What is OECTA? 

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA) represents 45,000 men and women who teach in all grades in the publicly funded English Roman Catholic schools in Ontario. OECTA is affiliated with the Ontario Teachers’ Federation, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation and Education International. 

Locally all elementary, secondary and occasional teachers employed in the Wellington Catholic District School Board belong to the Wellington Unit of OECTA. There are over 600 members of the Wellington Unit that are represented by a local executive which is elected annually and meets twice monthly through the school year

The unit office is located on Highway 6, just north of Guelph, in the Orchard Park Office complex on the St. Ignatius - Jesuit property. The office is “staffed” by three “release officers”, one full time President and two Vice Presidents who also teach part-time.  The officers meet on a regular basis with board officials and provincial staff to deal with problems which occur or issues which arise. The unit is responsible for local collective bargaining and contract management, offers professional development opportunities, and provides advice and counselling services for members with the assistance of provincial office staff. A newsletter called “Wellington Works” is distributed to all members with up to date information on the local and provincial scenes. 

At the school level, OECTA members elect an association rep. The site rep is the initial contact for teachers who may have concerns or issues they wish to bring forth to OECTA, including questions about the collective agreement, leaves, working conditions, benefits etc. The local rep will provide assistance to the members at their sites and provide further contact information for local and provincial office where necessary. OECTA reps attend monthly meetings at the Unit Office, where they receive and discuss current information of relevance to OECTA members, and bring forth general concerns of members for the attention of the local executive.