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IN-DEPTH An appeal for support from a Vancouver teacher Dear readers, You may have heard about our recent strike and the BC government's efforts to not only smash our union with frivolous laws, biased labour relations edicts and scab-herding, but to gut public services like education with clever accounting that diminishes support to the most vulnerable people in our province. To those of you who have come to our defence with visits, friendly dogs, e-mails, umbrellas, coffee, TimBits, napkins, thumbs-up, honks, loan guarantees, bathroom privileges, best wishes, advice, questions, stories and smiles -- I thank you. To those workers who are respecting our picket lines, and especially to CUPE, GEU and IODE members, please know that I will repay your solidarity. Some of you may have considered coming to our picket lines to express support for us, but have not yet made the effort. Allow me to encourage you. I am in no position, as one solitary teacher, to coordinate a general strike in defense of public education or any demand whatsoever. But I urge you to come out today, tomorrow and every day that the strike continues. We need thousands of people to defend our picket lines. This is an opportunity to respond to the government's threats and bullying in the legislature and courts in the strongest way possible. And I invite you to join our rally for teachers in Victoria on Monday, October 17th. The BCTF is scheduling buses for teachers, and other unions will do the same if people call and ask for places on their buses. Yes, the media is full of stories of the BCTF's heels dug in too deep, the handful of scabs and the class-action nuisances. But they are just stories. If you want to ruminate about labour strategy and workers' democracy, go right ahead...just come do it on the picket lines in front of a live audience! Many of you may wish to have a second chance to redo the May 2004 walkouts in support of the HEU over again, and this time to do it right. Again, I am just one man, and I don't have any illusions that such a thing will happen just because I ask for it. All I know is that my union and my school is on the line here, and I really need your support. Our ancestors who fought for the right to strike had many slogans. The one I want to end on is: The longer the line, the shorter the strike. In solidarity, |
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