A new school year was supposed to start today at B.C. public schools, but classes are cancelled as a teachers’ strike persists.
Negotiations are expected to continue this week, as are protests. A rally supporting teachers is scheduled for today at the legislature, starting at 9 a.m. Teachers are to increase picketing beginning Wednesday, along with curbside and highway overpass rallies.
On Monday, the dispute that has shut public schools since mid-June was a hot topic at the Victoria Labour Day Picnic at Irving Park in James Bay. Amid the sizzle of hot dogs, teachers reflected on their plight.
“The picnic definitely has more meaning for us this year. You’ll probably see more teachers here than ever before,” said David Futter, a Grade 6 and 7 teacher at Rock Heights Middle School.
“The consensus is this is an important fight, that the bigger picture is what’s important,” Futter said.
He is one about 40,000 B.C. teachers who are on a strike that cancelled the last two weeks of the school year and has continued while negotiations move at a glacial pace.
“People are getting worried. Heck, I’m worried — with a mortgage and things to do. But if we lose, everybody loses. We’d all like to be working Tuesday but we also know it’s getting harder every year to do our jobs,” Futter said.
Talks between the provincial government and the teachers’ union fell apart over the weekend, with mediator Vince Ready walking away, saying the two sides are too far apart. Education Minister Peter Fassbender said he would not legislate teachers back to work and implored them to suspend their pickets so school could start.
On Sunday, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation said it wanted to meet with Premier Christy Clark. Clark weighed in on the strike via Twitter, in a series of tweets that started with: “Unfortunately, the BCTF rejected our offer to reopen schools while the two sides enter mediation to reach an agreement. Instead, the BCTF is sticking to its strike and demanding twice as much money as everyone else in the public service has received.”
The premier’s posts attracted additional buzz when children’s singer Raffi Cavoukian replied: “Nobody believes you.”
A few months ago, parent Jordan Watters was looking for information on the teachers dispute. When she couldn’t find a Facebook page for citizens supporting teachers, she created one. The page grew from support for B.C. teachers to a hub for information sharing and comment. Watters, a labour market analyst, has now decided to run for school trustee.
“Public education is the foundation of a democratic society,” she said, while cutting out felt apple pins in front of a “Solidarity” banner at the Labour Day picnic. “Obviously, we could go to a two-tiered system but that’s not the Canada I want to live in.”
Watters said she is looking to the long-term quality of education in B.C., not just the current dispute. Her children are one and three years old. “I’m looking to 2029 when my son graduates. I want us to be a leader in education, not just getting by,” she said.
Olivia Aynsley teaches French Immersion at École Willows Elementary School. She said by this time of year, she would normally have been in the school preparing her classroom, “making it inviting so that on the first day, we’re good to go.”
Sean Pollitt is a teacher on call who said he has been lucky to have a contract teaching middle school the past few years. He said the strike has likely stalled a few careers.
He said the response he has encountered has largely been in support of teachers, but he’s faced a few critical comments.
“When people have a negative view or yell, ‘Hey, get back to work,’ I wish they’d stop and spend five minutes with us on the picket line and hear about the issues,” he said.
