ESL Teachers' Strike Cancels English Classes in Vancouver

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vec-teachers-strike-1.3707963 Aug 04, 2016 "I felt really bad about having to do this [to the students]," said Kim Fissel, interim president of ETEA Local 9 and a teacher at the school for the last four years. "It's a very extreme movement, but unfortunately, it's what we had to do." The school issued a notice to its students on Tuesday informing them of the strike. In place of classes, the school is offering students "a wide variety of leisure and sightseeing activities" in and around Vancouver, as well as four days of free tuition for each day of classes missed due to the strike. Fissel said the activities are being facilitated by school administrative staff, and that some students have been asked to volunteer as well. Fissel said students have been told that the school is negotiating with the teachers, but that no such negotiations have happened since the strike began. "We haven't heard a word from them," Fissel said. "We would definitely rather be teaching, because it's not that fun to be on the street waving at cars and getting honked at." CBC News contacted VEC for comment, but the school was not able to make anyone available by deadline. Fissel said VEC's teachers are seeking a fair living wage comparable to other schools the union represents. She said the starting wage at VEC is $18 an hour for teachers in the adult ESL program, where other schools represented by the union pay $20 or $21 an hour. She said teachers in the school's ESL program for children make even less — between $12 and $14 an hour. Fissel said the median income for VEC teachers is $25,000. The union also wants its teachers to be paid for the extra prep time they put in outside of class time. Fissel said that, on average, VEC teachers put in an additional 10 to 20 per cent of unpaid hours in prep work a week — about three to five hours a week. Fissel said students have been supportive of the teachers, and that many were "horrified" to learn how little their teachers make.

EF is Expanding Rapidly by Exploiting Teachers. See Job Description Where A Lot is Demanded for Very Little Pay in Expensive City (San Francisco)

Look at all that is expected of a teacher at about $20/hr. https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/edu/5725980874.html EF Education First is the world's largest private education company. EF has over 43,000 employees with schools and offices in over 100 countries. RESPONSIBILITIES (a lot of which go unpaid): •Teach a minimum of 24 classroom hours per week as directed by the academic office Deliver high quality, student-centered classes. You will be expected to teach four main types of classes: oGeneral English following our Efekta curriculum oFull-time Cambridge Exam Preparation (CAE, FCE, CPE) and/or TOEFL elective classes oAdvanced Business English following an established curriculum oOther Special Interest and/or Lecture classes •Develop and implement individual and group projects in Business English classes in order for students to gain practical, relevant real-world business skills preparing them for a global career •Assist with the development of the Business English class syllabi •Complete all required administrative work for your classes accurately and on time •Prepare materials and resources relevant to your classes including but not limited to: handouts, quizzes, tests and assignments as need for each lesson. •Coach students with developing and reaching specific and achievable short and long term learning goals •Educate students on the many EF resources available to them including various classes/programs offered in the school, online learning resources and progress tracker, etc. •Provide exceptional customer service by assisting students with general questions about the school and/or city, directing them to the applicable school department when necessary •Actively participate in teacher meetings and professional development activities •Welcome new colleagues and assist with mentoring of new teachers including sharing resources and best practices •Be involved in the development and execution of school-wide activities and events such as student orientations, graduation ceremonies, testing, extracurricular activities, etc