Awesome. Now if only the rest of the citizens of this province would do the same thing it could be possible to bring an election. EVERYONE should strike until crusty calls a election so we can finally get rid of this corrupt self serving corporate loving goverment. We want the HST extinquished too so maybe we could get two birds stoned at once. Wouldn’t that be great? This bill 22 is the final straw for the lieberals. Teachers vote too and so do thier friends and relatives. And also the teachers now enjoy almost 100 percent support from the kids. So the cards are certaimly stacked against crusty. Let’s just hope they have the guts to stay out until WE THE PEOPLE can extinquish this group of campbells henchmen. (and women)

Yeah, yeah…the teachers have been bullied by the government and the parents and children have been bullied by the teachers. Who wins? Nobody. Who loses? The kids? Society? Everybody?

Let’s hope they cancel spring break to make up the strike days. :)

They don’t have my support, they sound like the kid who was asked what do you want to be when you grow up, his reply was I don’t want to grow up !! Welcome to the world the rest of us outside the public sector live with teachers. Who amongst us has had a 15 % raise, who has overseers of your job performance actually in your place of work, who amongst us is told how the job is to be done and the guideline to which it will be done.
They fight the FSA testing cause it scrutinizes their performance, they have pro-d, report card writing days, holiday breaks, early dismisal at 1:20pm every weds at our school, god school starts at 8:45 and ends at 2:25pm.

As for support from students, when you spend class time telling the kids your unions side of the argument as has been done with my kids not a wonder, and kids love a holiday.

Take a walk down the halls and look at old picture from years past, the class sizes were larger 20 yrs ago. Teachers then did what private sector employees do, when theirs more work to do, we do it, thats life.

Two speed-google principles salaries in bc, you’ll see some have had up to 23% increases in the last four years!! Apparently the Liberal government believes that only the upper crust is deserving of pay increases?? Why am I surprised?

20 years ago we had some larger classes, we also had Winton where all the slow learners and special needs kids went….a number isn’t everything!!

Way to go Christy! These rubes all fell for it! Lets see now – we lied about the HST. We lied about BCR. We have the worst child poverty 8 years running, we have dismal job creation numbers, we have record cost over runs even the NDP could not match, we are saddled with huge debt; so how do we take the heat off? Well lets pick on our old stand by – the teachers.Doesn’t matter if we break the law or treat them like we are Gestapo; the public likes a good scrap with the teachers. Keep up the good work Christy.

Employees have a right to stand up to their employer. I back the teacher’s on this one. Knowing several, they are overworked, have a high number of students these days when compared to the amount of information they have to teach (much more than ‘in the old days’). Report card writing and pro-d days don’t cover the time needed to properly assess and grade a child’s work. These teacher’s work at their day jobs, which extend into their evenings, too. Work at home isn’t paid.

That said, they don’t deserve a higher pay raise than what is the standard across Canada for teachers. A modest increase for cost of living and inflationary purposes would suffice. I stand behind them on their wish to have class sizes managed, as well as access to aides and activites to enhance learning for their students.

I just noticed a health care workers PR add on tv this morning. Guess who’s next.

15 % plus this, boy their reasonable.

Up to 10 days of paid leave would be granted for the death of a friend or any relative plus two days for travel.

Eight days per year of paid discretionary leave would also be available.

Sick days could be claimed at the rate of two per month (now 1.5) plus five days per year for chosen professional activities and five more days of paid leave to meet responsibilities for care, health or education of a child or “any other person.”

Here’s the problem. A teacher who takes all their sick leave (plus any of the other proposed leaves) each year, would theoretically be out of the classroom for many days each year, during which time the employer would, again, presumably pay a second teacher to do the same job.

There’s a proposed provision for 26 weeks of fully paid leave for direct or indirect compassionate care to (and I quote) “any person.” That would be 130 more days with the same job being paid twice.

A teacher who chose to take the 26 weeks (130 days) of “fully paid leave per year for direct or indirect compassionate care to any person,” plus all the other leaves could theoretically be on leave for more days than there are in the 190-day school year.

http://www.bctf.ca/publications/NewsmagArticle.aspx?id=24151

15% over three years so 5% a year isn’t unreasonable when trying to catch up to other provinces.

What Steelworkers got from Canfor in 2009 when the Forest Industry was (and still is)in the toilet.

“The agreement provides union members with an unprecedented expansion of seniority retention and improved severance in
the event of a partial or permanent plant closure.”

