Hello Christy Clark,
99.4% of teachers in BC voted YES to get back into our classrooms and for you to drop E80. Is that clear enough for you? We are the union. Stop trying to separate us from our representatives.
Please, I’m asking you to say yes along with us. Say yes to my classroom being opened. It’s dusty, Christy. It is the same way it was when I walked out of it on June 13th. I need to clean it. I need to freshen it up and make it welcoming for my grade 4/5 students. My students need to be learning in there.
If you don’t say yes, then please know that, without a doubt, it is you who are keeping my class closed. It is not me.
You say we should drop our preconditions. We only have one. Drop E80. It’s your precondition. It’s what allows you to not follow what the courts have said. Why would I do that? Why would British Columbia do that?
Do you hear the people, Christy? They are screaming from the rooftops to settle this by going to binding arbitration.
Two highlights from the picket line today:
First, I got to see one of my students! They were driving by and he said to his mom, "There's my teacher!" so they pulled over. He is going into grade five and his little brother is going into kindergarten. It was so good for my soul to see him. It reminded me of why I am taking this stand.
Second, an elderly gentleman from across the street came to us using his walker. He pulled $60 out of his pocket and wanted to give it to us. We said no. He said, "Just use it for your gas, or get something to drink." We thanked him but told him we could not take his money.
It's day # 21 of walking the picket line.
I will continue to write until we have a resolution. It is my desperate hope that you will do something.
with frustration,
Joan Shannon Jung
Joan Shannon Jung
