strikes

Not Again: The “10 Year Collective Agreement” for BC Teachers Should Just Go Away

Back in October of 2012, British Columbia’s premier, Christy Clark, proposed the idea of a 10-year-long collective agreement for teachers in BC’s public school system. The proposal came after a long and bitter round of bargaining, which saw, among other things, a brief teachers’ strike that was shut down by back-to-work legislation, a BC Labour Relations Board ruling upholding the teachers’ decision to refuse volunteer assignments, and, eventually, a mediated settlement that produced a one-year collective agreement expiring in June 2013.

The idea of a 10-year-long collective agreement for the province’s teachers got a mixed reaction. (more…)

Scabby the Rat Gets Some Well-Deserved Attention

Although strikes and other labour-related actions often get negative coverage in the media, occasionally there are light-hearted parts to these events. And one of these is Scabby the Rat, the giant inflatable rat that shows up in front of American workplaces where union members are on strike or locked out.

This week, the VICE website posted a wonderfully entertaining and informative article about Scabby, prompted by a suggestion by one US union leader that Scabby no longer reflected unionism’s new “value proposition”. (more…)

Update: Volunteer Work is Voluntary

I’m catching up on things after returning from ASAC 2012, but while I was away, the BC Labour Relations Board delivered its ruling in the case I wrote about here and here. involving BC teachers’ withdrawal of their volunteer work. The LRB ruling determined that volunteer work is exactly that, but that some kinds of work, mostly involving curriculum-related matters, is not voluntary, and that withdrawal of those services constitutes strike action. If the LRB issues a more detailed decision including its reasons, I’ll follow up on that, but I will say at this point that this seems like a thoughtful and reasonable decision.

284 Days and Counting: How Public Pressure Influences Labour Disputes

The British Columbia teachers’ bargaining dispute with the government is the most high-profile labour dispute in the province right now. And one question that keeps coming up in discussions of the situation is: can public pressure make a difference in how this dispute gets settled? (more…)