“The Canfor-USW agreement provides wage increases of 2 percent in years 3 and 4, protects the members’ Long Term
Disability Plan and includes strong health and safety language. Improved life insurance and medical travel coverage are also, part of the settlement as well as assistance for apprentices.”

Sure it’s only 4% but it isn’t 0 0 0. And they didn’t lose anything.

How about the PPWC Local 9?
Settled in 2008 for

“The agreement gives the workers increases of 2%, 2.5%, 2.5% and 3% over the four year term. It also provides what Robertson says are “substantial gains in health and welfare benefits and in the retiree benefit levels.”

Hmmm 10% here and other gains.

City Council in PG, 30% raise.

“Who amongst us has had a 15 % raise, who has overseers of your job performance actually in your place of work, who amongst us is told how the job is to be done and the guideline to which it will be done.”

So would you be okay with a 2 2 and 2? Other folks are getting raises in this tough economic time. Heck even the minimum wage went up.

Everyone has overseers of their job performance twospeed99 and they are told how the job is to be done, they are called your boss.

Go read the demands twospeed99, no where does it say death of a friend.

Seems to me that legislating a 6 Month cooling off period puts the teacher problem into the Months of July/August.

My prediction is an early election, probably sometime in July. Teachers will be off work and on vacation, along with others, low turnout at the polls. This will be the best chance Christy and her Liberals will get to win an election.

I doubt if the Liberal Government gets any support at the polls from Teachers, so it matters little to them if the teachers are pee’d off.

Going on strike and having kids at home, for people who have to work, plays into the Liberals hands.

Have a nice day.

I.M.O, While the teachers strike I urge all parents of school kids to send them to free daycare at 2100 Ferry ave. Or send them to the mall.

BC teachers signed a generous collective agreement in 2006, which gave them an annual average wage increase of 2.5% over five years, add in benefits and total compensation increase by 16% over the life of the agreement. In addition, each teacher received a $4,000 signing bonus.
While average BC families struggled during the re- cession, BC teachers prospered. And after all this, the BC Teachers Federation (BCTF) wants even more as it renegotiates its contract, the BCTF is currently asking for:
26 weeks (half year) paid leave to care for someone (being a family member is not a requirement);
a year’s pay as a “bonus” for retiring veteran teachers;
two weeks paid leave upon the death of any friend; five paid days per year for professional activities;
two sick days a month that can be saved up; and a substantial pay increase (not yet specified) that
Bigstock
would make BC teacher “the best paid teachers in the country.”

So 16% + 15% = 31 % over the last two contracts wow. Plus all the extra perks …. double wow.

as for Noway, did you read the Citizen this morning, apparently Teacher Kim Rutherford doesn’t want anyone in his workplace being his boss, and I’ll bet he don’t like the FAS testing either.

Those not in a union sure get jealous.

I have had numerous conversations with teachers.Their number one concern is CLASS COMPOSITION, but it is not politically correct to voice this opinion so this challenge remains. I believe that classrooms do not need more teaching assistants,but classes where the students have similar abilities.

just reading their demands and educating myself, the truth is what it is, I’m not making it up, google it ?

I’ve read the demands and it specifically states what I posted, word for word cut and paste.

People sure get upset when you post the facts, most of us don’t even know what the true demands are, well there they are.

Had to steal this one:

How is that a 15% wage increase is for our children?

How is it that 10 days off (with pay) for the death of any friend or relative plus 2 days of travel time is for our children?

How is it that 26 weeks of fully paid compassionate leave to care for any person is for our children?

How is it that an additional 8 days off per year (not including Christmas Break, Spring Break & summer) is for our children?

How is it that topping up your pay for parental/maternity leave to 5 years per child is for our children?

How is it that an additional 5 days off to care for your child (not including Christmas Break, Spring Break & summer) is for our children?

How is it that unlimited leave for union business is for our children?

How is it that teachers on call wanting to be paid $2200/month whether they work or not is for our children?

How is it that a retirement bonus of 5% per year to any teacher with 10 or more years of service at age 55 is for our children?

People sure get upset when you post the facts, most of us don’t even know what the true demands are, well there they are.

