A group "fed up" with the British Columbia Teachers Federation have called on the labour union to take accountability and ensure everyday educators are better represented in discussions.
The move comes as top brass convene in a Vancouver hotel for the BCTF's annual general meeting.
"BC teachers pay some of the highest union dues in the country," Julie, a Fraser Valley-based educator, told the Western Standard. "The average teacher is paying around $2,000 per year in union dues to the BCTF while facing by far the highest cost of living."
She suggested the BCTF was "barely doing anything to get us a better contract," and accused the union of refusing to hire professional negotiators to assist the teachers in the ongoing bargaining process.
"Teachers are angry," Julie continued. "We earn an average salary of $75,000-$80,000 and can't keep up with our bills, especially with our egregiously high union dues every month."
She lamented that some of the teachers she knows were "skipping meals and missing mortgage payments" while executives go on trips around the world.
"Enough is enough," Julie declared. "We want more accountability and representation at the BCTF and won't stop until we get it."
She noted that a number of teachers had gotten together to form the Recess Rescue Me political action group, but that they "have to be careful because the BCTF is extremely vengeful and will go after our licences in a heartbeat."
The BCTF's annual general meeting kicked off on Saturday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, and is set to end on Tuesday. Julie and other teachers put up fliers in the area alerting the public of their struggle.
Julie argued that the BCTF "specially designs their AGMs to prevent everyday working teachers from attending or getting elected to important BCTF positions," and suggested the executive "will vote against reasonable motions that will bring more accountability like one member one vote."
Comment has been requested from the BCTF.
