According to Kim Howland, BCCPAC President, teacher’s aren’t comfortable with Bill 12 which forced a contract on them. That’s an understatement. No democratically minded individual should be ‘comfortable’ with the heavily handed use of parliamentary power.

Here’s the problem, the issue isn’t one of comfort. It’s about democratic rights and what it means to be ‘civil’ in society. Any school yard bully knows how to intimidate. If they get their way a bully is nice, he’s friendly and cooperative. Go against him and look out.

Just because someone can say something, can do something, can get away with something doesn’t make it right. But our provincial government believes that it can do what ever it wants simply because it can and it pleases them.

What does this say about how we value education if we compel teachers to work in worsening conditions for what amounts to less and less money. You bet, that’s not ‘comfortable.’

Worried about the way things look? Then I’d suggest that you join with me and many other parents on the teacher’s picket lines. The longer the line; the shorter the strike!
Kim Howland Quoted in CTV news cast.

In her conversations with parents groups across the province, B.C. Federation of Parent Advisory Councils president Kim Howland says she’s hearing from those who support both sides in the labour dispute.

“We know that many of our teachers are looked up to, and being able to hand-pick which laws they’re going to obey and not going to obey is very concerning.”

In response to the question “how is your family coping with the strike,” posed by the Vancouver Sun and The Province Sue McIntyre (Port Moody), Dawn Steele (Vancouver), and Olwen Walker (Richmond) have this to say:

___________________________________________________________Our kids are sleeping in this Tuesday morning. We have talked to them about the teacher’s strike, so they know that it is much more than an extra-extra long weekend. It’s about classroom conditions and working and bargaining conditions, both of which help determine the quality of their education and their future prospects.

Our son is 15 years old, an honour roll student with profound learning disabilities. At his secondary school he receives daily learning support, along with classroom accommodations, so that his unique learning style does not get in the way his tremendous potential. On these “extra days” off he is studying one hour each day for a math test that has been postponed by the strike. He had his sights set on a B, now with the extra study time he might get an A. None of this would be remotely possible without the professional and caring work done by teachers from the time he started school 11 years ago.

Our daughter is 12 years old, a gifted learner, born leader and talented actor and singer. At middle school she has enjoyed the opportunity to participate in a special film-making program in which gifted kids made a movie about the social challenges of being identified as a gifted student. In her regular classes and in extra-curriculars like choir and the school musical, she has been encouraged to pursue her interests and use her talent and determination to learn and grow and develop her potential. We are grateful for these programs and activities, organized and led by teachers working beyond the normal classroom routines and schedule. They have kept her interested and motivated in school.

Credit for our satisfaction and our children’s success must be shared: by our kids, who are willing to work hard; by us, who advocate for them, cooperate with school staff, and provide the needed support at home; by the administrators and support staff at the schools who ensure that framework for success is there; but most of all by the teachers. The teachers have worked tirelessly, optimistically and cheerfully despite diminishing resources and discouraging working conditions to keep giving our kids what they need. We realise that we are fortunate. Many other families must struggle to have their children’s needs met – not because of unwillingness in the schools, just because it’s not possible to serve every child with resources as they are.

A legislated contract, elimination of bargaining rights, refusal to allow teachers a say in determining optimal learning conditions for kids….All of these things are unacceptable. If anything is threatening our kids’ education it’s a government that would create these impossible conditions.

Our kids are staying home to support the teachers. Any loss of education or inconvenience caused by the job action will be worth it. The teachers who have extended themselves to maintain a great school experience for our children have reached the breaking point. Their strike is a strike to restore public education to a point where every child can be assured of the success and happiness that our kids are lucky to enjoy.

Respectfully,

Sue McIntyre

____________________________________________
The BC government’s refusal to negotiate with teachers has created a fine mess, imposing hardship for many, or inconvenience for families like ours with flexible jobs.

I’ll stay home with my son and help with the daily homework that his teacher assigned. Ironically, he’ll learn more for every day he gets individual attention at home vs. being in a class of 31, mostly ESL or special needs.

Our plans also include “field trips” to learn about standing up to bullying. We’ll visit picket lines to support our teachers fighting for respect, fair treatment and better learning conditions for our children.

Dawn Steele, Parent
David Livingstone Elementary
Vancouver

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How has the teachers strike affected my family and how are we coping? Those are huge questions but I’ll try to answer as succinctly as possible.

