By Robert Devet “Our bias is the market,” said Marco Navarro-Génie, president of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies (AIMS) as he introduced education pundit Paul Bennett. Bennett was there to give a talk on governance in Nova Scotia’s education system at the Central Library on Spring Garden Road this morning. It’s exactly that market Continue readingTeachers confront Paul Bennett, AIMS, on business agenda for education
education
By Andrea Heans I am angry! I am outraged! But mostly, I feel cheated for myself and for my students; because we are being robbed of a sound educational system. A system in which students can thrive, achieve, dream and believe in themselves with the guidance and support of teachers, principals, parents, educational assistants and Continue readingHow government let my students down
by Chris Grawey Mohawk College paralegal student Three demands On Monday, October 16, the 12,000 members of OPSEU’s College Academic Division – professors, instructors, librarians, and counsellors at Ontario’s 24 public colleges – hit the picket line after the College Employer Council rejected OPSEU’s final offer on October 15. OPSEU’s membership gave the bargaining committee Continue readingOntario College Strike 101
By Stephanie Ross I got an email from a former student last week. She was excited to tell me about finally landing a permanent job. After four years of university and three years of contracts, finally, a permanent job. I heartily congratulated her but I still felt uneasy, knowing that so many others I’d taught Continue readingThe rise of precarity
By Daniel Tseghay On October 17th, BC’s Education Minister, Mike Bernier, fired all nine elected Vancouver School Board (VSB) trustees. The province’s reasoning is that the elected school board failed to pass a balanced budget by the June 30th deadline, violating the School Act. Bernier has now replaced the board with an appointed trustee, a Continue readingEntire Vancouver School Board fired: The crisis of education funding continues
By Daniel Tseghay Since Aug. 2, members of locals 9 and 11 of the Education and Training Employees’ Association (ETEA) have been on strike over wages, unpaid work, and workplace surveillance. They made the decision to strike after negotiations broke down. Local 9 represents private instructors at Vancouver English Centre (VEC) in Vancouver and Local Continue readingPrivate schools hoard profits: Picket pay an upgrade for striking instructors
On this second episode, Rankandfile.ca’s West Coast Correspondent Daniel Tseghay interviews Farah Shroff, First Vice-President of the BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils and Lisa Descary, a teacher and activist in Richmond BC. Both guests discuss the ongoing effects of cuts to public education in British Columbia and what must be done to fight the Continue readingRankandfile.ca Podcast Episode #2 – Education cuts in BC
By Robert Devet, Rankandfile.ca writer & organizer In Nova Scotia labour circles David Ladouceur is widely known as an outspoken and effective union and indigenous rights activist. Ladouceur, an Ojibwe, moved from Ontario to Nova Scotia in 1990. After doing odd jobs for several years, he ended up doing ship maintenance work with some small Continue readingIt’s not working for us. An interview with David Ladouceur, indigenous rights activist
By Ben Sichel The Nova Scotia Teachers Union will elect a new president later this spring. Six candidates are attempting to replace Shelley Morse, who is completing her second two-year term in office. (NSTU rules state that no president can serve for more than four years.) What should members be looking for in a leader? Continue readingWho should be the next Nova Scotia Teachers Union president?
By Robert Green As if to remind teachers of the reason they would be walking the picket-line, many teachers throughout Quebec woke up on the first of several rotating strike days to the news that the government had found $1.3 billion dollars to once again bail-out Bombardier. For months the Quebec government had been telling Continue readingQuebec teachers expose government hypocrisy in public sector bargaining
by Tara Ehrcke Just one year ago, BC teachers returned to class from what was the longest teacher strike in Canadian history. Teachers, upset with over a decade of deteriorating funding and particularly with large and complex classrooms, were unwilling to accept a contract offer which simply maintained the status quo. In one of the Continue readingThe rise and fall (?) of the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation
By Jason Kunin, Seth Bernstein, and Amina Ally After nearly a year of negotiations, during which time we were without a collective agreement, the Provincial Executive of our union, Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF), has reached a tentative agreement with the Liberal government. As OSSTF members, we cannot vote in favour of this agreement Continue readingVote No: An Open Letter to OSSTF Members