B.C. teachers have voted 73 per cent in favour of protest action that includes full withdrawal from extracurricular activities, efforts to defeat the Liberal government in the election next year and the possibility of a full strike following another vote at an undetermined time.
The results, announced today by the B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF), will have ramifications for sporting events and championships, Grade 12 graduation ceremonies and end-of-year celebrations in public schools around the province. Teachers who disobey may be disciplined by their union.
Of the union's 41,000 members, 21,625 were in favour and 7,846 were against the plan crafted last month to resist Bill 22, a law passed last month to end a limited job action by teachers and impose a six-month cooling-off period in their contract dispute with the B.C. Public School Employers' Association.
Union president Susan Lambert said the results send a powerful message to government that it must rethink its controversial law, listen to teachers' concerns, respect their rights and spend more on public education. "Teachers are united in opposition to this terrible piece of legislation, the twentieth bill passed by the B.C. Liberals since 2001 targeting teachers' professional and labour rights. We simply have to take a strong stand."
Nevertheless, she said the vote was emotional for teachers, many of whom do not want to withdraw from the volunteer activities they love, such as coaching sports teams, sponsoring student clubs and helping with celebrations to mark the end of the school year.
"Teachers struggle with this because these activities bring so much joy to our engagement with students," she said in a statement. "We know this will mean the loss of some highly valued activities, and we sincerely regret that. But we have to look at the bigger picture and the longer term."
Asked how the BCTF can require its members to withdraw from activities that are voluntary, Lambert said earlier that the emphasis would be on "moral suasion", with teachers encouraging colleagues to respect the decision of the majority. But today, she indicated that any teacher who continues with extracurricular activities could face union discipline for breaching the BCTF code of ethics.
"The code of ethics says we act in each other's interests, we act as a collective. So there is recourse for individual teachers who feel that their colleagues are not acting in the collective's interest," she told CKNW radio. "That's not something we do as a federation generally. It's always a matter at the local level and that may play out. That is a possibility for individual teachers."
BC School Sports, meanwhile, promised to make every effort to ensure sporting events continue and year-end championships proceed as planned in May and June. But executive director Sue Keenan said there's no question some events will be affected.
"We're hoping that people will step up [as volunteers] and ensure that our student athletes get this experience, but it will be an individual call by each [sporting] commission," Keenan said, noting that 52 per cent of coaches are teachers.
Individual sports such as golf, mountain biking and tennis are more likely than team sports to be cancelled. But Keenan said she understands that some teachers will continue their volunteer work despite the vote and "student athletes are very appreciative of that, I know that for sure."
Ann Whiteaker, president of the B.C. Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils, said she expects Grade 12 graduation ceremonies will proceed but they may be scaled down from previous years. More at risk are end-of-year celebrations in other grades, including ceremonies for Grade 6 and 7 students to mark their transition to middle and secondary schools as well as various camping trips and field trips.
In many districts it will be difficult for parents to replace teachers as volunteers because insurance policies require that school events have a school sponsor, even when parents are doing all of the work, she said. "What this points out to us is that we need to look at our volunteer policies . . . to determine ways that we can ensure that these opportunities for students are still available."
In a related feud over Bill 22, the B.C. Labour Relations Board (LRB) is expected to rule today on whether teachers must write second-term report cards. The employer says their refusal to do so amounts to an illegal strike, but the union says report cards that were due during the September-March job action amount to "struck work" and should not be required now.
An LRB ruling is also expected soon on whether Charles Jago's appointment as mediator in the contract dispute should be rescinded due to the union's concern about bias.
While the BCTF protest plan includes the possibility of a province-wide strike, Lambert said a second vote on that issue won't happen soon. If teachers were to walk out during the six-month cooling-off period, they and their union would face hefty fines under Bill 22.
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