First off my children (in Grades 7 and 4) have been aware of teacher concerns since the last set of negotiations when as their mother I attended and spoke at meetings of parents as a representative of PACE (Parents Against Cuts in Education). PACE no longer exists but the desire for a fairly funded education system is still frequently discussed in our household and no, neither my husband nor I are teachers.

Over the years my girls have watched their parents treat teachers with respect. They have observed differences of opinion discussed by education stakeholders in open dialogue. They know that there are many opinions around every circumstance and that there is rarely one “correct” way of seeing things. This strike is one more way to educate them about politics, unions, ethical treatment and respect for diversity of opinions.

No it isn’t easy to “change gears” and have my children at home. I am one of the lucky parents with a flexible enough schedule to work from home and move appointments around to accommodate this change. Our church has offered assistance opening up their facilities to parents and providing loving care for those that need it. Although I fully support the teachers I am thankful that none of my children are in Grade 12 and facing the possibility of not being able to graduate.

My children are learning flexibility. They are learning respect and
mathematics by baking cookies to take to teachers on the picket line. They are taking time to catch up on homework and write stories. Another great lesson they are learning is that an elected government doesn’t always act in a way that represents all of the people who elected them. They are learning that sometimes you need to stand up to bullies even if it costs you.

The current government is well into its’ second term and has yet to address the myriad of problems with our current education system. If it wasn’t so sad it would be laughable to read the announcement of the formation of a “New Learning Roundtable”. With the contempt and inflexibility shown by this government it is unlikely this roundtable will be more than a show for the masses of parents desperate to get their children back to school.

Thank you,
Olwen Walker
Jessie Wowk School
Richmond, B.C.

BC Fed reaffirms support for teachers in emergency meeting Sunday, October 10.Monday, October 10, 2005

Vancouver – An emergency meeting of Labour leaders on Monday voted unanimously to continue their support of the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation to fight for a fair collective agreement, and called on union members to bolster protest lines and attend province wide rallies in support of BC’s teachers on Tuesday evening, said B.C. Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair.

The leaders – members of the Executive Officers of the B.C. Federation of Labour, also called on the provincial government to move quickly to find a table where the two parties can sit down and work out the problems facing teachers and the where education system. “Labour leaders representing workers from all sectors of our economy understand how important it is for teachers to have the right to bargain a collective agreement and not have their rights torn up by the government,” Sinclair said.

“The only solution for students, parents and workers is for the government to sit down and negotiate an agreement,” stated Sinclair. “Court orders and Labour Relations Board decisions will not provide one solution or improve one condition for teachers and students or the pubic education system,” said Jim Sinclair, President of the B.C. Federation of Labour.

“We met with government last week and tried to find a solution,” Sinclair noted. “The Campbell government has a choice to make confrontation or negotiation. I remain hopeful that the government recognizes negotiation is the only way to end this dispute.”

The Federation, in conjunction with local Labour Councils, announced rallies in support of teachers to be held around the province beginning Tuesday evening. In Vancouver the rally is scheduled for 5:30 pm at Canada Place, the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre. In Victoria, a rally is scheduled to kick off at 5:00 pm at the Greater Victoria School Board. Rallies are also scheduled across Vancouver Island, the Kootenays, BC’s North and Interior. More information can be found at www.bcfed.com.

“Teachers are willing to look for solutions, we’re available to talk any time the government calls,” said BC Teachers’ Federation President Jinny Sims. Taking action wasn’t teachers first choice, it’s now our only choice.” Sims thanked the public, parents and the labour movement for their ongoing support.

Sinclair called on union members who are parents of school aged children to stand with the teachers and show solidarity. He noted that while parents and families are inconvenienced, most understand that if teachers don’t take a stand for our kids’ learning conditions, nothing will improve.

The public, by a two-to-one margin oppose the actions of the government in ordering the teachers back-to-work according to a poll released by the Federation. The poll, conducted by Ideaworks/Stratcomm on October 6 and 7 showed that teachers enjoy the support of the public in their demands for improved learning conditions and a fair wage increase.

