Rob D'Alessio

OECTA 2025 Election

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Questions from ALL CANDIDATES MEETING

I was asked the following 5 questions at the All Candidates Meeting, here they are with my replies:

1. WHERE DO YOU STAND ON JOB ACTION?

In 1997 every teacher in Ontario walked off the job and a couple months later the Mike Hariss Conservative got re-elected with a majority government, so it is complicated. I think Doug Ford has anti-teacher propaganda ready to go and my hope is a strike can be avoided. I do, however, predict that in the next 2-3 years there will be a general strike North America wide, it will be the biggest labour movement in the history of planet earth. But no matter what, if there is any kind of a strike I will make sure there are workshops for those members who are living pay cheque to pay cheque to learn how to cope and what strategies and tools will be available so they don’t have to worry about the power being shut off or an eviction notice or being forced into credit counselling or a consumer proposal. And the strike pay has to be topped up. Other units did this last strike, I voted in favour of doing this but it didn’t pass, as president I would try my best to convince executive to do the right thing and top up the strike pay from $50/day to at least $100/day.

1. YOUR THOUGHTS ON E-LEARNING

e-learning teachers are overdue for a pay increase but e-learning was a provincial bargaining table item last round, so we’ll see but locally, I know that the vast majority of teachers are not e-learning teachers so their voice slips through the cracks of the collective bargaining survey, we need to have a separate survey just for e-learning teachers. And in terms of the summer e-learning teachers, our board waits until the end of August to pay them. Other boards pay every 2 weeks or at the end of July when e-learning ends, but ours waits until the last pay in August. That’s not right. I have never been given a satisfactory answer from them for that.

1. WHY SHOULD I VOTE FOR YOU AND NOT YOUR OPPOENT?

My friend is a man of conviction and integrity, I love him to death, we all do. But… he is already a release offiver. You need at least one release officer who is fresh out of the classroom and who has Covid and post-Covid classroom experience. You at least one release officer who is 1000% committed to Eastern OECTA. I am in this to be President, I am in this to be Past President, I am in this for our current members, and I am in this for our future members. My friend has more experience as TWO than anyone else and that is a good case for him to be TWO.

1. WHAT CAN YOU SAY ABOUT COMMUNICATION?

Our Communication Committee is one of the best but there is always room for improvement. Mike can attest that I have haunted his inbox over the years pointing out something not working or missing or out of date on the website. I would have co-workers help me in that way constantly holding me accountable. As I said I will reply to every e-mail within 24 hours. I will so Eastern Update mailer with video components of me explaining in person things that need clarification and emphasis and sometimes those videos will feature committee members to give updates from their committees, for example, social committee appearing in October with an events at a glance for the year.

1. WHAT WILL YOU DO FOR CONSULTANTS?

This is a question that came up on the VIA train to and from AGM last month. The car I was on full of OTTAWA OECTA members and OTTAWA OSSTF members some of whom were non-classroom teachers including consultants. We realize that consultants are a provincial bargaining table item but the increased workloads are not a just a CDSBEO thing, they are an every board thing, and the consensus was that individual units need to stop trying to reinvent the wheel and network with each other to see what works and what doesn’t work especially neighboring units and units of the same geography.    

Instagram: Rob D'Alessio for President (@oectarob) • Instagram photos and videos 

https://www.instagram.com/oectarob

​Facebook: www.facebook.com/patiodweller

Twitter/X: @patiodweller             

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Personal Information:

Proud father, activist, and author of Bringing Our Souls to the Classroom, Balboa Press, 2011, college instructor at Algonquin College.  I am passionate about: teacher development, human rights, member engagement, PD (esp. team building and mindfulness-based pedagogy), and politics.

I support wi-fi filters in schools.

I support pressuring the board to support 21st century technology and to stop reinforcing the

bad behaviour of Ford. I support a more active political action committee in terms of Trustee elections. 

