Your editorial regarding teacher bargaining is a ridiculous analogy that is total nonsense. (“Attention teachers: Bargaining can work,” Jan. 3).
You compare teacher negotiations with CUPE negotiations, which is the same distinction as comparing physician contracts with contracts covering those that clean the hospitals. As with physicians comparative to hospital cleaning staff, teachers and janitors have a total different level of responsibility and post graduate training. Most teachers have between five to seven years of university training while janitors need to complete a five week training program.
I find it interesting that when other professionals seek fair compensation there seems to be support for them (as there should be), but if teachers dare to ask for fair compensation they are not supported.
If you are going to make comparisons you need to compare teachers to teachers. The closest legitimate comparison would be between B.C. teachers and those in Alberta. Teachers in B.C. are making 20 per cent less than teachers in Alberta and with the cost of living so high here, that gap is even wider.
I don’t believe that this kind of disparity exists between our CUPE workers and those in neighbouring Alberta, which would be a more accurate comparison.
Arlene Laing
Surrey
