After three days of voting, the membership of the BC Teachers’ Federation has voted to ratify the Memorandum of Agreement reached between the BCTF and the BC Public School Employers’ Association.

The vote was 94% in favour with 35,559 ballots returned.
Votes for: 33,246
Votes against: 2,299
The total number of eligible voters was approximately 49,684.

Below is a message from President, Clint Johnston.

---

Dear colleagues,
 
Thank you for engaging in the bargaining process and taking part in this vote. Our union is strong because of our democratic process and member-led decision making.
 
With ratification now successful, there is a lot to look forward to that will help members in important areas, such as salary improvements, better extended health benefits, and increases to professional development funding and preparation time.
 
Together, we achieved some historic gains that will help members who are struggling with the affordability crisis and will make us more competitive with other provinces to help recruit and retain more teachers.

There is a significant shortage of teachers in BC and that is negatively impacting our workload and the support we are able to provide for students. Too often, specialist teachers like counsellors are being pulled from their important work to cover classrooms, while other teachers are not getting the preparation time they are entitled to. This new deal will help BC be more competitive in terms of salary, but we need the government and school districts to do more, as the employer, to ensure our schools are properly staffed and students get the support they need.
 
The BCTF will be working hard in the months ahead to not only get the government to report out publicly on the impacts of the shortage, but to also take meaningful action.
 
Thank you for your hard work and commitment to your students. You make a lasting, positive difference in the lives of BC’s children and youth every single day.
 
In solidarity,

Clint Johnston
President