Why We Unionized - A message from Toronto

A Kaplan teacher from Toronto shared a message with us recently, one that we feel needs to be heard by more people. Here's what he told us when we asked why Toronto had decided to unionize in 2011:


        We unionised in Toronto because, Kaplan having bought out our family-owned school, we quickly saw the difference between a school which valued its teachers and one which did not. We unionised because our field has highly educated, trained and dedicated employees, a fact which Kaplan no doubt knows yet whose culture and practices attempt to deny. We unionised because this is not a transitory job and treating it as such is a disservice both to our students and the profession; because what we do is allowing others to live incredibly comfortable lives, and because there's no reason we should be willing to accept a sliver of the pie we’re baking. 

      We’re now into our third year of a signed collective agreement. We have a real salary, paid vacations, benefits, job security; in essence, signs of something a career might actually be made of. It wasn’t easy, and it’s not perfect now, but it is a wonderful start; and I’m convinced it’s far and away better than what would have been.

John Robertson
ESL Teacher, KPLI Toronto


(KPLI stands for Kaplan Pacific Language Institute, which is the name it gives to its ESL schools in Canada) hi lou