Opseu Local 330

IF EDUCATION WORKERS WERE GIVEN WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN BEGGING FOR, MAYBE THERE WOULD NEVER HAVE NEEDED TO BE A “MAX’S LAW.” 💔

Read that again.

Education workers are fighting for the staff, resources and supports our children need to stay in their classrooms.

Max’s Law exists because of what happens when those supports AREN’T there.

IT IS THE SAME DAMN FIGHT.

We love education workers from the bottom of our hearts — teachers, ECEs, custodians, support staff, all of them. But Educational Assistants will always hold an especially huge place in our hearts.

Because Max had Miss Timmins. ❤️

She was Max’s EA, but to our family she was so much more than three letters beside his name.

She was one of Max’s angels.

She knew our non-speaking little boy. She understood his headphones, his stimming, his transitions and the ways he communicated without words. She helped him eat, learn, participate and belong.

So when we hear people talking about EAs like they are staffing numbers, bargaining positions or another expense on a spreadsheet...

we see her face.

And we see Max.

When education workers say they need more EAs, more staff, smaller classes, safer classrooms and the resources to actually support the children standing in front of them, we don’t hear a list of “union demands.”

We hear people begging for the tools to do the jobs they desperately WANT to do.

And that is exactly where their fight and Max’s Law meet.

EDUCATION WORKERS ARE SAYING: Give us the people and resources to support these children.

MAX’S LAW IS SAYING: When those supports aren’t provided, you cannot solve the problem by taking away the child’s school day and sending them home.

Same children. Same classrooms. Same problem. SAME DAMN FIGHT.

Because if there were enough EAs...

If classrooms actually had the supports they needed...

If education workers were finally given what they have been begging for — and may soon be screaming and chanting for...

If children with disabilities could stay in school for their full day because the people and resources were actually there...

WHY THE HELL WOULD PARENTS LIKE US NEED A LAW SAYING CHILDREN CANNOT LOSE THEIR EDUCATION BECAUSE THE SYSTEM FAILED TO SUPPORT THEM?

That is why the three motions we have been working toward at Queen’s Park mean so much to us.

They are not everything we want Max’s Law to become. They are not the finish line.

But they take some of the biggest parts of this fight and put them where they belong — on the floor of Queen’s Park, where the people with the power will have to answer.

TRACK IT. How many children are actually losing school time through modified schedules, exclusions and reduced days?

EXPLAIN IT. Families deserve written answers and a real plan to get their child back to a full school day.

FIX IT. Make the people responsible for this system answer for whether children are actually receiving the staffing and supports needed to stay in school.

And when those motions are heard, there will be a record.

That matters to us.

Because we are so damn tired of the commercials.

The polished ads.

The slogans.

“Student achievement.”
“Putting students first.”
“Supporting Ontario students.”

Okay.

Then prove it.

Because MAX WAS A STUDENT TOO.

The disabled child being sent home at lunchtime is a student too.

The child waiting for an EA is a student too.

The child whose teacher is trying to teach an entire classroom while desperately trying to meet needs they were never given enough help to meet is a student too.

ALL OF THEM COUNT WHEN YOU SAY “STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.”

So when these motions reach the floor, the people with the power will have a choice.

Stand behind all those words.

Stand behind all those commercials.

Stand behind all those promises about putting students first.

Or vote against measures meant to stop children from losing their education because the supports weren’t there.

Then Ontario can look at the record and decide whether those commercials were promises... or just bu****it.

But there is another part of this fight we desperately need people to understand.

WE DON’T ACTUALLY WANT TO BE DOING THIS.

We don’t want a law named after our dead son.

We don’t want another rally.
Another interview.
Another meeting.
Another trip to Queen’s Park.

Another night sitting at a computer trying to turn the worst thing that has ever happened to our family into words powerful enough to make somebody listen.

We don’t want to keep explaining how Max lost his full school day.

We don’t want to keep explaining December 11.

We don’t want to keep telling strangers how our seven-year-old little boy died.

Because every interview, every rally, every post, every meeting and every time we explain why Max’s Law matters...

WE RIP THE BAND-AID OFF AGAIN.

And underneath all this advocacy are still just two parents whose little boy is gone.

If education workers finally got what they have been begging for, maybe someday families wouldn’t need to fight for laws like Max’s Law.

Maybe the system would simply provide enough EAs.

Enough teachers.
Enough support staff.
Enough resources.
Enough help to keep children where they belong.

IN THEIR CLASSROOMS.

And maybe then we could finally stop fighting too.

Because we don’t want to be advocates every second of every day.

WE WANT TO BE MAX’S MOM AND DAD.

We want to look at his pictures.

Tell the funny stories.

Remember his Angry Birds hat.

His dinosaurs.

Christmas.

His stimming.

Him running down the hallway, arms flapping like he was flying.

We want to cry when we need to cry and laugh when one of his memories makes us laugh.

We want to finally have some space to do what we have barely been able to do since December 11.

JUST MISS OUR LITTLE BOY. 💔

So when you hear education workers speaking up over the coming months, please don’t stop at one word like “strike.”

Look deeper.

Look at what they are actually asking for.

Look at the EAs trying to support too many children.

Look at the teachers asking for the resources to actually teach.

Look at the ECEs and support workers holding schools together every day.

Look at the children who lose when those supports aren’t there.

