ETEA will be holding a Teacher’s Social on September 23. All teachers are welcome to this event. There will be some pizza provided for hungry teachers who are willing to come out on Friday afternoon! The social is at Goldies Pizza at 605 W. Pender (basement) 4:30-7:00. See you there.
On Labour Day (September 5th), instructors at Hanson International Academy voted to ratify their first Collective Agreement. It was a hard-fought battle by the teachers, who have been working towards this goal for almost 14 months. Due to their efforts, teachers were able make gains in their working conditions, mostly in the areas of preparation time and a differential pay scale based on class sizes.
Friday there will be rallies happening for Local 9 and 11, which have both been on strike since August 2. A 12:30pm teachers and friends will meet at VEC at 250 Smithe Street to show their support. Immediately following that, there will be rally for teachers at Hanson International Academy in front of the River market in New Westminster from 1:30-2:30. Come on out and show your support for teachers in the ESL and private post-secondary industry. They are fighting for us all! For more details see their Facebook event pages:
Rally for ETEA Local 9
Rally for ETEA Local 11
Local 11, Hanson International Academy, has had 3 successful days of picketing, garnishing a wealth of support from locals and contacts in and around New Westminster. Teachers are firm in their resolve to do what it takes to achieve a first Collective Agreement. Hanson International Academy has cancelled the rest of their semester. For more details, check out their Facebook page and Twitter feed.
Local 9 (VEC) has completed 3 days of job action, picketing in front of VEC. Teachers have been taking shifts picketing in front of the school on Smithe Street, and have received a lot of welcome support from teachers at other locals, passersby and students. VEC remains open; however, no classes are running. For more details, check out their Facebook page and Twitter feed.