11 teachers at Villanova High School in LaSalle have been suspended.
Local President of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association, Brian Hogan says teachers were in the traffic line to get through the pickets when they were asked by school and board administration to move into another line.
Hogan says because they switched lines, they were late to school which led to management coming back out to hand them the letters notifying them of the suspension. "They listened to their boss, said they're willing to do what their boss said, they broke no education act rules, they weren't insubordinate," says Hogan.
Hogan adds "the principal came out with a superintendent and someone from some security group taking film and pictures so it really felt intimidating. It was an orchestrated event by management at the board office."
In nearly 18 years on the job, Hogan has never seen anything like this saying "I know our management team wants to build relationships. But suspending people, threatening people and intimidating people with video taping and such, that's not a way to have relationships. Management and the union, Unifor and OECTA, whatever, we all should be working together."
OECTA was told that the suspensions are indefinite and without pay.
The Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board has declined to comment on the suspensions saying it "won't comment on personnel matters."