In particular 67 percent of British Columbians surveyed disagreed with the BC Liberals decision to impose a contract on teachers. Over half of those surveyed indicated teachers should be allowed to negotiate class size and special needs support at the bargaining table. Similarly over half indicated they supported public protests if the government ordered teachers back-to-work.

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For more information, please contact Jessie Uppal at 604 430-1421 or 604 220-0739.

BC Supreme Court finds BC Teacher’s Federation in Contempt of Court for going on Strike.

The following was clipped from David Schreck’s web page.
October 6, 2005

Teachers’ Civil Disobedience

“They could threaten to put me in prison.”
Jenny Sims, BCTF President, quoted in The Province, October 6, 2005

There is one important ambiguity in what Sims said; who are “they”? They are not the government. Governments used to include nasty penalties in back to work legislation, but modern labour law puts the really mean stuff over to the courts.

Sims and the BCTF executive may be stubborn but they aren’t stupid. They know that the employers’ association will attempt to get a ruling from the Labour Relations Board by Thursday afternoon, and that the employers will certainly succeed in getting an order by Friday afternoon that a full scale withdrawal of services is an illegal strike. The order will then be registered in BC Supreme Court where the union will be called up on charges of contempt of court for failing to abide by the order. If the union directs its members to return to work immediately, it might get off with a finding of civil contempt and relatively minor fines. If the job action continues, the union and its officers could be found in criminal contempt of court with substantial fines and jail sentences.

Case law on “illegal strikes” was made in Alberta when the United Nurses of Alberta went on strike in January, 1988, contrary to directives made under the Alberta Labour Relations Act forbidding the strike; they were found to be in criminal contempt of court and fined $400,000. In 1992 the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the criminal contempt of court; a dissenting opinion said:

“The conduct of the union leadership was not sufficient to transform the civil contempt into criminal contempt. The element of public injury was missing from the breach of the order. The nurses neither flaunted their disobedience of the order nor presented any threat of violence. The diffidence of their spokesperson in discussing the matter with press indicated that the union did not intend to bring the administration of justice into a disrepute or hold it up to scorn.”
The fact that the teachers are willing to risk fines and jail shows how angry they are with the Campbell government for using legislation to break their contract and remove their right to bargain working and learning conditions, class size, number of special needs students per class, whether special needs students must have assistance and other matters that are crucial to how classrooms function.

Many of the civil rights we take for granted were only achieved because someone was willing to take on the establishment with civil disobedience. The teachers are at the threshold of deciding how far they will go with their civil disobedience. The government could defuse the conflict by agreeing to discuss working and learning conditions at a separate table, as recommended by its fact finder, or it can stand back and let the process unfold, complete with the court process. Those who engage in civil disobedience have to be ready to accept the consequences. It looks like the teachers are prepared.

A slightly different version was published in The Tyee.
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By JEREMY HAINSWORTH, Globe and Mail
Sunday, October 9, 2005
Posted at 8:15 PM EDT>

Vancouver; A B.C. Supreme Court justice ruled Sunday that the province’s public school teachers were in contempt of court after they launched a walkout that shut down British Columbia’s schools. The B.C. Public School Employers Association was seeking to have the B.C. Teachers’ Federation found in contempt of a Labour Relation Board ruling on Friday that said teachers are involved in an illegal job action.

“I declare that the teachers are in contempt of the order of Oct. 6; Justice Nancy Brown said on Sunday. No citizen or group of citizens may choose which orders they may obey,” Judge Brown said.

The judge asked lawyers to return on Thursday so penalties can be decided. Association lawyer Nazeer Mitha called Friday’s walkout by unionized teachers;premeditated and deliberate. He asked that the union produce its financial statements at Thursday’s hearing.

Association lawyer Michael Hancock said the union is paying $2-million a day in strike pay to its members.

No union officials attended the rare Sunday sitting of the court and after the ruling, their lawyer, John Rogers, said he did not know whether the teachers would return to their classes or the picket lines on Tuesday.

Mr. Rogers had told the court earlier he had been advised by the federation that teachers intended to continue with their walkout.

The province’s 42,000 teachers set up pickets on Friday, keeping more than 600,000 students from their lessons.

However, the union is expected to go before the province’s Labour relations Board on Tuesday, asking it to reconsider its ruling on the legality of their strike. “They have gone from full bargaining rights to no rights in collective bargaining,” he said.

The rest of this story can be found at The Globe and Mail