B.C. teachers to vote next month on whether to launch illegal job action
VANCOUVER - The B.C. teachers' union is asking its members if they want to break the law by mounting a strike to protest legislation that bans them from such job action.
Teachers will also be asked during a vote on April 17 and 18 if they want to withdraw all voluntary extra-curricular activities.
The B.C. Teachers' Federation plans to launch a legal challenge against Bill 22, which was passed last week to end limited job action that started last fall on the first day of school.
Union president Susan Lambert calls the government's legislation draconian and says the mediation process is a sham.
But teachers say they'll continue to teach and prepare year-end report cards after none have been issued since September.
The legislation ends teachers' job action, brings in a mediator and imposes huge fines, both for teachers and the union, if they take strike action.
