Just one week after Ontario parents managed to breathe a sigh of relief over tense contract talks between CUPE and the province that would have forced the closure of many schools, the possibility of a strike looms once again.

The 55,000 education workers represented by CUPE vary from board to board and primarily include custodians, early childhood educators, educational assistants, and clerical staff.

Locally, more than 2,000 local educators filled the seats inside the Barrie Molson Centre on Tuesday to hear an update on the current contract situation.

"We'll be holding an ETFO provincial strike vote," explains Janet Bigham, Simcoe County Elementary Teachers' Federation president. "All EFTO members in Simcoe County will be eligible to come and vote for the provincial collective bargaining processes."

ETFO represents 4,000 local members and more than 83,000 province-wide. They have been working without a contract since the end of August.

Strike voting will continue throughout the province until Oct. 30th. The results are expected to be released at the beginning of November.

It's unclear when any job action could take place.