solidarity forever

There is no doubt in my mind that we all owe a great debt to organized labour.

• Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
• The elimination of forced and compulsory labour
• The abolition of child labour
• The elimination of discrimination in the workplace.
  

These are things which in North America we take for granted. Many people seem to think that these were inevitable social developments, and we all benefit from these concepts, whether we are unionized workers or not. I do not think that these were at all inevitable, and indeed, in many countries, these remain ideals to which workers are aspiring. Unions are an important part of the social justice fabric, but the BC government has been waging a war against them.

Its latest volley is against teachers.

BC teachers have been without a contract for over a year. The previous contract was imposed by legislation.

And now, the government is passing legislation to once again impose a contract and prohibit job action.

Every capitalist will argue that his employees are essential. They are; they are essential for the continuation of his venture. That doesn't mean they really are essential.

Police? Yes. Fire department? Yes. Health care workers? Yes.
I worked for the federal government during a strike and I was designated essential. (yes, I was terribly important. Security of the country, you know......)

But teachers? No. I don't think so. They are not essential.
Education is essential. Teachers are not.*

They are walking out tomorrow, facing fines and, theoretically, imprisonment for an illegal strike.

I'll be supporting them.

Because quite clearly the government has not been negotiating in good faith.

And it's the principle of the thing - the essential right to withdraw your labour when you find work conditions are unbearable. Otherwise, you're simply a slave.

BCTF News Release

*And yes, I made fun of the BCTF submission to the Labour Board that strikes don't affect students. They were placed in a stupid position having to argue this. Education is a life-long endeavour. Firefighters, physicians, police officers need to respond in minutes because lives are at stake. But teachers can be off for weeks and months, and the effects will not be fatal. And if parents are so concerned about it, they have 2 options: take charge of their children's educations themselves for the duration of the strike, OR, call their MLA and insist that the government return to the bargaining table with some decent proposals.