Quesnel’s Teri Mooring has been re-elected to serve as on the BC Teachers’ Federation committee.
Mooring, who topped the polls in the election, has already served two years on the BCTF executive.
This second endorsement will see Mooring at the table for two more years.
“I am honoured and humbled by the confidence my colleagues from across the province have placed in me,” Mooring, also president of the Quesnel District Teachers’ Association said.
“It is vital that provincial unions have representation from across the province. I will represent all teachers in BC and I bring a unique northern perspective to table.”
Also elected to serve as members-at-large on the BCTF Executive Committee were: David Komljenovic from Kamloops, Joanna Larson from Prince Rupert, Paul Steer from Delta and Christine Stewart from Vancouver.
The new executive will be overseeing bargaining a new collective agreement as the current contract is set to expire June 30, 2011.
As of March 1, one provincial bargaining table and 60 local tables have opened talks.
The provincial table is the place to negotiate salaries, benefits, prep time, paid leave, and hours of work. Local tables will deal with all other matters of concern at the district level.
In preparation, the QDTA has surveyed members to ascertain their priorities, ratified bargaining objectives, put their negotiating team in place, and now are in negotiations.
“The QDTA has opened bargaining with the Board of Education and we look forward to a productive round to reach a local settlement that meets the needs of teachers and students alike,” Mooring said.
As always with teachers’ bargaining objectives, their working conditions and students’ learning conditions are inextricably linked.
Virtually all BC teachers believe that improvements to class size and composition are of critical importance: 96.8 per cent in a provincial member survey.
This presents an enormous challenge, since the Campbell Liberals legislated away the right to negotiate this important item.
The BCTF is awaiting a Supreme Court decision on its charter challenge of that legislation.
President Susan Lambert, first vice-president Jim Iker and second vice-president Glen Hansman have been re-elected by acclamation to continue in their respective positions at the helm of the 41,000-member BC Teachers’ Federation.