by Christina – Local 6

There probably isn’t much I can say about working at a non-unionized school that will surprise anyone. We’ve all experienced it—the inadequate compensation, the exploitation of our very natural desire to teach and help our students, the lack of job security. After six years working at a school where unpopularity with students was enough to endanger a teacher’s job, where a two year salary freeze significantly lowered my family’s standard of living, I was ready to leave the ESL industry.

Instead, I decided to give my chosen career one more chance and made a move to a unionized school. In my first months at this new job, I am making more money than I did after 6 years at my former school. I have a benefits package. There are clear and fair procedures that guide my employers in how they treat me and an infrastructure that protects me from unfair dismissal. These are real and tangible benefits that have changed my life for the better.

This is what a union did for me. My only regret is leaving my former school without organizing it.  I let management threats about job losses and shutting down the school dissuade me even though I knew these tactics were ubiquitous and unworthy. If you agree that a strong united voice will force the ESL industry to treat its teachers respectfully, and if you agree that fair compensation is a priority, don’t let empty threats intimidate you. Contact the ETEA and start the process.

by Collin – Local 6

Since their inception, trade unions and their members have pushed for worker rights, increased wages, safety, security and benefits for workers.  While employers have viciously used any means political, legal or other in order to prevent, disrupt or destroy collective bargaining, labour unions have largely been responsible for the general improvement in wages, job safety and job security in the industrialized world.  This in turn, has also contributed to a higher standard of living.

In some of the countries with the highest standards of living we see a majority of organized workers in the workforce.  Several Scandanavian countries have some of both the highest union membership among paid workers -Denmark 69%, Sweden 71% and very high human development indexes. (As of 2010 – “Trade union,” Wikipedia) Unionization in these countries isn’t leading to less opportunity and investment, as anti union propagandists would have people believe, but to an improved society and standard of living.

Companies and some politicians disseminate rumours of corruption and lazy unionized employees to undermine efforts to organize and sway public opinion against unionization, but unions seek to protect workers, and raise dignity, not cheat people or companies out of anything and not to promote unprofessional behaviour.

While so many of our politicians whose voices are paid for are now fighting for the interests of unethical corporations and money for the few richest, it is as important as ever to be aware of our working conditions and protect what we and all the unionized workers before us have fought for.  As we move through tumultuous times economically and politically, we have to help ourselves by helping each other.  When people say nothing, the situation won’t improve.

Being in a union and being involved with a union are two very different things. We have many members in our union as in many other labour unions, who are content to let what “the union” and management decide go unchallenged and in some cases unnoticed.  This is as bad as not voting come election day.  All it takes is a few minutes to send an email or ask some questions of other members.

Active members, beleaguered as they sometimes are, are our ears, eyes, hands and voices. They fight for us and are responsible for improving working conditions and benefits.  We cannot leave this to the employers alone.  It would never happen. This is democracy.  It is both our right and responsibility.

So don’t forget that the union is there to help you and you can help yourself by getting involved.  Remember to consult your shop stewards, executive members and volunteers.  You can join committees and volunteer a little of your own time.  It’s easy to do and is empowering.

by Dan – Local 1

When I tell people I am an ESL teacher, I often get interesting responses. ESL is, of course, English as a Second Language, but some people don’t know that.  When they find out what I do, they think it’s just my summer job, and wonder what I’m going to do in the future. Most people insist that I can teach in Japan, and offer me the example of their friend in Japan who is making a lot of money teaching there. However, people don’t seem to know much about teaching ESL in Canada.  People don’t realize that ESL teachers are highly qualified professionals who change the lives of students every day.  Unfortunately, the conditions at many schools are far from professional and rewarding.

My first job at an ESL school led me to believe that ESL schools were just moneymaking scoundrels that chewed up and spat out teachers. The large school I worked at charged each student over $1000 a month tuition, but paid me only $15 an hour to teach grammar, writing, listening and communication every day. I also had to keep detailed records for them, make and mark tests, do report cards, and all on top of making materials for each class. The school demanded professional and fun classes for the students, but required me to use their poorly made materials which were too hard for the students. That school promised me and other teachers year-round work, but fired us in October when student enrollment dropped. That school enjoys a very good reputation and continues to grow and open new campuses.

