Teachers’ union offered significant loan
Posted September 10, 2014 11:55 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Nine unions have banded together to offer $8 million in interest-free loans to BC’s striking teachers.
The financial support comes on the same day teachers are set to vote on their union’s proposal to use binding arbitration to resolve the labour dispute, though the government has twice rejected that option.
Jim Sinclair, the President of the British Columbia Federation of Labour, says it is their job to make sure the teachers are able to keep going.
“That $8 million is going to support teachers who are supporting children and supporting public education. We’re not going to let money be a problem for 41,000 teachers who are standing up for public education. Because let’s be clear, what’s on the table in this round of bargaining is a decent public education system.”
Sinclair goes on to say if binding arbitration is good enough for BC Ferries, it’s good enough for the teachers’ union.
“We’re proud to be able to do it and we’re proud to be able to walk the picket line and again we say, it’s not going to be money that’s going to end this dispute, no one will be starved out here. It’ll be Christy Clark who must end this dispute by going to arbitration and solving the problems,” he adds.
The contributing unions include the BC Government Employees’ Union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Unifor, the Hospital Employees’ Union, United Steelworkers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Canadian Office and Professional Employees’ Union, the Health Sciences’ Association and the Federation of Post Secondary Educators.
“So we’ll stand with the teachers regardless of how long it takes. We have a slogan with the steel workers, we’ve had a few disputes, one day longer. We’ll be here one day longer than Christy Clark. She’s predicated this dispute on hatred and I know as a negotiator, hatred disputes are bad,” says Steve Hunt with the United Steelworkers.
The BC Nurses’ Union is also donating $500,000
President Gayle Duteil says the union is giving teachers the money to help them in their fight for quality public education as the government tries to “bleed them dry.”
The province’s 40,000 teachers haven’t been paid since they went on strike in mid-June over issues such as wages, class size and support staff levels.
