ETEA will be holding a Special General Meeting on March 2nd, 2017 on the 4th floor of the YWCA at 535 Hornby Street. The meeting will be called to order at 6:30 pm. Light refreshments and snacks will be available from 6:00 to 6:30.

The purpose of this meeting is to make additions and amendments to the ETEA bylaws. In order for any changes to the by-laws to pass a two-thirds majority vote of the members present will be required.

There are three areas of proposed by-law changes:

1. A mid-term re-assessment of how much each local is required to pay ETEA Central. This change is to make the amount each local pays to ETEA Central more equitable.
2. A change to the review of ETEA finances to bring it in line with the requirements of the BC Labour Code
3. Adding articles around strikes, including a mechanism to establish an ETEA strike fund, how the fund can be used, and punishment for members that cross a legal picket line if their local goes on strike.

There is also a proposal for a dedicated dues increase in order to establish an ETEA strike fund. Before this proposal can be discussed, members must first approve a change to the by-laws.

An email with relevant documents for this meeting was sent using our mailing list. If you did not receive this email please subscribe to the mailing list or contact your local union representative.

ETEA is happy to announce that it is holding two related events on Thursday, December 1st, 2016. We’re having a social for private college and ESL instructors from 4:30 to 7:-00 pm at Goldies Pizza (605 West Pender Street, at Seymour, northwest side, downstairs). This will be a great chance to meet and/or reconnect with other ESL and career college teachers from different schools and institutes throughout the city, talk about work and life in the field of private post-secondary education, and relax after a long day at work. Different varieties of delicious pizza and one drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) will be provided to all attendees.

Immediately before the social, at the same location, we will be hosting a roundtable discussion on life in the private teaching field. Our moderators will be leading a discussion on questions like “are teaching jobs in the private sector suitable for long-term careers, or are they inevitably precarious, short-term, contract-based, substitute, or part-time?” and “do teachers in this industry we have the working conditions we need and deserve, and if not, how can we get them?” We hope to have approximately 10-12 teachers from various sections of the industry show up to the event, but all are welcome, and someone will be on site from ETEA regardless.

If you would like to attend either or both events please drop by, and tell your friends and colleagues in the field! If you’d like further information about these events, the venue, or the ETEA, please contact Dan at 778-855-0900.

Update: we held similar teachers’ outreach events on January 26th at Waves Coffee on Hastings, and on March 16th at Moose’s Down Under pub on Pender. We will continue to hold these kinds of events occasionally over the next few months to try to reach out to teachers in this city to talk about teaching careers and working conditions in Vancouver. See our Meetup.com page for more information. You can also check our facebook page or our Twitter account for updates!