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Teachers’ strike comes to an end

Shib ibsue:

(Y Re-treat yourself

(Y We are your ‘Sisters in Spirit’
( Clubs Day is back at Douglas

And more!

» What does this mean for the school year?

Angela Espinoza
News Editor

Mi news
> @theotherpress.ca

QO: September 18, after

nearly four months of
protests and negotiations, the
BC teachers’ strike ended with
an 86 per cent vote in favour
of proposed changes. Public
elementary, middle, and high
school students returned to
classes on Monday.

After earlier failed
negotiations with mediator
Vince Ready weeks before,
Ready returned on September 13
to help BC Teachers’ Federation
(BCTF) members and members
of the BC Liberal party find an
appropriate solution. In the
early hours of September 16,
Ready announced a potential
deal had been reached by
both parties, and that teachers
would be voting on it by that
Thursday.

 

The resolution of the strike

sees the teachers sign a six-year
: deal. The contract states that

: wages will be increased by 7.25
: per cent over the course of their
: six-year pact. Each year will see
: a portion of that percentage

: applied to salaries, the lowest

: at 0.5 per cent and highest at

: two per cent. Additionally,
teacher-on-call rates were

: increased and health benefits

: were improved for members of
: the BCTF. An education fund

: consisting of $400 million, also
: to be spent over six years, was

: achieved for funding additional
: hiring of specialist teachers

: and to benefit class sizes and

: composition.

One of the most important

: benefits of the deal is the

: removal of proposals E80

: and E81, acts that—in some

: form—have been the cause

: of many previous teachers’

: strikes. E80 and E81 were acts
: set in place to prevent the

Have an idea for a story? Let us know!

Contact: Angela Espinoza, News Editor

Mnews@theotherpress.ca

www. theotherpress.ca

: BCTF from debating class size,
: composition, and the hiring

: of specialist teachers. Three

: Supreme Court cases have

: debated the removal of the

: acts, two of which the BCTF

: have won—with the Liberal

: government owing the BCTF a
: current total of $250 million—
: and a third case currently

: underway.

However, even with all the

: improved benefits and changes
: supporting the BCTF, many are
: still not happy. Again, 13 per

: cent of BCTF members voted

: against the changes, and many
: were left questioning.

“We all know that this deal

: isn't perfect, but it does provide
: gains for teachers. It protects

: our charter rights and increases
: support for our students,”

: BCTF president Jim Iker told

: reporters at a September 19

: press conference.

Members of the BCTF were

: hoping for larger education
: funds and a permanent solution
* to keeping the discussion of

One of the most
important benefits
of the deal is

the removal of
proposals E80 and
E81.

: class size and composition

: open, which the removal of E80
: and E81 does not permanently

: guarantee.

Robin Holburn, a teacher

: for Prince of Wales Secondary

: School in Vancouver told the

: National Post, “Our negotiating
: team did the very best it could,

: I believe ... but this is not a good
: deal for BC students and it’s not
: a good deal for BC teachers.”

For now, students are back

: in classes, and Minister of

: Education Peter Fassbender

: has stated that neither students
: nor teachers will have to make

: up extra time for the first three
* weeks of missed classes.

 

In poor taste

» Urban Outfitters pulls bloodied Kent State sweatshirt

Brittney MacDonald
Staff Writer

rban Outfitters is in hot
water again after the
September 15 debut of their
“vintage” Kent State sweatshirt.
Advertised as a one-of-a-kind
piece from their “sun-faded”
collection, the sweatshirt
was covered in red dye giving
it the appearance of being
bloodstained.

Kent State University in
Ohio suffered tragedy on May
4, 1970 when four students
were killed by the National
Guard during a peaceful protest
against the Vietnam War. The
event led the university to
believe that Urban Outfitters
was trying to capitalize on its
controversy.

The university immediately
released a press statement via
their website: “May 4, 1970,
was a watershed moment for
the country and especially
the Kent State family. We lost
four students that day while
nine others were wounded and
countless others were changed

: forever. We take great offence
: toa company using our pain for
their publicity and profit. This
: item is beyond poor taste and
: trivializes a loss of life that still
: hurts the Kent State community :
today.”

That same day, Urban

: Outfitters issued an apology

: over Twitter stating that they
“deeply regret that this item

: [the sweatshirt] was perceived
: negatively and we have removed
: it immediately from our website :
: to avoid further upset.” The :
statement also attributes the

: colouring and red patches to

: fading and “natural wear and
: fray,’ denying that the shade

: was altered in any way to look

like blood.

However this isn’t the first

: time that Urban Outfitters

: has run into this sort of
accusation. In April of 2012,

: Jewish communities became

: upset when the retailer’s

: website began selling a shirt

; that resembled a concentration
; camp uniform around the

: Passover holiday period of that
: year. In 2010, a scandal in which
: actress Sophia Bush called

: fora boycott of the company
resulted when Urban Outfitters
: began to mass produce a shirt

: that said “Eat Less,” something
: that the actress and many

others believed promoted

> eating disorders. Even earlier

: this year Urban Outfitters was

: forced to pull their “depression”
: shirt after people accused it

: of being insensitive to mental

: illness.

Though Urban Outfitters
claims any connection to

: the Kent State massacre was

: unintended, what they haven’t
: addressed is why they chose

: to use the lesser known Kent

: State University name when

: there are other more popular

: universities in the nearby area

: to choose from, such as Ohio

: State University and Columbus
: State Community College.

Following the controversy,

: the sweatshirt was updated

: to “sold out” before being

: completely removed from the

: Urban Outfitters website. While
: the sweatshirt will no longer be
: sold, Urban Outfitters’ history

: of stirring controversy is likely

: far from over.