If every employee in our great country could get paid sick leave, and paid leave to care for someone they love who needs caring for, they would go for it. Just because the agreement states the right thing to do, the proper thing, the humane and dignified and compassionate thing to do, doesn’t mean it’s bad. Nor does it mean it’s bad just because other employers do not treat their employees with such care, compassion, and humanity. Non-unionized employees don’t get as much as unionized employees do, because they are willing to settle for less, to be slaves, for their income. That doesn’t mean the teachers — or any unionized sector or employees — need to accept the minimum standard. As things are, I’m part of a non-unionized workplace, and I would love the things the teachers ask for. It just shows so much more compassion for the lives of people who work. Life doesn’t stop just because you have a job to do, bad things happen and you need to be able to continue to help others and yourself without suffering financial difficulty. You try working when your best friend just died, let alone a family member, or your neighbour’s family just died and they need someone to help but nobody else is around… see how you feel about that and then tell me people (not just teachers) shouldn’t be able to have time off to do just that without worrying about income? As far as I’m concerned, the teacher’s have it right. Many unions have it right. It’s the rest of us poor peons who slave away and accept a lack of any compassion for the reality of our lives. We are people who have no choice but to be employees. Why should employers be allowed to treat you like a slave? Tell me that.

yeah we should all be able to feed off the taxpayer.

Basically I’m saying: Why should they suffer just because you are willing to/have no choice?

They teach my children, twospeed, and it’s a hard job they do… thank god it is a public service, as I don’t have the $$ to pay for private school… give them what they demand, and for heaven’s sake: give some of that to me, too!

Keep in mind that I’m envious of the french (France) because their public care system is eons above ours. Example: if you’ve just had a child, they assign a personal care nurse to come and help you out around the house so you can get rest… yep. Gimme some of that! That’s the way to treat people… all people. :)

ps, twospeed:

I’m not saying feed off the taxpayer. I’m saying pay your taxes and expect the best in return! The best teachers, the best healthcare… utopian, maybe, but what the hell are taxes for then? We aren’t going to get the best education or healthcare if we don’t provide the best to those working in those capacities. Not only should gov’t treat public employees like gold, the rest of us in Canada should get the same benefits! The teachers have it right, and they aspire to a standard we all deserve as human beings.

So with the teachers about to go on strike, I decided to read the collective agreement just to see how bad they have it. Now I know teachers are a very important part of society, so I am not cutting down the importance of them. This is more for the ones that don’t appreciate just what they have. So after reading their entire last agreement {stamped final Nov. 27 2009} these are the highlights I found.
Pay increases, july 1/06= 2.5% increase, 2007 = 2.5% , 2008= 2.5% , 2009= 2.5%, 2010= 2.0%
Elementary teachers hours of instruction, max 1425 mins/week or 23.75 minus 90 minutes for prep.
Secondary teachers, 1545 max mins/week or 25.75 hours minus 3.2 hours prep.
Regular work year goes from the first Tuesday after Labour day, to the last Friday of June. That’s well over 2 months off right there.
Plus a one week winter break, plus a one week spring break, and all the regular holidays that the majority of people actually get.
So teachers essential work 9 months a year on average with shorter days and weekends off. Not bad
The lowest paid full time teacher gets around $42000 with the highest around $82000 not including allowances for things like first aid attendants and other positions.
Now again, my kids have had some great teachers and I am thankful for that, but too say they had it so bad is ridiculous.
The tax pool isn’t an endless pit of money that is there to enrich the lives of public service union employees that I’m going to guess 15 -20% or less of the work force. Yeah we could have more teachers, nurses, firefighters etc…. We could fix all the pot holes in the streets too, but where does all that money come from? Something’s gotta give. Be careful what you wish for.

I would like the BCTF to show in one document to the public an actual list of their demands. They don’t, they just harp on class size and special needs and the public is supposed to make an informed decision on that ? Slight of hand on their part, I can google.

OMG Northern Niki, are u for real. Most of us live in the reality of the real world. Who the hell is going to pay for your dream world? I’m in awe of your ignorance.

I know what I’m asking for, and it is very leftist of me, I think. I’m just saying, I know where I stand, and have stood here a long time. I’m a commy, more or less! lol

They have a right to strike. If we take away that right, then we take away our own right to do the same. We are saying: bend over, take it like a slave. Ya. Call me a marxist, it’s okay!

All we hear about lately on the news papers etc is about the teachers demands, strike notice etc. After having worked for 43 years I have been retired now for 3 years. No company pension, no more medical, dental, extended health paid for. I now have to pay my own. But I celebrated in January, all of us retirees received a raise in our CPP and OAS payments. CPP increase $25.54 and OAS $2.15 a total of $27.69. This is my increase. Increases would vary depending on their current payment structure.

