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Current negotiation process and dealing with the
provincial government

“Right now, all we want is just the right to negoti-
ate,” McLean says, “and we've been told to shove it.”

The BCTF has been sending their own negotiators
to the table. The British Columbia Public School
Employees’ Association (BCPSEA) is the bargaining
agent for the government, yet they have no power to
negotiate-they cannot consent to anything without get-
ting the okay from the Liberals.

“It's completely ineffective,’ McLean says, “They
(the BCPSEA) have nothing to work with-they can't
change working conditions and aren't allowed to offer
anything. There's no back and forth. To negotiate with
the government via the BCPSEA is completely limited.”

Under the current process, union representatives
have to wait for the BCPSEA to report to the govern-
ment then return to the table-a time consuming and
frustrating process. According to McLean, the process
was introduced after the Wright Report, which was
commissioned by the Liberal government and was
designed to provide a new basis for bargaining. The
report accepted the views and opinions of 14 employers
and none from the BCTF. It also led to Final Offer
Arbitration.

“In the past,’ McLean says, “if we couldn't settle,
we would bring in a mutually acceptable, neutral arbitra-
tor who would consider both sides and have the free-
dom to pull pieces from both sides into a new contract.
Now, with Final Offer Arbitration, an arbitrator,
appointed by the government, must choose between
one package or the other-and that package must be
accepted in its entirety.”

Bill 12

The teachers’ last contract ran out in June 2004.
Since then, negotiations have been ongoing, and going
nowhere. After 15 months of working without a con-
tract, the BCTF decided it was the opportune time to
strike. Last week, the Liberal government passed Bill 12,
which extended the last BCTF contract through to the
end of the 2006 school year, after which the BCTF has

been promised negotiations will begin again, and that
there will be a new process in place.

Since the government passed a law that says the
teachers have a new contract, the current strike has been
deemed illegal. The BCTF, however, remains stoic in
their stand, and refuse to waver in the wake of Bill 12.

“Basically, what this says,” McLean says, “‘is that if
we (the government) want something and can't have it,
we'll just pass a law and change the game.”

Glencross added, “What you have is a majority gov-
ernment who can pass a law with no one to oppose
them.”

How long can it last?

As McLean succinctly puts it, “We're in it for the
long haul. I'm going to be pissed beyond belief if we
accept anything less than close to what we're asking
for.”

Most other BCTF members have echoed these senti-
ments. This spells trouble for CUPE workers (clerical,
support, and custodian) who accepted a zero percent
raise in order to keep working. CUPE workers have
been offered the opportunity to receive their strike pay,

but only in return for job action-in some areas calling
for four hours a day on the picket line for a starting
wage of $10 a day. It also spells trouble for parents,
especially single parents, who have had to make daycare
arrangements. Not everyone is going to be able to find
a friend or relative to watch their kids while they're at
work.
Yet, how long can the teachers, personally, hold out?

 

While as a union they are resolute, the stories vary once
broken down to an individual level. Both McLean and
Glencross are married with two children each and both
are homeowners with mortgage payments.

“T don't know.’ McLean says, “I can see this going
easily for two weeks, and that's when things are going to
get ugly. People are going to miss a paycheque and get
really pissed off. For myself, I'm not going to the bank
to find creative ways around a mortgage payment, yet.”

Glencross, however, has a different story, “I can't
hold out now. I'm going to start carrying a sign on the
picket line that says 'House For Sale In Langley'.”
What to tell the kids?

Ultimately, teachers will return to work. What's also
inevitable is that one student will raise their hand and
say something along the lines of, “My dad says you
broke the law. Relaying the concept of what an individ-
ual considers an unjust law versus what society consid-
ers an unjust law to a child is daunting.

Glencross says, “T'll tell them about unjust laws and
civil disobedience. That sometimes, we have to stand up
for what we believe in. One thing we all believe in is
that the learning conditions need to change.”

McLean echoes this statement, “T'll tell them that
sometimes we have to fight for what we believe in. In
black and white, we're breaking the law, yes. But I'm
fighting for making the learning environment a better
one, and that I have to do what I think is appropriate
and in line with the values of society. I should be able

to have open negotiations regarding things that affect

me and the classroom. I'd be embarrassed to stand in
front of the class and say it was about a 15 percent
wage increase.”

The most important thing

Any negotiation is a game of give and take-to get a
little you have to give a little. The BCTF have identified
multiple issues that need to be addressed. But if the
teachers had to choose one thing out of their demands
which they would deem most important, most would
certainly say that the stand was about the kids, about
improving the teaching and learning conditions. It's the
right answer and a safe answer.

Yet, McLean had something different to say, ““The
right to negotiate-if that's the only thing we get then so
be it. This isn't a dictatorship, (the government) should-
n't be able to shove a contract down our throats.”

Shortly after the interviews were conducted, the
Supreme Court was expected to impose fines upon the
BCTE Instead, they froze the assets of the BCTE, so
that teachers contributing to the illegal strike couldn't
receive their strike pay. As well, the BCTF is not allowed
to receive assets from other organizations, and have had
their offices shut down.

Many teachers don't just teach for a paycheque-they
teach because they have a passion, and want to have a
part in helping our children realize their potential. Yet,
McLean stated, “If I had to talk to a class of university
teaching students, I'd tell them they were crazy. If I'd
known way back when that I'd be going through this
crap, I'd be doing something else.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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