‘Kids are going to die’
Ontario high school teacher loses labour fight after he refused to work over threat from student
“I’m kind of rattled now. The kid’s coming back to school. He told me that he wanted to fight me and that he was gonna punch me in the face.” James Murphy Teacher
A veteran Ontario teacher says high schools are becoming out of control, after the labour relations board recently ruled against him in a dispute that arose after a student threatened to punch him.
“People are going to get hurt at schools. Kids are going to die,” James Murphy told National Post following the decision. “I have lost all faith in any systems or processes that involve truth and fairness. I did not get a fair deal at all.”
In November 2019, Murphy had his teaching duties restricted at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Brampton after an altercation with a student that involved a bike. The teenager was suspended for four days, but Murphy refused to continue his normal teaching duties upon the student’s return, citing the school’s failure to implement proper safety protocols.
While Murphy said he was punished for performing a legitimate work refusal, a protected right under Ontario provincial labour law, Dufferin-peel Catholic District School Board (DPCDSB) disagreed and characterized his refusal to work as insubordination. On Feb. 5, the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) ruled against Murphy.
The district applauded the ruling. “We respect the decision of the OLRB, that there was no unlawful motivation on the part of the School Board,” Bruce Campbell, a spokesman for the board, told the Post.
“Our priority remains to ensure a fair, safe, and supportive environment for educators and students, and we will continue to work collaboratively to uphold these principles.”
In November 2019, Murphy was leaving St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Brampton, where he taught for 30 years, when he saw a student throw a bike after class. When educator intervened and sought to move the bike into the office, the student tussled with Murphy.
“I imagined somebody coming out of the school getting hit by the bike,” Murphy told National Review last year.
The teenager tried to wrestle the bike out of Murphy’s hands. The incident caused lasting wrist damage to Murphy, according to X-rays and medical charts shared with National Post.
“The student became abusive, swearing at Mr. Murphy and demanding that he release the bike,” according to the ruling. “The student tried to wrestle the bike away from Mr. Murphy. A ‘tug of war’ ensued. At some point, Mr. Murphy sat on the seat of the bicycle to prevent it coming into the student’s possession (and to rest from his exertion in that regard). The student warned Mr. Murphy not to get him mad and suggested it would not turn out well for Mr. Murphy if he did. A crowd of students, perhaps 25 to 30 in number, gathered around the fracas.”
Once the student and bike were escorted into the school, the teenager threatened Murphy again, the teacher said. The teen asked him, “Do you want me to say I’m going to punch you in the face?” Murphy said. After exiting the office, the student also “physically blocked” Murphy’s path.
The OLRB adjudicator accepted Murphy’s “uncontradicted testimony” about the “heated” interaction between the teacher and student once inside the school.
The high school imposed a four-day suspension on the student, arguing that Murphy’s “provocative actions” exacerbated the situation.
According to DPCDSB administrators, Murphy “spoke to the student inappropriately” and “escalated the situation unnecessarily.”
“These behaviours were found to have aggravated the student and led to the incident becoming physical,” the OLRB ruling summarized.
Instead, he should have “withdrawn from the confrontation and let the administration deal with it.” However, vice principal John O’donnell conceded “that such decision-making in the heat of the moment might be easier said than done.”
The OLRB decision, obtained by the Post, also revealed that St. Thomas Aquinas school leaders based the disciplinary action strictly on “the student’s use of inappropriate language and his opposition to authority.” The “student was not suspended for having uttered a threat to assault Mr. Murphy by punching him in the face,” the document says.
Upon the student’s return, Murphy refused to work, citing unsafe work conditions and a lack of meaningful changes implemented to ensure the student would not endanger him. While the student was not in any of Murphy’s classes, he could still run into him on the property. “I’m kind of rattled now. The kid’s coming back to school. He told me that he wanted to fight me and that he was gonna punch me in the face,” he said last year, while describing how he felt in 2019.
The school board and Murphy disagree over the subsequent series of events.
Murphy refused to teach and instead spent the coming days in the staff room protesting the school’s handling of the situation. St. Thomas Aquinas administrators and DPCDSB leaders said his behaviour and concerns did not amount to a legitimate work refusal.