The British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) is the labour union that represents all public school teachers in the province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It was established as an organization in 1917.

Governance structure

As of 2018, the BCTF is made up of 45,000 teachers from across the province of British Columbia. Members Members of the BCTF determine the decisions and directions of the BCTF in two ways: *Members, through locals, elect delegates to the BCTF Annual General Meeting (AGM). The AGM makes key decisions for the organization and elects the Executive Committee. *Members, through locals, elect local representatives, who make up the Representative Assembly (RA). The RA has key decision-making responsibilities. Locals Locals are responsible for acting on behalf of members regarding local matters. Members in locals elect their local president and executive, who guide the affairs of the local. Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting is a meeting of delegates and local representatives elected by members through locals and the eleven members of the Executive Committee. There are approximately 670 voting delegates at an Annual General Meeting. The delegates to the AGM elect the Executive Committee, determine the fee, approve any changes to bylaws, establish priorities for the next year, and make the significant policy decisions of the federation. Constitution and bylaws The constitution and bylaws establish the rules by which the organization is run. The bylaws establish the division of responsibilities among the major decision-making bodies and spell out what each level of decision making is authorized to do. The BCTF's bylaws must be followed by all bodies of the organization, including the AGM. Only the AGM can amend the bylaws, and only with 75 per cent of delegates voting in favour. Representative Assembly The Representative Assembly meets three times a year and has the responsibilities of approving a budget and electing the Judicial Council and Committee of Ombudspersons. The RA also makes policy and procedural decisions for the federation. Executive Committee The Executive Committee (EC) of the BCTF is elected by the AGM and consists of eleven members. Three of these serve in a full-time capacity: the President, the First Vice-President, and the Second Vice-President. The EC has overall responsibility for the running of the federation. It meets monthly, with additional meetings as necessary. The EC is the employer of BCTF staff and determines what work will be done in any given year. It also has responsibility for the creation and appointment of any advisory committees or task forces. President The President of the federation has responsibility for overall supervision of the affairs of the organization between meetings of the Executive Committee.

2005 contract dispute

Since 1992, contract negotiations for BC public school teachers have been on a province-wide basis, negotiating a single contract with the British Columbia Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA). Since that time, each contract has been legislated into law by the government of the day because the teachers and the employers have failed to reach an agreement. Negotiations began between the teachers and the BCPSEA after the contract expired in June 2004. Relations between the BCTF and the BC Liberal government were acrimonious, with the government's policy of wage freezes and the BCTF's negative advertising campaign during the May 2001 election. After winning, the BC Liberals made good on an

election promise An election promise or campaign promise is a promise or guarantee made to the public by a candidate or political party that is trying to win an election. Across the Western world, political parties are highly likely to fulfill their election p ...

to make public education an essential service, limiting the level of job action that the BCTF could take during a

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

dispute, which would also limit the labour rights of the BCTF. Without a contract at the beginning of the new school year, negotiations soured and an agreement was unlikely. To pressure the BCPSEA and the government to capitulate on wage and classroom size demands, on September 27, over 88 per cent of 31,740 teachers voted to begin job action by withdrawing supervisory and administrative duties. Without successful contract negotiation, more severe action would begin on October 11. With negotiations derailed and a strike imminent, the government introduced legislation on October 5 to extend the previous contract through the end of the school year—June 2006—at which time the across-the-board wage freeze would be revisited. After a

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...

by the

official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

BC NDP, Bill 12 passed on October 7. Furthermore, the BCPSEA successfully applied to the

British Columbia Labour Relations Board British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

(BCLRB) to deem any strike action illegal. The BCTF held an emergency vote to carry out the strike despite the BCLRB ruling, with 90.5 per cent of the participating members voting in favour of proceeding with protest action. The BCTF began a strike on October 7, 2005. It maintained that breaking the law for a just cause (having its collective bargaining rights limited and a contract imposed) was acceptable. Critics of the BCTF claimed that the job action set a bad example for the children they teach. The job action was illegal because teaching in British Columbia was considered an essential service and teachers were not allowed to strike. The BCTF, however, maintained that under the provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the non-binding decisions of the

