The Prince George and District Teachers' Association is holding a rally in front of the School District 57 office today at 6 p.m. to let the provincial government know of their displeasure about how negotiations are going.
"There's a board meeting at 7 o' clock tomorrow, so we felt that was the best way to rally and get together," said Tina Cousins, the association's president. "It's a solidarity rally and we're hoping for parents and the community as well as our union brothers and sisters [to attend]. We're hoping for a lot of people."
The rally is being organized in conjunction with the North Central Labour Council. While the speakers at the event were still being organized, Cousins said that Jim Sinclair, the president of the B.C. Federation of Labour, would be one of them.
The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union is one of the local unions that will have members show up to the rally, said Aaron Ekman, one of the union's regional co-ordinators.
"We're there because we support what the teachers are doing in terms of trying to protect quality public education in the province," he said, adding that the strike wasn't just about wages, but also class size and composition.
Ekman said his union, which represents a large number of public sector workers, had many members that are in a similar situation as the teachers. It also represents approximately 150 education support workers in School Districts 59 and 81 in the Peace region.
"I think that anybody who's concerned about where public education's going, the rise in user fees that are being introduced, etcetera, should be encouraged to come out and support teachers," he said.
It's not just the public sector unions that are participating in the rally. Members of the Steelworkers' Local 1-424 are also planning to attend.
"They need our support and that's what the labour movement's all about," said Don Iwaskow, a Steelworkers staff representative.
The B.C. Teachers' Federations has been trying to get a mediator involved with the dispute. The provincial government has agreed but Vince Ready, a veteran labour mediator, declined, saying he was too busy.
Charles Jago, the former UNBC president who brokered a deal between the province and the teachers two years ago, said he hasn't been contacted about mediating the dispute, nor does he expect to be.
As for solving the dispute in the short-term, he said "the two parties would have to get down to some very serious negotiations, clear the table of any items that can be resolved later and try to get to a deal by the end of the week," he said.
"To do that, I think they should be imposing a media blackout. They should be staying away from the press, radio and television, and just get down to work," Jago said.
