Dear Editor:
An open letter to Education Minister Peter Fassbender:
I am afraid your letter to teachers has had the opposite effect you wished for.
If you want teachers to feel respected by this government, offer some respect. First, don't appeal the B.C. Supreme Court decision, and instead find a way to restore the stripped language on class size and composition. You didn't lose on every point of the B.C. Supreme Court decision, and several of the laws your government brought in are still valid. Consider this a lesson learned, and don't spend any more precious dollars on this fight that could be spent on improving education for children.
Secondly, perhaps the future emails you have promised to send should be vetted by someone in the ministry with more longevity. Because your take on the history of class composition and class size provisions is simply wrong.
Local teacher associations and the B.C. Teachers' Federation have a long history of reducing, deferring and even eliminating salary hike requests in lieu of class size and composition language. This language has always been important in my local (Burnaby), and these provisions were negotiated into many local agreements before provincial bargaining.
Finally, perhaps the outpouring of reaction to this
letter will get you to realize one important thing. The BCTF is a very democratic union. Decision-making happens at the level of the membership. Bargaining objectives and strategies are determined by the membership. It is much more member-driven than the government or any of the employer groups.
Don't waste your time and effort trying an end-run around the federation. It represents the overwhelming majority of teachers and does so well.
Donna Morgan, secondary science teacher, Burnaby
