Kim Rutherford feels like he's been beaten up by a schoolyard bully - and he's not alone.
His after-school fight involves each of the province's 41,000 public school teachers, and they were left seeing stars Tuesday afternoon after being hammered by a government plan to legislate an end to their labour dispute.
"To say there's a little bit of anger doesn't come close," said Rutherford, a social studies teacher at Prince George secondary school since 1988.
"We read the legislation and it was like being punched in the face."
In response, he says teachers have no choice but to go out on strike.
"Even if this is nothing but symbolic, it has to be done," Rutherford said. "The government has to hear this and the public has to hear it too. From kindergarten to Grade 12, teachers are angry
beyond belief.
"I'm the eternal optimist and hoping that somewhere along the line, cooler heads will prevail and somebody will say, "Let's stop and talk.'"
Rutherford says the government is quick to point out teachers want pay increases that would cost the province an estimated $2.06 billion over three years, but he said wages are nowhere near the top of the list for teachers in their contract demands.
"I'm reading some of the blogs the last couple days and they think all this is about teachers wanting a raise, but the BCTF made it clear right from the beginning what we want is improvements in class size and composition, we want improvements in working conditions, and money is secondary," Rutherford said. "That's been part of negotiations from day one, but it doesn't serve the [government's] propaganda machine to focus on that."
As the professional development chair of School District 57, Rutherford sees dire consequences in some of the less-reported clauses in Bill 22, known as the Education Advancement Act, now being discussed in the legislature.
"There is so much that's not being mentioned and that's what's driving me nuts," said Rutherford. "We're being told during the cooling off period that we have to negotiate to see the end of autonomy around professional development, the end of class-size limits, the end of seniority around hiring and firing, and none of that is being mentioned.
"The principals will have control over our professional development. The principal will be able to come into my room next year and say, 'I think this is what I think you should be learning.' We feel terrible as teachers. We know it's not good for kids. Study after study has made it clear, teacher-directed, teacher-led professional development is the best for kids."
The government has stuck with its net-zero stance in negotiating with the teachers and, realizing there are other public sector unions watching what transpires, Rutherford says he can accept a contract that offers no pay increases. But he can't buy into any new deal that takes away teachers' job security, and that's what he fears if Bill 22 becomes law.
"I'm OK with zero this year and next year, but what people don't realize is my principal could say to me, 'I don't like you because you don't coach basketball, so you're fired,' and that needs to get out there," Rutherford said.
"It's draconian and it sets labour relations back 30 years."
