In response to a horrible anti-union
editorial by the Globe and Mail, I wrote this letter to the editor. It wasn't published, but I'm not surprised.
re: "B.C. teachers who put students ahead of labour dispute are
heroes" (editorial, May 10, 2012)
If the BC Teachers Federation is to be criticized for sanctioning
those members who choose to break the union principle of solidarity
during a labour dispute, where is the Globe and Mail's opposition to
the devastating financial sanctions associated with the BC
government's Bill 22; a bill which violates the right to strike and
collective bargaining?
Furthermore, how can one laud those teachers who choose to ignore the
BCTF work-to-rule campaign because of the benefits to students,
without praising the BCTF's demands for smaller classroom sizes? It is
the BC government, not the BCTF, that is seeking to curtail the
ability of teachers to improve working conditions including those
intimately tied to learning conditions.