Once I read the demands, I found them to be staggering and some to the point of rediculous. What happened to resonable requests? You know the ones that the taxpayer may be able to afford.

twospeed99 go to the BCTF website link in a previous post.

As long as they are getting a good cost of living increase to account for inflation, their classes sizes aren’t going to be a free for all, and, if they do have oversized classes, they are given mental health days to deal with the increase in stress and demands for their time, then I’m okay with it.

You want them to work more? Increase their class sizes? Then you have to give them the time to recuperate throughout the year from the added stress. If you don’t give them that time, they will have an increased use of short and long term disability plans, as well as an increase to their use of healthcare in BC, and a large expense to the employer for lost time and wages because of illness. Think about it. I’m not as stupid as some here would believe. “OMG Northern Niki, are u for real?” Yes.

For example: my employer layed off staff, cut back on administrative help, and put the rest of the work on we, the employees. This meant that I was doing about 1/3 more work every day, yet I saw no increase in pay for that increase in work. The extra work meant I was working overtime, and yet the employer says that I don’t get paid for the first 15 minutes of overtime I put in. Also, the employer did not want overtime to be done, so if you were overwhelmed with the amount of work they put on you (after laying off others ) too bad, you got a bad performance review because of it. You want to talk about unfair? Stressful? I would strike if I could.

Yep, I have always said those who can, do, those who can’t, teach.

So, we have kids that graduate, who can barely print no better than a 10 year old. Has poor math skills, and show up believing the world owes them living. What justify these teachers a demand on increased wages.

So why is it that the private schools are becoming so popular. Well, I do notice that kids from private schools have more to offer to employers. They do not show up with a world owes me a living attitude. They get positive reinforcement from the teachers that they have to earn their right to be employed.

Frankly, if we could save our tax dollars and send our kids to private school. I think its a better way to go.

There was a time public servants always got paid about 10% less than the working stiff in the private industry. Now the scale has tipped to the public servants getting 20-30% more than the average working stiff. I bet these public snivel servants are the same group of people that wants to stop the oil line.

Ya Northern nike, lets emulate France, or better yet, Greece. Bring on the strike teachers. Lets have some old fashioned class warfare.

All the non union taxpayers are all jeolous because they didn’t unionize and extort their employer. What a complete crock. You pro union idiots had better pay attention to Europe. There system is collapsing as we speak as greedy unproductive unions ran over common sense and the concept that somebody has to pay for their excessive contracts.

ya bring it on. Lets decide where the people of this province stand. With Greece or Canada.

Each to their own, dow7500. I happen to see things differently. No reason you can’t have both sides (unions and employers) in a civilized society. Just make it fair. Taking away a workers right to strike for longer than 1 day/week after the first 3 days is dictatorial and unfair no matter where you come from. I’m for workers, unionized and not.

I’m for taxpayers. I want value for my taxes. By the way, the inmates don’t run the asylum. I vote for governments to run the province, not the BCTF.

exactly dow7500, incredible how ignorant some people are. The whole world collapses around us, Canada comes out in probably one of the top three positions of stability and people still aren’t happy. It’s people like Niki that was one of the main reasons we decided to sell our business. we tried our best to pay as much as we could, but everyone wants the world but they don’t actually want the work to be hard. It should be easy so the Niki’s of the world can tend to all their little needs. I’ve worked a union job for almost 25 years now and during the last 18 years we also ran 2 full time business’s. I have lived life on both sides for along time, and now we sold our business and work union because its easier then owning a business. I am not against unions at all, but all unions need to be realistic and coming forward with non starting point demands isn’t what is best for our children or our tax dollars.

exactly dow7500, incredible how ignorant some people are. The whole world collapses around us, Canada comes out in probably one of the top three positions of stability and people still aren’t happy. It’s people like Niki that was one of the main reasons we decided to sell our business. we tried our best to pay as much as we could, but everyone wants the world but they don’t actually want the work to be hard. It should be easy so the Niki’s of the world can tend to all their little needs. I’ve worked a union job for almost 25 years now and during the last 18 years we also ran 2 full time business’s. I have lived life on both sides for along time, and now we sold our business and work union because its easier then owning a business. I am not against unions at all, but all unions need to be realistic and coming forward with non starting point demands isn’t what is best for our children or our tax dollars.

2speed,

I agree I would love to see what they actually want. I found where you cut and pasted from (the taxpayer.ca website) and it is from September, they have decreased the request already as of January but all I can find is “modest increase in benefits”. I would like to know what that is. I don’t have a problem with the 15% raise over 3 years (which is really a 6% raise, with inflation adjustment).

