Ontario School Board Council of Unions – Ontario School Board Council of Unions

OSBCU 2026 Central Bargaining
Update #9 – September 20, 2026

CUPE-OSBCU Education Worker Leaders Vote to Hold Strike Vote 

This weekend leaders from CUPE school board locals from across the province gathered to discuss OSBCU central negotiations, bargaining proposals, and to move ahead with holding a strike vote this fall.

The strike vote for all 57,000 CUPE-OSBCU Education Workers will be held electronically from November 4 to 18. More information will be provided about strike vote details and strike pay and benefits in the event of a strike in the weeks to come. The OSBCU Central Bargaining Committee is asking all members to vote yes to strike if necessary. We need to show the government that we’re standing strong and united behind our bargaining proposals to win more staff, improved job security, better wages and benefits, better jobs and a better education system for students, parents and our communities.

CUPE-OSBCU will continue to keep members informed on bargaining through bargaining updates, member webinars (the next one is on September 23), and through town hall meetings being held across the province this fall (see below for more information).

Update on the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) Process

On Thursday, September 17, legal representatives from CUPE and other education worker and teacher unions met at the OLRB to set hearing dates. To recap, the OSBCU and other education unions are fighting back against the Ford government’s proposal to move issues that are typically bargained locally to the central bargaining table, like local union leave, local layoff and recall language, unpaid leaves of absence, among others. Your OSBCU bargaining committee is opposed to the government’s attempt to further centralize control on bargaining issues that have traditionally been negotiated locally. Yet again, this is another power grab by the Ford Conservative government to take direct control from workers and undermine collective bargaining, making it harder to negotiate real improvements on issues workers and students are facing every day.

Our goal is to settle this process at the OLRB as quickly as possible. Hearing dates for all education worker unions, including CUPE-OSBCU, will be held on October 6, 21, 27, and 28. Hearings for all unions will be done by October 30. 

The board has agreed to issue its decision quickly, so we expect to have that decision in early November. We can exchange proposals with the government and the school boards within 15 days of receiving that decision, so we expect that we will be at the bargaining table again right around the same time that we will have our strike vote results.

And that’s why we need a strong strike mandate with maximum member participation! The bargaining committee needs to meet the employer on day one of bargaining with the confidence that all 57,000 members support the demands for increased staffing, improved job security, and better wages and benefits.

Your Collective Agreement Remains in Place!

Although our collective agreement expired at the end of August, it still remains in place and locals need to continue to enforce their collective agreements! The protections in your collective agreement are still in full effect while we continue bargaining.