Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC

The federal government is pushing hard to make a significant change in the way Statistics Canada conducts the 2011 Census.  If the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada, Tony Clement, has his way, the long form portion of the Census will be eliminated, and replaced with a voluntary data-gathering instrument.

With close to 540 delegates drawn from all provinces and territories in Canada, the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum (CAF) met in Saint John's Newfoundland and Labrador last week to consider the road ahead for trades training in Canada.

Delegates at the 30th Annual FPSE Convention voted to elect members of the new FPSE Executive.  The six-person Executive was confirmed following the Convention last month.

The following positions and candidates were acclaimed by the Convention:

1.    President, Cindy Oliver
2.    Secretary-Treasurer, George Davison
3.    First Vice-President, Nanci Lucas

There is a lot of momentum created when the representatives of 10,000 post-secondary educators in BC unite around a single plan for action in their sector. That's what happened last week as delegates at FPSE's 30th Annual Convention unanimously supported the Convention Action Plan, a plan that will target the organization's resources, staff and leadership on five key priorities. Those priorities included:

Bargaining, organizing and holding governments accountable are major items at FPSE’s 30th Annual Convention

Working conditions have direct relation to classroom conditions.

A key to improving the learning environment for post-secondary students in BC will be improving working conditions for educators, say the people who work in BC's post-secondary institutions.

Workplace stress comes in many forms, has many effects and, ultimately, can prove to be damaging not just for the worker who experiences the stress, but also the workplace where the stress is generated. It was with that in mind the our Federation, in conjunction with the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), developed a survey instrument to measure and assess the kind of stress that post-secondary educators are experiencing here in BC.

Community groups, arts and culture organizations, unions, seniors and students have banned together to press the provincial government to re-think its budget priorities. The group is called the Coalition to Build a Better BC. This Saturday, April 10th, they have organized a rally for 12:00 noon at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Solidarity has always been an integral part of the labour movement. It is a recognition by all that we share a common struggle and a common history. But our solidarity often extends far beyond those in unions. The labour movement has a long history of extending solidarity to the broader community where the fight for justice and equality is as critical an outcome as it is for those within our ranks.

BC's Finance Minster Colin Hansen has to be more than a little nervous these days. With his credibility in disarray following a 2009 budget that completely missed the obvious economic implosion that was rolling across North America and a September 2009 "Update" designed to finally concede what he tried to deny seven months earlier, his latest fiscal plan shows little in the way of vision, credibility or fairness.