Northern Niki, I worked in a unionized environment for 21 years. My new(er) non-
union job is light years ahead of where I came from. The pay is much better, the perks & benefits are better & my chances at advancement & education are solely up to me, not where I sit on a seniority list.
Be careful what you wish for, you just may get it.

Nikki,

I support the teachers in this, I disagree with a couple of things. I will be shocked if they get their 2 weeks off if jim bob dies, it is probably in there so they can negotiate (meaning they know damn well they will never get everything they want so they start high and settle for what they actually want, same thing happens in every negotiation). Having said that, in the general sense, why would anyone in their right mind open a business in the world you would like to see? Could you imagine the overhead? Do you understand the risk of being a business owner? You want more that what you get, open your own busniess and try not to go broke.

Back on topic as for the teachers, control class sizes, give them some support for special needs and their 15% raise. Leave teh rest the way it is, if you have good pay you can afford to look after yourself.

Just looking at the BCTF website – this is “number one” on their list:

Salaries commensurate with other teachers in Canada, particularly Alberta 

BC teachers’ salaries are now the lowest in Western Canada and Ontario, despite the fact that BC has the highest cost of living and housing prices in the country. An experienced Vancouver teacher now makes $20,000 less than a teacher with the same qualifications and experience in Lethbridge.

So are they asking for 15% or not? $20,000 sounds like more than 15% to me but maybe I am reading too much into it?

You’re worried about tax dollars, the teachers aren’t the problem. Where the tax dollars are spent is the problem.

All they are asking for is less than the Canadian average.

BC teachers are world renowned except in BC.

If I owned a business, my employees wouldn’t need a union, because I’d treat them like gold. They are, after all, helping me to live, just as I am helping them. I’d share equally. I like the employee owned idea, actually.

Said it before, and I’ll say it again: I’m a lefty. Deal with it. :)

Oh, and I want to say that I did part own a family business. We all worked in it, we all shared the profits equally after expenses, and it ran well. It wasn’t until my dad decided to take on a partner for a larger share of the company than each family member had that we went belly up. The new ‘partner’ took over the business, canned us all, and ran off with the money. Ya. Some people have no soul.

fatfletch,

If it weren’t for “the Niki’s of the world”, you wouldn’t have access to free healthcare and a free flight to Vancouver should you ever have a heart attack, so you should try to be even a little thankful that there are more than just conservatives running around free and flailing their values about.

northern niki: sounds like you’re more of a dreamer than a lefty, so why didn’t your family reopen the business?

detoe43: I’m willing to bet you enjoy all those ‘perks’ you have because we still have the right to unionize and strike here in Canada….

Take that away and we’ll all see just how quickly your ‘perks’ disappear.

twospeed were you abused by a teacher in your younger years or were you not listining in class when barganing was the subject??????got to go big or go home personally i think my childs education is worth it although maybe you were in private school teachers there average 30% less get what you pay for

northern niki.
I’m enjoying reading your posts. Don’t agree with you though. Whatever. Wondering how you believe healthcare is free.

bargain in good faith !!!! They showed they wouldn’t and the govt walked, yeah worked good didn’t it.
As fpr private schools, geez wonder why they top the FAS testing every year in this town. How is teachers getting a 15 % raise gonna give your kid a better education, or maybe your a teacher and with the raise you’ll be able to afford to put them in a private school, cause thats the only way that’ll work.

is posting facts wrong, are people not supposed to know their demands.

easy solution:
class size too big
young teachers cant get jobs
no more money for education

cut pay across the board
hire the teachers who will take
these new “low pay” jobs
reduce class size at no extra cost

net benefit
lower unemployment
better education
more productive society

what works in Scandinavia will work here too

Like I’ve said before, here are the demands twospeed99. For some reason you choose not to go look there.

http://www.bctf.ca/publications/NewsmagArticle.aspx?id=24151

Dismayed to hear that some teachers are reportedly using class time to further their own agenda. Aren’t they supoosed to be teaching based on the curriculum?
I doubt if the curriculum includes discussing the reasons why bctf teachers are deserving of more than status quo.
The bctf is hypocritical in using emotion ( “it’s for the kids” ) in their selfish efforts to be compensated for what they think they are worth.
Like the suggestions put forth by cupricity. they make sense. Cut the bctf down a peg.
metalman.