United Nations International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

, education is not an essential service and it had the right to political protest. Following the strike action, the BCPSEA filed a complaint in the

BC Supreme Court BC most often refers to: * Before Christ, a calendar era based on the traditionally reckoned year of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth * British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada * Baja California, a state of Mexico BC may also refer to: ...

on October 6 to find the BCTF in

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

, and on October 9 Justice Brenda Brown declared the BCTF in contempt, ordering teachers to return to work October 11. On October 12, a small number of defiant teachers began crossing

picket lines Picketing is a form of protest in which people (called pickets or picketers) congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in (" crossing the pick ...

and returned to work. As a result of the continuing defiance of her court order, Justice Brenda Brown on October 13 ordered the BCTF to cease paying strike pay to its members or use its funds to prolong the strike. Regardless, the BCTF remained on the picket line. On October 17, the BC Federation of Labour spearheaded a major labour shutdown of the province's capital, Victoria. Termed a "Day of Protest" rather than a general strike, the city saw the vast majority of its public services crippled by labour action. The event culminated in a massive protest at the Legislature, where it was estimated that up to 20,000 people rallied. On the same day, Premier Gordon Campbell made his first public comments during the strike. He called on the BCTF to obey the law and said that the union has "made a complete mockery of the British Columbia Supreme Court." He reiterated his government's position that it would not negotiate with the BCTF while the BCTF was breaking the law. The mediator Vince Ready was brought in and presented proposals to end the strike. Both the government and the BCTF accepted his recommendations, and on October 24, the teachers went back to work.

2006 contract negotiations

On June 9, 2006, the union announced that if a contract was not reached before the start of the school year, it was prepared to commence labour disruption ( strike) activities, including a possible full withdrawal of service. Of the 30,202 members who voted, 85.2 per cent were in favour of a strike. Talks between the union and the government proceeded without much progress. The main sticking point was compensation, with the government offering a 10 per cent increase (up from 8 per cent) over four years and the union asking for a 19 per cent increase (down from 24 per cent) over three years. Late in the day on June 30, 2006, the two sides reached a tentative agreement for a 16 per cent increase in wages and benefits over a five-year contract. Because the agreement was reached before the month-end deadline, teachers were eligible for a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of approximately $4,000.Victoria Times Colonist July 1, 2006.

2011 contract negotiations

The next round of negotiations began in 2011, when the previous contract expired. The provincial government demanded the same net zero outcome accepted by all other public sector unions. Additionally, the government sought more control over professional development, reduced seniority provisions, and increased teacher evaluation and accountability. The BCTF demanded a 15 per cent wage increase over three years (costed at $560 million by the BCTF and $2 billion by the provincial government), increased paid prep time, improved benefits, additional leave, and an additional six discretionary leave days per year to care for a sick friend or relative (a request that was later dropped). At the time, teachers in BC made, on average, between $48,000 and $74,000 a year. This income increases to $83,000 for teachers with higher-level qualifications.

Affiliation history

* British Columbia Federation of Labour (2003–present) *

Canadian Labour Congress The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC (french: Congrès du travail du Canada, link=no or ) is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated. History Formation The CLC was ...

(2006–present) *

Canadian Teachers' Federation The Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF/FCE) is a bilingual not-for-profit organization and a national alliance of provincial and territorial teacher organizations representing more than 277,000 members throughout Canada. The CTF/FCE is affiliated ...

(1920–present) *

Canadian Trades and Labour Congress Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

(1943–1956)

References

External links

*
British Columbia Teachers' Federation – Canadian Labour Unions
– Web Archive created by the University of Toronto Libraries {{Authority control Canadian Labour Congress Canadian Teachers' Federation Education trade unions Educational organizations based in British Columbia Trade unions established in 1917 1917 establishments in British Columbia