Eileen Lennon was the president of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation (OTF) during the controversial 1997 two-week strike against the Conservative government of Mike Harris. She was the spokesperson for all five of the teachers’ unions. Her position as the president of the umbrella group for the teachers gave her a broader and more objective view of the progression of the strike than that of other presidents. She is decidedly blunt about the undercurrents behind the union politics of the time.

      Eileen discusses her career as a teacher and her time as a member of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association (OECTA). As she reminds us, she had been an OECTA president.

Oral History ProjectEileen Lennon