NORTH Shore public school teachers took to the streets for a second day Tuesday as part of a three-day province-wide walkout.
West Vancouver instructors gathered outside schools in the morning with "taking a stand" placards before staging a rally along Marine Drive in Ambleside in the early afternoon. About 100 members of the BCTF local gathered at that event to voice their displeasure at the province's plans, announced last week, to legislate an end to their six-month labour dispute.
Their North Vancouver counterparts manned similar "protest sites" outside schools, while a large contingent from that local also joined thousands of other teachers from across the province at a larger event outside government buildings in Victoria.
Tuesday's actions marked a substantial scaling up of efforts compared to the union's Monday rallies, which had been confined largely to areas near school grounds.
"It was unbelievable," said West Vancouver Teachers' Association president Robert Millard, referring to the Ambleside event. "With the honking of horns, the big power honks (from trucks), everybody left there thinking we should probably do this more often."
The walkout was launched in response to the province's Bill 22, a piece of legislation that will impose a six-month suspension on all job action and appoint a mediator to negotiate a deal between the BCTF and the employer within certain strict guidelines. Until this week, the teachers' strike had been limited to turning down nonclassroom duties, most notably the writing of report cards.
While they refused to enter classrooms, the teachers did not prevent other workers from accessing North Shore schools. The move was in accordance with a Labour Relations Board ruling last week that deemed job action legal, but which banned pickets.
"It's a fine line, but they're not obstructing anyone from entering or leaving the buildings," said Millard. "It's more like a demonstration."
This distinguished the events from picket lines set up in Victoria, which discouraged unionized government employees from going to work. The province asked the LRB to declare those illegal Tuesday.
Schools have been open this week, but staffed by only a small number of non-teaching employees. The North and West Vancouver school districts both strongly advised parents not to bring kids in, although they said administrators would supervise any students who did make an appearance. The situation was expected to continue through Wednesday.
The LRB said last week that teachers could stay off the job for three days consecutively and then for one school day in five after that, but that plan will end abruptly if and when Bill 22, tabled last Thursday, becomes law. It remains unclear how long that might take. The legislative assembly continued to debate it Tuesday.
Even if the bill passes, however, teachers could conceivably take further action. At a meeting Thursday night, West Vancouver association members discussed the possibility of suspending all unpaid participation in extracurricular programs, said Millard.
The move could disrupt activities ranging from drama clubs to athletic events.
"The topic came up, and we had a good discussion," he said, emphasizing it was an idea being contemplated by members, not the union or the local itself.
