Today the teachers of public K-12 schools across British Columbia are on the picket lines. Two days ago, they voted 95% in favour of strike action.
After many months of working without a contract… and a subsequent negotiating process that was held up until after the Provincial Election, the Government of BC has imposed a contract settlement on the BC Teachers Federation.
Instead of negotiating with the union in good faith, the Government has decided to Legislate a “solution”.
No matter what you think about whether teachers are payed enough.
No matter what you think about the current state of education in BC.
I think we can all agree that “negotiation” is a process of give-and-take… an honest discussion. And for a government to abuse their position as both legislator and employer by imposing a “contract” is counter to what a democratic society is all about. I put “contract” in quotations because, by definition a contract is a mutual agreement between two or more people. What the government has done makes a mockery of that definition in every sense of the word.
Support the teachers today as they fight not only to improve the state of schools in British Columbia but also to say No to bullying tactics. Now that the contract has been legislated into “law” what the BCTF is doing today by striking is illegal.
Should it be?
Should government be able to stifle opposition by legislating it away?
Absolutely not.
So please… if you drive by a public school today… give a honk of support for the teachers. They’re standing up for our rights, and the rights of our children…
Get your facts right dude. It was 90.5% in favour but only 50% of teachers voted. The union called the vote with less than 24 hours notice and many teachers were too “busy” to bother voting so they ended up on strike.
The bottom line is BC Teachers need to take a lession in being a union. The Ontario teachers worked to rule for 3 years and are now the highest paid most respected teachers in the country.
The BC Teachers tried to work to rule but it “divided” them and failed. Get a grip. The teachers need to learn how unions work and they would get both the pay and respect the deserve.
But any time a union cannot work to rule and only 50% bother to vote on an illegal strike you can be sure the employer knows where the power lies.