Membership Categories

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has approximately 73,000 members. These members fall into the following categories:

• Teacher Member
• Occasional Teacher Member
• Professional Support Personnel
• Education Support Personnel
• Early Childhood Educator
• Associate Member
• Honorary Life Member

Of the total membership in 2007-2008:

• 73 percent were Teacher Members;
• 26 percent were Occasional Teacher Members;
• with the remaining categories comprising one percent of the total membership.

• Article IV: Membership

  Section 1: Active Membership

  4.1.1     Members in bargaining units for which the Federation is the bargaining agent under the Education Act, including members on board-approved leaves of absence, shall be active members of the Federation.

  4.2.2     All employees in bargaining units for which the Federation holds bargaining rights under any other Act, including the Labour Relations Act, or for which the Federation is seeking to hold bargaining rights, shall be eligible for active membership, and shall be admitted as active members subject to the provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws of the Federation.

  Section 2: Associate Membership

  4.2.1     Associate membership of the local shall include members whose application has been approved by the local, approved by the Executive, and who have paid the annual fee in accordance with the Bylaws.

  4.2.2     Associate membership of the provincial Federation shall include members whose application has been approved by the Executive and who have paid the annual fee in accordance with the Bylaws.

  4.2.3     Associate Membership may include:

  4.2.3.1                      members of other affiliates of OTF;

  4.2.3.2                      teachers or Native language instructors employed in private schools, provincial schools, federal government schools, First Nation or Council schools;

  4.2.3.3                       individuals employed as supervisory officers;

  4.2.3.4                      employees of the Federation or locals;

  4.2.3.5                      teachers employed at a college or university;

  4.2.3.6           former members or persons engaged in a professional capacity related to education;

  4.2.3.7           former members in good standing who are currently not employed by a school board;

  4.2.3.8                      former members in good standing who have been declared redundant and are not employed by a school board (this membership shall only be held for two years);

  4.2.3.9                      former members who were on LTD and whose contract with an employer has been terminated (this membership shall only be held for two years);

  4.2.3.10                    exchange teachers employed as an elementary teacher by a public school board;

              4.2.3.11          retired members who were members of the Federation or its predecessors; and

  4.2.3.12          students attending a teacher education institution in Ontario.

   

  Section 3: Honorary Life Membership

  4.3.1          Honorary life membership may be granted to retired members and staff of the Federation or its predecessors who have given outstanding service to the Federation.

  4.3.2          Honorary life membership shall be granted in accordance with established procedures.

  4.3.3          Honorary life members who have been granted an honorary life membership by FWTAO or OPSTF will have that membership continued in the Federation.

• Article V: Rights and Privileges of Active Membership

  Section 1: Rights and Privileges of Active Membership

  5.1.1       An active member shall have full rights, privileges, and responsibilities of membership in the Federation unless limited by disciplinary action taken in accordance with Article VII: Disciplinary Procedures.

  5.1.2       The rights of an active member shall be:

                 5.1.2.1  to attend, participate, and vote at meetings of the local;

                 5.1.2.2  to attend meetings of the Representative Council and the Annual Meeting;

  t                5.1.2.3  to lodge a complaint against another member, through the Federation, in accordance  with Article VII: Disciplinary Procedures;

               5.1.2.4  to request Federation support, through the grievance arbitration process;

                 5.1.2.5  to request Federation support for employment-related matters including:

  5.1.2.5.1  termination or resignation of employment;

  5.1.2.5.2   protection from being slandered, libeled, or harassed in any form; and

  5.1.2.5.3   protection from fraudulent or malicious allegations or charges;

  5.1.2.6   to request Federation support in any problem directly related to professional duties;

  5.1.2.7   to request Federation support in an investigatory or disciplinary procedure undertaken by the College of Teachers;

  5.1.2.8   to request Federation support for employment-related matters which are alleged to have occurred when the individual was a member of the Federation or its predecessors; and

  5.1.2.9   to approve, after duly-called information meetings, the commencement and conclusion of any provincial job action by an all-member vote.

  5.1.3       An active member who accepts a position as a temporary or acting principal/vice-principal which involves any responsibility for the evaluation and/or disciplining of other members, shall have the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of membership suspended for the duration of the appointment.

   

  Section 2: Rights and Privileges of Associate Membership

  5.2.1     The rights of an associate member shall be:

              5.2.1.1  to attend Federation functions, by invitation, in a non-voting capacity;

              5.2.1.2  to receive Federation publications;

  5.2.1.3  to request that the Federation recommend that voluntary membership be granted in OTF; and

              5.2.1.4  to serve, by invitation, on Federation task forces, committees, and work groups.

   

  Section 3: Rights and Privileges of Honorary Life Membership

  5.3.1     The rights of an honorary life member shall be:

              5.3.1.1  to attend Federation functions in a non-voting capacity;

              5.3.1.2  to receive Federation publications;

              5.3.1.3  to serve, by invitation, on Federation task forces, committees, and work groups; and

              5.3.1.4  to attend the annual dinner as a guest of the Federation.