On Wednesday, October 1, the BC Teachers’ Federation was proud to stand with the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU), the Professional Employees Association (PEA), and thousands of other workers and trade unionists from the public and private sectors at the Fund the Frontlines rally in Vancouver.
Workers delivering public services in British Columbia are being asked to do more and more with less and less.
Teachers know it better than most. Whether they’re being asked to teach an overcrowded classroom, to teach students with varied and complex needs, or to spend their own money on classroom supplies, they’ve had to make things work in their classrooms despite increasing pressure and fewer resources.
But teachers aren’t alone. Public workers across BC are being asked to accept less in an economy that is stretching families’ budgets to their limit.
BC’s public workers deserve a better deal. To get it, workers have to stand together—across disciplines, and across sectors.
President Carole Gordon said it best:
“Teachers across this province are hard workers. They come with passion, caring, and a deep sense of purpose to their schools and their classrooms every day. And we know that members of the GEU and PEA do the very same.
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We stand with you, beside you, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, so that all workers in British Columbia can be treated fairly.”
Whether you’re a conservation worker protecting our natural environment, whether you’re a park assistant caring for our public lands, whether you work in a public liquor store to help us celebrate and come together, or whether you’re a teacher coming to your classroom every day with passion and purpose, supporting kids across the province with their learning, it’s clear:
It’s time for a good deal. For all of us.
This government made important promises to teachers and to everyone in the public sector. We’re counting on them to deliver.