07) SALUTE TO B.C. TEACHERS

 

People's Voice Editorial

 

            As this issue goes to press on March 6, 41,000 British Columbia Teachers Federation members are on the picket lines. The outcome remains in the balance, but for the second time in seven years, this courageous union has stood up against the corrupt, pro-corporate gang of Liberal bullies in Victoria. We salute the BCTF and its members for their determined and principled stand in defence of public education and of the rights of all working people.

            It is increasingly understood in B.C., Ontario and other provinces that politicians do have choices. Despite the line of the Fraser Institute, the Drummond Commission, and other voices for big business, governments have the option of compelling the rich and the corporations to pay a larger share of taxation. In fact, refusal to consider this option has deliberately starved provincial and federal treasuries of billions of dollars needed to protect and expand vital social programs, schools, pensions and public health care.

            Similarly, governments do have the option of agreeing to allow public sector workers the right to withdraw their labour in pursuit of better pay and working conditions.

            But governments never recognize such options without a struggle. By striking to demand better pay and working conditions, the teachers are defending the interests of students and families, and of the entire working class. Their stand has the support of a majority of British Columbians, including most students and their parents, who agree that Premier Clark's Liberals must be stopped. So far, the labour movement has responded with strong support for the BCTF. If that solidarity is continued and expanded, the fight to defeat the Liberals at the polls next year will be strengthened. That's why all-out support for the BCTF is crucial!

(The above article is from the March 16-31, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)