Upset with what it calls “one-sided reporting” and “scathing anti-teacher rhetoric,” a local teachers’ union is urging its members to take action against Waterloo Region’s only daily newspaper.

A memo sent to members of the Waterloo Region chapter of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario dated January 2016 encourages teachers to “boycott the Waterloo Region Record newspaper as a result of the ongoing teaching bashing by columnist Luisa D’Amato.”

The memo was the result of a vote taken by ETFO’s local executive, after teacher and union executive member Jeff Pelich raised the issue at a meeting.

In an interview with CTV News, Pelich said he and other teachers had seen the paper take positions “bashing teachers” for some time – and when letters to the editor didn’t seem to change that situation, he felt the need to take things to another level.

“It seemed to be hammering on teachers for doing what we believe in and bargaining collectively,” he said.

“It just didn’t seem fair.”

The union’s memo specifically singles out Luisa D’Amato, a columnist with the Record who frequently writes about issues relating to education, and includes a section making suggestions on how teachers can “de-D’Amato … current events lessons.”

It also suggests that teachers who use the Record in their classrooms replace it with other local newspapers or online resources, and encourages teachers to discontinue their subscriptions to a Record-run program which sees unused newspapers donated to local classrooms.

“This boycott could have a tremendous impact on the Record’s bottom-line and will not go unnoticed,” the memo reads.

The newspaper’s editor-in-chief says she and the rest of the organization fully support D’Amato despite ETFO’s concerns.

“The Record is committed to providing news, analysis and opinion but it is also a place for dissent and debate,” Melinda Marks said in a statement.

“Ms. D’Amato is a respected columnist and it is her job to comment on the issues that are of most concern to readers in Waterloo Region.”

For her part, D’Amato says she thinks ETFO’s boycott of her paper says more about the union than it does about anything else.

“Part of being engaged in the news is to talk about the news – and that’s my role,” she said in an interview.

“If they’re a group of people who can’t handle someone who doesn’t agree with them, then I think that’s a problem for the kids in the classroom.”

Greg Weiler, the president of ETFO Waterloo Region, says teachers won’t be talking to students about the issue and won’t face any discipline if they choose to ignore the union’s recommendation.

“No one is bound to follow it,” he said.

The union’s memo includes seven examples of what it calls “Luisa D’Amato’s anti-teacher rhetoric,” many of which relate to last year’s contract dispute between ETFO and the province.

One quote, from last November – after a tentative deal was reached – says that teachers shouldn’t “expect a parade” for ending their work-to-rule campaign.

“I can’t think of another profession anywhere where you can get full pay for doing only part of your job,” it reads.

ETFO’s Waterloo Region chapter represents more than 2,800 teachers in public elementary schools.