wants justice for women, for people of colour, for indigenous peoples, for LGBTQ+ people, for those who are differently abled, for the impoverished....... anywhere she sees injustice, she is motivated to change it. Some may claim that such a mentality means that she is not appropriately focused on the issues of her members. Nothing could be further from the truth. I assure you that Joy can walk and chew gum at the same time. (She can also jump rope while juggling, twirling a basketball on her finger and turning cartwheels. I’ve seen it.) In all seriousness, though, my experience with Joy has convinced me that when people have the fire of justice in their bellies, it compels them to act tirelessly. In spite of her being the President with a vast number of responsibilities, in spite of her being a member of the ETFO Executive, in spite of her being concerned with injustice in the greater world, in spite of this year being a negotiation year with job action issues to deal with and now Covid-19, in spite of all of these things (and perhaps even because of these things), she has been by far the most responsive and strongest advocate in our union that I have ever had the privilege of working with. She has taken my issues and that of many of my colleagues (even though it wasn’t technically her job to do so and was therefore an addition in her workload and a significant one at that), and she dealt with them more strongly and effectively than I have experienced anyone else doing in my 20yr career. Why was she able to do this so well in spite of her enormous workload? I believe it is because the desire for justice is in her heart, which means that she gets fired up when she learns about injustice and she can’t not act. If we want people working tirelessly on our behalf to improve fair working conditions for us, decent learning conditions for our students, and a well-funded public education system, choosing Joy is a good place to start.

May 4-11, please consider joining me in re-electing Joy Lachica for ETT President. Choose empathy. Choose advocacy. Choose wisdom. Choose connection. Choose vision. Choose justice. Choose Joy.

Please help spread the word about this Community Zoom Meeting for New Teachers being hosted by these rockstar teacher activists! Louisa Julius & Jonathan Giles are two incredible members of the Building Union Power caucus and they are also running to be on the ETT executive. They will make incredible Executive Officers and working with them has been such a pleasure. Please send this to any teachers in their first 5 years!

Teachers from Building Union Power have been volunteering with FoodShare Toronto and CAFCAN. I spent some time delivering food the last 2 weekends and I urge any teachers who can help to consider volunteering or donating to these incredible organizations. Get in touch with me if you would like to connect with other teachers involved in volunteering. And if you would like to hear from Paul Taylor, Executive Director of Foodshare about the importance of food security right now and the work they're doing to connect with TDSB families in need, register for the webinar I'm helping host Tuesday April 15th at 4pm.

Elementary Teachers of Toronto The Elementary Teachers of Toronto (ETT) is a Local of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO). With over 11,000 members, it is the largest teachers' Local in Canada.

There has been so much activism this year! Here are some pics of me, my family and my union friends!

Hi everyone. I know that this is a challenging time for all of us and the world as a whole. The impact of the Corona-Covid 19 is devastating and it is one of the many reasons why we need strong, capable leadership in our union. I am running in the ETT election this year to be an executive officer. I have been active in our union from the very beginning of my teaching career. I have been a steward, chaired serveral committees at the local level and have served in provincial standing committees, including chair of the provincial Environment Standing Committee.

I love being a classroom teacher but I know that this is the right moment to put my organizational, campaigning and leadership skills to use.