The BC Teachers Federation (BCTF) is in transition -- electing a new president-elect on the final day of their annual general meeting in Victoria yesterday.
Teri Mooring ran unopposed for the post. The Quesnel elementary teacher served as the union's Vice President for 6 years, and takes over from out-going president Glen Hansman on June 30th.
That's the same day the contract with the provincial government expires. Mooring says recruitment and retention is one of the biggest big issues:
" One of the biggest issues since the restoration of our contract language has been recruitment and retention. So one of the big issues right now is the lack of certified teachers in the province.. And that is particularly apparent in the North Coast area of the province, the Peace area, and North coast."
Mooring, who is also the co-lead for the bargaining team, says recruitment would be easier if BC didn't have such low wages compared to other provinces:
" We are the lowest of all the western provinces, and we're the second lowest in the country. And that's because of all the zeros, and sort of status quo, no wage increases over the last number of years. And so we've really lost ground in that way in BC, and so we are interested in catching up.
The current contract was signed in 2014 following heated negotiations with the former Liberal government that led to a strike.