[Fighting Banana Slug]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I have many friends and family who are teachers. Pretty much all of them admit 'we have it pretty good'. The defined pension is an amazing perk than most white-collar workers don't get anymore. The time off is unheard of in other professions. The salaries are very decent.

I'm not saying the union and teachers shouldn't always be asking for more, because I think all workers should always be asking for more. Power to the proletariat.

But they certainly are not hard done by in my book.

I think that is probably true, but doesn't address the issues that teachers are concerned with. Class size/complexity and the really the foundation of public education are the issues. From my anecdotal evidence, many teachers were ok with the 3-4% increase, but there is so much else wrong with how the government is handling public education. My spouse was one of many that voted to approve the first offer (that was rejected 65/35) to rejecting the latest (rejected 90/10). How the government has handled the negotiation, how it funds private education and just the general handling/mismanaging public services have left them in a position to dig in their heals. I do think this could last a long time...