BC school support staff standing in solidarity with teachers, feeling financial impact

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The strike in BC schools isn’t just affecting teachers, students, and parents.

Support staff members are the latest to speak out about the impact the dispute is having on their bottom lines, despite the fact they just ratified a new contract with the government.

Tim Hannan is a glazier with the Vancouver School District. He and his colleagues are under CUPE, not the BC Teachers’ Federation, but they’ve been out along with the teachers since rotating strikes began.

The workers can’t cross the teachers’ picket lines; Hannan says it’s not even a thought for him to cross them. But he tells us financially, it’s having an impact.

He says they don’t get strike pay for the first 10 days. Those 10 days have almost passed, so support staff will soon start getting that money. But Hannan says it’s still a financial hit.

“Of course I support the teachers by not crossing the picket line but I think both sides… need to come to the table,” he tells us.

“Now with Vince Ready not wanting to take it on, I’m just worried that it could go the whole summer, which would be financially devastating to a lot of people. Not just myself; we have trades workers that are behind picket lines as well that are not CUPE. They’re their own trades. Whatever trade you can think of, we have working for us. So everyone’s out of work,” says Hannan.

If the strike wasn’t happening, he and his colleagues would be working throughout the summer. Tasks done by support staff workers include cutting lawns, gardening, sheet metal work, plumbing, and work on playgrounds.

“I wish the public was more aware that there’s more people that are affected than the teachers. Of course, the students are the big one, but it’s not just the teachers that are out of work,” adds Hannan.

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