From dream to reality

by Tracey Germa (she/her), Editor

Back in the spring of 2019, when I had only spent 4 months working at OSSTF/FEESO’s Provincial Office, after 20 years teaching drama and English in Peterborough, the Federation sent me to Bangladesh. I was part of a solidarity coalition of Canadian unions in support of the garment workers of Bangladesh, under the umbrella organization the Bangladesh Centre for Workers Solidarity. On that trip I finally grasped what true solidarity meant—it wasn’t just protesting, it wasn’t just writing letters of com-plaint, and it wasn’t just being part of a union. What that trip and the last six and half
years of working for OSSTF/FEESO has taught me is that solidarity is a way of life; it is the very act of caring for others as much as you care for yourself and your family. It is understanding that we are all family.

This issue explores international solidarity by considering how it is always a radical act, be it a large or small one. This issue examines how unity in the face of systemic barriers will always be the right way forward. Independent bookstore merchants, Andrew and Sean Fitzpatrick con­­- sider how being indie booksellers and providing space for community activism at the same time can be an act of truly radical solidarity. OSSTF/FEESO staff write about their time door knocking and engaging in true community organizing with the Harris-Walz campaign south of the border, providing a glimpse of the power of face-to-face activism that is shaping our Federation’s future. Other articles tell of the organization’s long-time commitment to inter­­national solidarity in support of public education and workers’ rights. Still more pieces explore the challenges of doing international-level activism, especially within a colonial context. What all the pieces in this issue have in common is a sense of how the smallest act can have the most profound impact. I hope that within these pages you might find your own morsel or spark of excitement about expanding the reach of your solidarity.

I’m of mixed emotion as I write my final Editor’s Message for Education Forum. By the time this issue is published, I will be retired from OSSTF/FEESO. I will greatly miss the amazing people of this organization, and I will greatly miss working on this magazine, led by my incredibly talented side-kick and Publications Manager/Art Director of this magazine, Audrey Bourque. It has probably been the highlight of my career—and this is wholly because of the outstanding team behind the magazine (please take a moment to read who they are on the masthead page of this and every issue). I am so excited to see my colleague, Jennifer Seif, taking on the role of editor of this publication after my departure—she, along with the design/graphics and translation team, will no doubt be bringing fresh, exciting, and powerful ideas to the readership in the future. I know I am leaving the magazine in the best of hands. OSSTF/FEESO will always be the place where my solidarity took shape, and it will continue to be the spark that keeps it alight.