A teacher wrote on our Facebook page the other day asking what the connection was between Bill 22 and US education reforms. I had posted an article about a teacher who was fired for engaging in political activities with students regarding the young black student in Florida who was shot
Continue readingAuthor: Tara Ehrcke
Staffroom Confidential: Bill 22 and the erosion of teacher professionalism
The mainstream media love to print stories chiding teachers for being in a union (and a militant one at that). One of the their arguments is that trade unionism is counter to professionalsim. Nothing could be further from the truth. Now in particular, professions will need their unions and associations
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: Surrey teachers speak to Mr. Abbott
From the Chimney Hill Elementary Teaching Staff To the Honourable George Abbott, Minister of Education On the Occasion of His Visit to Our School. We have chosen as a teaching staff to address our concerns to you in the form of a letter. We do not want a question and
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: Bill 22 and Class Size/Class Composition
Bill 22 eliminates all class composition limits. There is no longer a need to report or consult regardless of the number of students with an IEP in a single class. Nothing will now prevent Administrators from “clustering” students with an IEP into classes and nothing ensures they will receive adequate
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: BC Liberals: You reap what you sow…
Today the BCGEU, representing provincial government employees in BC, announced they will be holding a strike vote. They are seeking wage increases of 8% over 2 years and the government has offered only 3%. The BCGEU rightly argue that their members should not take permanent wage cuts because of the
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: From public to private: a subtle path
There was some nasty commentary this week in the Province because a BC teacher compared Bill 22 to Nazi germany. It was pretty ripe coming from a newspaper that had itself, a few short months earlier, compared teachers to Hitler in a cartoon. But despite the perhaps ill conceived comparison,
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: What is this dispute about? Putting equity last, and corporations first
Today’s guest post is from Bruce McCloy, a teacher in New Westminster. Why is this current stand so important? For those who are currently monitoring this public site on behalf of the government please read on as well. I sincerely hope you learn something and, if we fail and this
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: Walk out pamphlet – arguments for full withdrawal to resist Bill 22
Are teachers in your community debating how we should resist Bill 22? Please copy and share this leaflet with other teachers as we debate strategy: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxob2xkdGhlbGluZWd2dGF8Z3g6NmUwOWJkYzFkZjlmY2M3NA
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: Teachers debate a response to Bill 22
Tomorrow, at the BCTF Annual General Meeting, BC teachers will debate and vote on a way forward to challenge Bill 22 – the BC government legislation that imposes a constrained, pre-determined contract outcome, as well as stripping class size and class composition provisions from BC schools. If you are a
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: Lessons from the US – when unions don’t strike to contest unjust laws
In my previous blog post, I listed the numerous times that both legal and illegal strike action was taken by Canadian unions and by BC teachers. Illegal strike action has been critical in advancing basic union rights including the right to strike itself. What happens when other strategies are used?
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: Lessons from history – legislation and illegal strikes
Should teachers take action in response to Bill 22? Should they walk out regardless of the question of ‘legality’? It now looks almost certain that even with School Boards, the public and parents in favour of a fair, independent, mediated settlement, the government is not yet prepared to change course
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: How do teachers defeat Bill 22?
In one week, BC teachers will be meeting at our Annual General Meeting to discuss next steps to defeat Bill 22. It is imperative that we look at both what is at stake and what our history tells us about how to move forward in order to protect our own
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: Critical thinking and Bill 22 – A teacher rebuts George Abbott
Dear Minister Abbott: Imagine there are two children arguing in the playground over a toy. Picture a tall, brutish bully, and a wiry, bespectacled nerd. Never mind that the toy belongs to the nerd. Never mind that the bully pushed the nerd over and took the toy. Just imagine that
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: What is this strike about? A moving letter from a Saanich teacher
I would like to thank you, Mr. Abbott. My wife and I have just had an excellent discussion with our daughters about power, and about the importance of checks and balances in a society. Sophie and Rachel are 12 and 10. They were very confused about why the government was
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: Public education – Christy: it’s about equality
Of all the spin put on the current dispute, one aspect that seems to be getting very little attention is really at the heart of the issue – what level of quality should we provide as a public service? What do the 99% who rely on public (as opposed to
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: BC Teachers’ Day of Action: It’s about priorities…
Here is the speech I gave yesterday at our Rally to support teachers for a fair deal: Thank you so much everyone for being here today. Some of you are teachers, some of you are fellow trade unionists, some are parents, some concerned citizens. All are here to support fully
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: Rally to support teachers for a fair deal
On Thursday, Education Minister George Abbott indicated his intention to introduce a “package” of bills next week. It seems that legislating an end to bargaining is only one objective. The package could also include concessions that the government is seeking from the current contract including seniority provisions, job security rights,
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: On a legislated contract and parents who care – one teacher’s perspective
A Victoria teacher responded to a CBC interview with Sheila Orr about the Liberal government’s plan to legislate an imposed contract on teachers: I was so discouraged to hear Sheila Orr’s cavalier, “I don’t care” today when asked about the teachers being legislated back to work. She talked about hearing
Continue readingStaffroom Confidential: Will the BC government agree to mediation to resolve teacher bargaining?
Today the BCTF made a request for the Labour Relations Board to appoint a mediator to help resolve teacher bargaining. Not only the LRB, but also the Minister can call for various forms of mediation and arbitration to resolve the issue. Calls and suggestions for this have been made in
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