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Provincial Experience

PD Steering Committee Chair, 2014; AGM teller 2015; sixteen-time AGM delegate, Leadership Training (Foundational and all Specialized (including, Collective Bargaining), 2016, presented at “Educating for the Common Good- Re-Think” Conference, 2013; Parliamentary Training, 2016.

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Local Experience

Social Committee (2005-present/Chair, 2005); Staffing Committee (2011-present),

PD Committee (2011-present), Political Action Committee (2013-present), Local Rep (2004-2024),

strike captain (2020), collective bargaining 2024-present 

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School Experience

2001: gr.7/8, Sacred Heart, Lanark; 2002-2006: gr.7/8, St. James, Smiths Falls; 2007-present: English, History, Religion, Philosophy, Politics, Native Studies, Interdisciplinary Studies, Drama, Law, Sociology at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School; Language Arts Program Leader, 2011-2014; E-Learning, 2010-present; Faith Ambassador, 2002-2006.   

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Educational Experience

B/A, History, University of Ottawa, 1999; Teaching, D’Youville College, 2001; ABQ, 2002; Religion Specialist, 2008

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Other 

-- Please check out these endorsement letters: 

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Hello OECTA Colleagues.
It is a pleasure to endorse Rob D’Alessio for the position of president of our local OECTA unit. As an OECTA member and teacher in the CDSBEO for 36 years, I have worked with many OECTA representatives, and Rob is one of the best. I know this from both teaching with Rob, but also serving with Rob as a unit Councillor. 
In that position, and also the committees on which Rob has served, he has always demonstrated deep knowledge (especially on the Bargaining Committee) and a loyal and unswerving commitment to all of our colleagues, both at the elementary and secondary level.
In these challenging times, it takes more than exceptional dedication and both extensive teaching and OECTA experience, which Rob has, to be a good school representative, a hard-working member of our local union unit and, especially, to represent all of us, and our varied interests, as president. 
It also takes a special kind of person to listen to people, to express empathy and genuine compassion, but also to be able to support people when doing so involves interaction and negotiation with the Board, especially during times of challenge and stress. 
Rob is that person and he would be that kind of president. 
It is an honour to endorse Rob, and I encourage you to do the same.
Thank you for your time and consideration of my request to vote for Rob D’Alessio as our next local OECTA President.
Cheers
Norm Evans

OT

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Rob has been one of our Eastern OECTA elected councilors for Prescott-Russell since 2014, previously holding the STA staff rep position since 2008. His knowledge of the collective agreement and support for teachers is unwavering. His ideas to improve communication and engagement in Eastern OECTA are well planned and much needed. Make Rob your choice for President 2025! 

Marcy Barrett

STA teacher 

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-I support doing everything in our power to improve the ticket system for IT issues, IT in general (the server, the ability to print, connect to wi-fi, to do attendance on line, to receive all e-mails from outside the server instead of just 90%, and consistent internet that works.

- I support doing everything in our power to lobby the board to provide PD that at long last reflects the feedback of the last two decades of teachers asking for more practical and useful PD (OECTA gets PD right, maybe model after them?)

-I support personal professional development days.

-I support PD dealing with mindfulness-based-pedagogy, team building (es. tolerating all opinions and respecting people's right to opinions), resilience, and co-teaching.-

- I hope we never need to go on strike.

If it is necessary (or if we partake in a general strike), I do support job action workshops

(eg. train people how to live off of strike pay during strike days) as well as topping up

provincial strike pay with local strike pay and fighting for retro pay for strike days. 

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-I support new Member Engagement initiatives because we will need this during, and after this battle we are in. For example. Local Member Engagement Awards for individual OECTA members ought to be considered and explored. We undertake activities and initiatives that engage our members and build support in their communities for Catholic education/teachers and it would help our brand to give due recognition to members who participate above and beyond the call of an OECTA member. This will build support for our teachers and the Catholic education system and highlighting them at every level is imperative.

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