check yer six: Teachers flip the bird to B.C. Liberals
david fleming-saraceno
You may have noticed a lot of people of late walking around, usually on sidewalks, wearing funny little signs. At first it was locked out Telus workers, followed by workers at the CBC. Now you can see them in every neighbourhood in every community - they are the teachers of this province, on the picket line, and up against a wall.
I know that sounds dramatic but when you think about it, it's true. You have a group of people who have had a law passed specifically singling them out of the population to demand obedience. Many people are saying that they can't win and should give up and take what they can get. Even some teachers are saying this.
To make things even harder on teachers, the Supreme Court of B.C. has denied them even that pittance they would have received in strike pay. Why? Because their strike is illegal. Let's be very clear about what this means. The only leverage working people have - and have ever had - to improve their working conditions, on any level, is the removal of their labour. This is the simple reality of industrial capitalism. Having a fundamental right stripped away and then being punished for complaining about it has got to sting. In addition to being forced to break the law in order to assert their right to the bargaining process, teachers are trying to accomplish something more daunting - the reversal of a provincial government policy goal.
For over four years now the B.C. Liberal government has systematically dismantled and reorganised the public education system, from primary education to the hallowed halls of this institution. The objective has been to spend as little money as possible on public education, with little or no care for the quality of the service that is delivered. This already involved one forced contract on the members of the BCTF, as well as massive funding shortages at every school board, college, and university in the in province (e.g. you are paying more than double the tuition fees a student paid in 2001 and you still can't get into the courses you require to graduate). B.C.'s teachers are finally saying enough is enough. We've all heard the horror stories of schools in the U.S. where there aren't nearly enough textbooks in schools. This is becoming a reality in B.C. and teachers are sounding the alarm. Personally, I am thankful that some one finally is.
The basic education system in this province is being dismantled; it is only natural that the degradation of advanced educational institutions should follow. If you think that SFU is isolated from the teachers strike, think again. I heard this week that the Poly-Party, a union representing skilled trades workers on campus, has been told the university doesn't want to negotiate a new agreement until after the teachers' strike is resolved.
Similarly, you may have read the article in last week's Peak that said the Teaching Support Staff Union (TSSU) is currently in negotiations with the University. This is a union of every TA, TM, and sessional instructor at SFU and most of them are grad students. The TSSU, like the BCTF, is also concerned about class sizes and the workload its members must endure if they try to maintain a consistent and high-quality education for their students. The TSSU has been at the table with the university for over a year and a half and they haven't got to talking much about money yet. But the university has been clear on one thing - there won't be any money for these employees, despite the fact that TSSU members have actually had their wages cut as a result of tuition fee increases. Here's something you may not realise. The quality of teaching you receive as an undergraduate is directly related to the quality of TA in your classroom. Salaries are without a doubt a major factor in recruiting high quality graduate students and thus TA/TMs and sessionals to this university.
The teachers of this province are going to be like a weather vane in the coming weeks. What happens to them will be replicated across the province. An injury to them is certainly an injury to all working people and students across the province. And when you see people wearing the funny little signs in front of SFU, as you may in the weeks or months ahead, I hope you understand what they are doing is in your best interests as well, and join them out there on the line and against the wall.