For us, look at Max.

And remember Miss Timmins. ❤️

Remember what one properly supported EA meant to our little boy.

Then imagine how many children across Ontario are waiting for their own Miss Timmins.

Please show these education workers some love and support as they fight for ALL KIDS. Thank an EA. Thank a teacher. Listen to what they are asking for. Stand beside them. Share their stories.

And while they fight from inside our schools, we will keep fighting from outside them through Max’s Law.

If you believe children should not lose their education because the supports they need aren’t available, please sign and share:

👉 MAX’S LAW PETITION:
[https://www.change.org/MaxsLaw2026]

And if Max’s story has helped you understand why this fight matters, please share this post.

Not because we want attention.

Not because we want our son’s face everywhere.

But because maybe his story can make one more person understand what education workers are really fighting for and what happens to children when the system doesn’t give them what they need.

EDUCATION WORKERS ARE FIGHTING FROM INSIDE THE SCHOOLS.
WE ARE FIGHTING FROM OUTSIDE THEM.
AT THE CENTRE OF BOTH ARE OUR CHILDREN.

Give our schools the people and resources they need.

Keep children in their classrooms.

Let education workers do the jobs they are begging to be given the tools to do.

And God, we hope someday soon the system finally listens...

so we can put the signs down,
stop reopening the deepest wound of our lives,
go home,
be Max’s mom and dad...
and just miss our little boy. 🦖🫎💔❤️‍🩹

Thank you Gary Direnfeld for always taking time to listen, understand and share what Education Workers face in public education in Ontario ❤️✊💜

Bill C-39 undermines the right to strike - NUPGE NUPGE is concerned Bill C-39 could limit workers’ right to strike and increase the federal government’s ability to intervene in legal labour disputes.

The right to strike is not negotiable.

OSSTF/FEESO’s Provincial Executive strongly condemns Bill C-39 and its proposed expansion of federal powers to intervene in lawful labour disputes.

Workers’ fundamental rights are not an inconvenience to be managed when collective bargaining becomes difficult.

Prime Minister Carney: withdraw Bill C-39.

And to the Ford government: do not follow this path.

OSSTF/FEESO will stand with workers across Canada to defend free collective bargaining and the right to strike.

Full statement: https://bit.ly/4jjVBHs

📢 EDUCATION WORKERS: MARK OCTOBER 24 ON YOUR CALENDAR!

On October 24 at 1:00 p.m., education workers, students, families and community allies will come together across Ontario for the Rallies for Publicly Funded Education ❤️✊💜

Five rallies will take place simultaneously in:
📍 London
📍 Ottawa
📍 Sudbury
📍 Toronto
📍 Thunder Bay

OPSEU/SEFPO is joining AEFO, ETFO, OECTA, OCE, OSBCU, EWAO-ATEO and OSSTF to bring education workers together and stand up for strong publicly funded education.

Our schools are facing an understaffing crisis, unmanageable workloads for education workers and a lack of supports for students.

🚌 Buses will be available for all OPSEU Education Worker members and their families.

October 24, at 1:00 p.m - 5 locations!

One strong voice for publicly funded education.

Canada is in a fight for our economic future, and workers are on Team Canada. We’re ready to defend Canadian jobs. To build the industries and infrastructure we need. To attract investment and make Canada more resilient in the face of Trump’s trade war.

But economic security also means workers having the power to bargain for better wages, working conditions and job security. And bargaining only works when both sides have real power at the table.

Large corporations already have enormous power over jobs, investment and the workplace. Workers balance that power by standing together and, when necessary, withdrawing our labour.

That’s why the right to strike matters.

But now, as the federal government prepares changes to Canada’s labour laws, employers are pushing for new rules that would give government more power to step in and stop legal strikes, including before they even begin.

Think about that.

Some of the biggest corporations in this country are making billions in profits, while their workers are struggling with the cost of groceries, housing and everything else. And the answer is to give those employers an even stronger hand?

If the government is concerned about labour disputes, raise the standard for employers. Strengthen the requirement to bargain in good faith. Enforce the law. Don’t take bargaining power away from workers.

Canada needs workers with our elbows up, not our hands tied.

Prime Minister, we’re in this fight together. Don’t change the rules against us. Protect our right to strike.

Last evening, I had the honour of participating on an Education Leadership Panel discussion at the OSBCU conference ❤️✊💜
These are historical moments in labour! Unity and commitment amongst all the education unions, to stand together for publicly funded education ❤️✊💜

Thank you to everyone who wore red or purple yesterday to show solidarity for our Day of Action - “Together for Publicly Funded Education” ❤️💜✊

Across the province on yesterday education workers and teachers showed solidarity and our shared commitment to properly funded, fully staffed and safe schools; better learning and working conditions; and a strong, publicly funded education system.

Here are a few photos from the DAY OF ACTION from schools across Simcoe County and our Central Bargaining Team, mobilizers and OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick joining affiliate Education Leaders from OSBCU, ETFO, OECTA and OFL ❤️✊💜

Together, with the other education unions in Ontario, we represent more than 275,000 education workers, and teachers!

TOMORROW IS OUR DAY! Wear your new red Ed Workers shirt, an older RedforED or anything red or purple ❤️✊💜 Send us your pics! We are hoping to use group schools pics in upcoming updates 😁