In his 2017 Lenten Message, Pope Francis was quoted as saying ‘For those corrupted by love of riches, nothing exists beyond their own ego.’ In his 2020 message he shares this as one of the pillars of his message “…there is a need to appeal to men and women of good will to share, by almsgiving, their goods with those most in need, as a means of personally participating in the building of a better world.” It is clear that this is the message that humanity should be living by, the message of not being for oneself but for others and of others. Compassion, empathy, servant leadership and a strong consideration of and for the common good. In our world today, there should be no room for ego or self-centeredness. Our future generations need us to empower and secure their future with a public system that is for the people not for the bank accounts. So, what do we do about it? We act. We act now and we act greatly. We lead with our hearts and ignite our passions.
And, when it comes to acting with ignited passions – did we ever! On February 27th, we did a “thing” now didn’t we?! The YEG March for What Matters was an absolute reckoning of what many Albertans are feeling in response to the austerity measures that are being implemented by our government. Thousands and thousands of us stood shoulder to shoulder, united in voice and strength to stand up for what matters. I would have to say that of all of my proud teacher moments, that may have been the best of the best! Most of all, being on the organizing committee for the rally taught me about how strong a united voice is and how powerful this can be. Now, we consider what will come next. To me, this answer is easy, we keep going, keep making sure that pushing and keep our voices are heard. There is no other easy way to do this than to stay united and strong in the belief that what we do as teachers and members of the public sector matters. To those of you who rallied with us, you have our wholehearted gratitude. For those of that could not find your way there, we will see you next time because there surely will be a next time!
As always, your Local is hard at work to ensure that our teachers are at the forefront of our planning and advocacy conversations. To date, we have handed out 225 Teacher Professional Growth Fund Grants in turn supporting our teachers in achieving professional development of their choice. This fund is the result of local bargaining with the Division and, we are very proud to honor our teachers with these funds. If you have not already applied for it, please do so by visiting www.ectlocal541stg.wpenginepowered.com and click on “how we help”. If you are interested in becoming a part of the local bargaining process, elections for the Teacher Welfare Committee will be taking place on April 21st at our Council of School Representatives Meeting. Look on our website home page for more information.
The Local is a vibrant and energetic voice in our community and with our teachers. March is a busy month with Local Table Officer Elections, Substitute Teacher Appreciation, A Financial Wellness Planning Session and a few Social Justice activities. Be sure to take part in whatever interests you and to have your say in the local’s election. And, as we roll into Spring Break at the end of this month, I wish you all strength, energy and a continued support of your passion for this beautiful work that we do as teachers. United, we are strong, faith-filled, energized and as a voice in the public sector, we are empowered.
As always, it is my absolute pleasure to serve you all as your Local President. There is no better role for me than that of someone who works on behalf of what I love so much, being a Catholic teacher in a publicly-funded system.
Peace and solidarity to you all,
Sandra