This comes as the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents these workers, said their strike will continue Monday and beyond until an agreement is reached with the Ford government.
Up to 55,000 education workers began picketing MPP offices and other government offices and locations across the province today.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce told CP24 on Friday that the government made the submission to the labor council a day earlier after the Keeping Students in Class Act was passed.
“We hope to hear back today or tomorrow, possibly, about the findings. In the meantime, we’re going to use all the pressure and frankly all the levers of law to get kids back to school. We’ve put in place a clear expectation of our school boards , use every force, every authority to open as many schools for as many children as possible,” he said.
In the submission, Lecce alleged that CUPE and the Ontario Council of School Board Unions (OSBCU) “called or authorized or threatened to call or authorize an illegal strike.”
In addition, Lecce said union representatives, including CUPE Ontario School Board President Laura Walton and CUPE Ontario president Fred Hanh, “advised, procured, supported, authorized, threatened or encouraged” an illegal strike.
The labor board hearing began Friday afternoon and a decision is expected sometime Saturday.
National CUPE president Mark Hancock said the union would fight for the rights of its members.
“CUPE’s legal counsel will be there to support our members’ right to protest the Ford government’s unconstitutional law, which strips workers of their fundamental rights,” Hancock said in a statement Friday.
Meanwhile, Walton said the protest will continue until an agreement is reached or if their members decide otherwise.
“We’re going to be out here and we’re calling Doug Ford and Stephen Lecce. Come talk to us. We’re more than willing to talk to you. That’s why we gave as much advance notice as possible 150 days ago, but we’re not going to be bullied. and they are not going to take away our rights,” he told CP24 while protesting outside the Lecce constituency office in King City on Friday morning.
Walton added that parents should have a contingency plan for their children in case the strike continues next week.
Many school boards across the province had no choice but to close their schools for in-person learning today and until the work action is completed.
A spokesperson for the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) told CP24 Friday morning that the board is preparing to move to distance learning if the work action continues next week.
“Well, we’re saying right now that if the job action continues next week, we’re going to move as quickly as we can into modern live remote classroom education obviously, as quickly as we can. So that’s something that we would obviously do. I’d like to avoid and make sure there’s an agreement before any further impact next week. But if for some reason it continues, we’ll make those plans as quickly as possible,” said Ryan Bird.
“Today, as you know, we have asynchronous or non-live teaching in the classroom. It’s independent homework for a day, but again if it extends to extra days next week, we need to be able to switch quickly,” he added.  .
However, in a memo obtained by CTV News Toronto on Thursday, the Ministry of Education had asked “all school boards to implement contingency plans where every effort is made to keep schools open for as many children as possible.”

THOUSANDS WATCH QUEEN’S PARK MONARCH

One of the largest strike sites was in Toronto’s Queen’s Park, where protesters began arriving around 7 a.m. for a full day of protest.
Around 8-10,000 protesters were seen at the rally holding CUPE flags and signs reading ‘No Cuts to Education’ and ‘Supporting Education Workers’.
Ontario education workers strike in front of Queen’s Park on November 4, 2022. (Brian Weatherhead/CTV News Toronto)
Many of the protesters said they were out to fight for a better living wage and more government support as the cost of living continues to rise in the province.
“We should defend our rights and be able to negotiate our freedom…We are only asking for a standard of living,” a protester who identified himself as Amar told CP24 in Queen’s Park.
“I support everyone here. I think it’s great that we’re all here united, and I think we should keep going until we get what we deserve,” said one protester who was not named.
CUPE education workers protest at Queen’s Park on 4 November 2022 as tens of thousands of union members walk off the job.  (CTV News Toronto/Brian Weatherhead)
Toronto police warned the public to expect traffic delays in the Queen’s Park area today.
Protests were also held outside Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office in Etobicoke and Lecce’s office in King City.
Ford did not comment publicly on today’s departure and canceled his scheduled appearance at the opening of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto on Friday morning.

DISCUSSIONS ARE STILL ON

Workers are walking off the job after contract negotiations with the government ended Thursday afternoon.  The union gave five days’ notice of strike action on Sunday.
In an effort to keep children in school, the government passed Bill 28, also known as the Keeping Students in Class Act, on Thursday afternoon, hours after contract negotiations with CUPE ended.
Bill 28, which was first introduced Monday, mandates a four-year contract for union members, and part of that contract includes a 2.5 percent annual pay raise for people making less than $43,000 a year and a 1.5 percent increase for all other employees.
The bill also includes a daily fine of up to $4,000 for workers who engage in “unlawful” labor actions, and the union itself can be fined $500,000.
The union said it would fight the fines and, if necessary, pay them for striking members.
On Friday, Unifor and the Ontario Regional Council of Unifor announced they will donate a total of $100,000 to CUPE to help pay any fines levied for defying Bill 28.
Education Minister Steven Lecce told a press conference on Thursday afternoon that the government was making “a good faith effort” but that the union would not back down and take the threat of a strike off the table.
“We will use every tool available to send a clear clear message: schools must be open and there is accountability for breaking the law,” Lecce said.
The strike comes after weeks of contract negotiations between CUPE and the provincial government.
CUPE has argued for an 11.7 percent increase in pay for their members, which equates to about $3.25 more an hour across the board.
The union said Thursday that their latest offer was about half of what was originally proposed, which would have been about a six percent pay increase.
But the government said it would not accept any more proposals unless the strike threat was dropped.
Walton said Lecce and the government are trying to shut down the workers instead of negotiating with them
“I find it interesting that Stephen Lecce is putting more effort into taking away the rights of all these workers. You know, going to the Labor Board. He’s done more to try to defeat these workers than to protect these workers. He’s done more to harm these workers and the services they provide to our children rather than protect them,” he told CP24 while protesting outside the Lecce constituency office in King City on Friday morning.
CUPE Ontario president Fred Hanh called the passage of Bill 28 “draconian” and said workers will continue to fight until they are heard.
“It’s unprecedented in Canadian labor history. Not only is it invoking the repeal clause of people’s constitutionally protected rights, it’s setting aside the human rights code, it’s setting aside huge chunks of labor relations law, and that’s why I’m so proud that you’re here today with all our members. They are the heroes of this story,” he told CP24 at Queen’s Park on Friday.
The government and CUPE initially began contract negotiations in July, ahead of education workers’ contracts expiring on August 31.
In addition to the pay, CUPE members also want 30 minutes of preparation each day for educational assistants and early childhood educators (ECE), along with an extra week of paid work before the school year starts and an increase in benefits.
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Katherine DeClerq