Prince George Free Press, May 30, 2014

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FRIDAYMAY30

POLITICS: Mayor Shari Green will not seek second term

www.pgfreepress.com | newsline: 250.564.0005

TEACHERS STRIKE

IPG to survey local businesses

Bill PHILLIPS/Free Press Prince George teachers, with some support from CUPE members, were manning the picket lines outside School District 57 schools Thursday as part of rotating strike action by the BCTF.

Allan Wishart allanw@pgfreepress.com Prince George teachers took their turn on the picket lines on Thursday. It was the final of four days of rotating one-day strikes by the B.C. Teachers Federation (BCTF) this week to protest the lack of progress in contract talks with the provincial government’s bargaining unit, the B.C. Public Schools Employers Association (BCPSEA). At Monday’s School District 57 board meeting, Prince George and District Teachers Association president Tina Cousins said the strikes were something the union saw as necessary. “After 16 months at the bargaining table with no sign of a fair agreement, we feel it is necessary to take these steps.” She added, “we feel we are in desperate times. Public education needs a revolution.” Cousins also expressed her appreciation for the solidarity of other labour groups in supporting the teachers. Karen Wong, representing Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) locals 3742 and 4991, the support staff at district

Phone 250-563-6444 Toll Free 1-800-219-6327 910 Third Avenue, Prince George, BC Email polarrefrig@telus.net polarrefrig.ca

schools, said their members were fully behind the teachers. “Thursday is the beginning of a new fight. It’s starting to feel like a Ping-Pong game. Last year it was CUPE in a labour dispute with this government, now it’s the BCTF, next year it could be CUPE again.” Wong said the union had been informed provincial bargaining would start in June, with local bargaining starting in early July. “We will do what it takes to get a fair contract.” Local parents have concerns with the bargaining positions of both sides when it comes to class composition, Sarah Holland told the board. “When it comes to class composition issues,” the president of the District Parent Advisory Council said, “the BCPSEA proposal is far too flexible and fuzzy, and the BCTF proposal is far too inflexible. “Both suck.” She said the BCTF proposal seems preferable on learning specialist staffing levels, although she wasn’t sure where they would find the specialists needed. “I’m not aware of vast numbers of unemployed speech language pathologists,

for example.” She also called on both sides in the dispute to improve the level of public discourse, especially in front of students. “We do not want our kids to be told that teachers are in it only for the money. We do not wants our kids told that [Premier] Christy Clark is making teachers eat lunch outside.” The board of education has drafted two letters, one to Clark and Education Minister Peter Fassbender calling for a resumption of bargaining talks aimed at reaching a fair contract, the other to BCPSEA, calling on the group to hold a meeting of the representative council before taking any further actions, including the partial lockout now in effect across the province. “It is critical,” Chairperson Sharel Warrington said, “that elected school trustees representing the citizens from each region in the province have an opportunity for their voices and their counsel to be considered.” On Wednesday, the BCTF announced the rotating strikes would continue next week, with the Prince George school district scheduled to be behind picket lines on Tuesday, June 3.

Initiatives Prince George (IPG) will begin surveying approximately 200 local businesses on June 1 as part of the research phase of creating IPG’s new business retention and expansion program. IPG will select a representative mix of small, medium and large businesses, with the number of businesses interviewed from each sector being chosen based on the prevalence of the sector in the Prince George economy. IPG consulted with local businesses to create the questions, and has completed test interviews with local businesses to determine the relevancy of the questions in preparation for the full interview roll-out. Each interview will take 40 to 60 minutes to complete, depending on the amount of detail provided by participants. It is anticipated that the interviews will be complete by the end of August. Business owners who are interested in being involved are encouraged to contact Business Development Officer Neil O’Farrell at ofarrell@initiativespg. com or 250-649-3205.

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