My next two jobs were unfortunately at low-paying unstable schools. I felt like the ESL industry was not worth my time. Then, a few months later I got called for an interview at my current school.  It, like the first school I worked at, was large and successful both locally and internationally. The school is also very sought-after by teachers as a place to work. Teachers stay there because it is a professional environment and they are treated fairly. The conditions and pay are good, and the teachers are generally happy. One of the main reasons for the good conditions at my school is that my school became unionized many years ago. That guarantees us a strong collective voice, job protection and a system of seniority. Our teachers enjoy the benefits of being professionals and have established fair practices with management. Now I feel proud to be part of a growing industry where I can develop my skills and be compensated for my hard work.  Teaching ESL became a great career for me and afforded me many opportunities in my life.

ESL is a respectable career choice and teachers who work so hard every day should know that. The rest of the world needs to know it as well. ESL is not a summer job or stepping-stone for many of us, it’s a career. It’s a career I am proud to say I work in. I think the best way to establish that we are professionals is by getting unionized and creating a strong unified voice for all ESL teachers.

by Chris – Local 1

Professionals need a strong professional voice. Being a professional ESL teacher is a respectable career choice. Teachers need a secure platform to voice professional needs and negotiate fair benefit packages in an atmosphere free from unfair demands and restrictions. If our workloads increase we should expect more pay. If there is steady work we should not be relegated to eternal serial short-term contracts that can be unilaterally amended by an employer at the drop of a hat. Don’t get me started on the issue of favoritism, which is the death knell of any serious professional endeavor.

Organized teachers contribute to the establishment of industry career standards. There is no better or quicker way to establish a professional profile.

Employers win with unionized teachers because teacher turnover is dramatically reduced in organized schools. A professional teaching staff creates a positive reputation for the school. Popular schools are always the ones with happy teachers that stay around long enough to generate positive word-of-mouth. Unionized teachers are the most content.

The focus of organizing is to strengthen our voice in establishing fair working conditions in a vibrant, lucrative industry.

More recently it has become absolutely imperative for teachers to present a unified professional voice to combat the negative media spin associated with references to our profession. ESL teacher bashing has become popular sport.

What is our image? What is the BC Education Brand we keep hearing about in the news?

Are these two things mutually exclusive? Of course not. More than ever we need to be strong. Our identity should celebrate the depth of our profession. Its history has deep roots in BC, embedded in immigrant and refugee services. It is connected to overseas ESL industries in Japan and elsewhere. Some of the well-established language schools in Vancouver were started by people with teaching experience, foreign and domestic. However, the smell of money has attracted Big Business. How have our working conditions changed over the years, our pay, benefits, and job security? What are your expectations for the future? We as teachers have been plugging away, devoted to our students, yet treated as a commodity, an operating cost, kept in the dark, out of the loop, on the edge. Why? Money. That’s why. Our teaching is a labour cost, the single most expensive variable in the budget of operating costs. Teacher empowerment is a costly endowment. Keeping teachers marginalized through low pay and negative media image is profitable. In the meantime, professional demands on teachers have increased.

This profession has to pull its head out of the sand like every other profession has had to do. The school owners have their own self-serving forms of union, don’t they? Their self-regulating and voluntary associations started with PELSA, which disbanded to join CLC (previously known as CLSP). Then CAPLS joined CLC to re-merge in 2008 under the latest name, Languages Canada. That’s an impressive metamorphosis. However, in terms of teacher needs I can’t seem to see the butterfly.

Teachers are the breath of this industry. We are going to get a VOICE. We have our needs, too. The industry has grown up. We are professionals. Shouldn’t we get paid as such? We will have a voice in the direction of this industry, a fair share of the growing prosperity. Aren’t you tired of the same old song and dance you hear about there being no money, the school’s in the red, maybe next year will be better?

ESL teachers are survivors. But it is time to wake up, combine our small, misunderstood voices, turn up the volume, and be heard! It is time to organize. Form unions. It’s easier than you think. Join the 300 other ESL teachers who have already done so. Have a look at our collective agreements and see the progress we have made. We have something to say. We are a core component to industry stability. Teacher needs are crucial to the continuing health and stability of the industry. Being an ESL teacher is an excellent career goal. It should be a destination, not a stepping-stone, a layover, or last resort. For that image to change we need more respect, money, benefits, and job security. The industry will have to belly up to the bar and loosen the purse strings. We will have a voice in any emerging industry regulations. Period.