This text is part of the special Syndicalism section
Despite the changes it has undergone over the past thirty years, unionism remains a key player in social change, believes the president of the Alliance des professeures et professors de Montréal (APPM), Catherine Beauvais-St-Pierre. Whether it is a climate emergency, diversity or LGBTQ issues, she believes that the union must take a stand and raise awareness on these subjects among its members and its delegates.
“As a union, of course we have a social responsibility. But it’s not just that. Because there are links to be made between the socio-political issues such as issues related to diversity or the climate emergency and the reality experienced by teachers, explains Mme Beauvais-St-Pierre. We are fighting for the working conditions of our members to be better, but that does not stand in the way of the fight for social change. It even completes itself. “
According to the trade unionist, this dual role of the union goes without saying. The heavy workload of Montreal teachers is very often linked to social factors. Let us think of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, of children who do not have enough to eat before coming to school or of pupils who live in large numbers in small apartments in which studying or even sleeping is not ideal.
“The reality is that we live in a society where there are social inequalities, but it is not just a social battle, it is a battle that has an impact on these children who come to the school, and this makes the teachers’ task different, and even heavier. When we talk about teacher exhaustion, this type of factor contributes to it, ”explains the president.
The APPM also has several committees on various issues, including the status of women, diversity and identity (LGBTA), the realities of indigenous and racialized people. These committees are mandated to reflect on certain issues and make recommendations as needed.
“The members who sit on this committee [réalités des personnes autochtones et racisées] have the responsibility to initiate a reflection on what the different cultural groups experience through the teaching profession, and thus to change mentalities within society in general ”, we can read, for example, on the website of the Alliance.
“Our challenge is to make the committees more accessible to the rest of the members. It is therefore to know how we can make more shine what is happening in these committees so that it has an impact on the members ”, indicates Mme Beauvais-St-Pierre.
Bill 2
The president of the Alliance explains that the role of the union is not only to make members aware of certain subjects, but also to put them into action on these issues. She gives as an example the union’s invitation to sign a petition against Bill 2 on the gender identity of the Caquist government.
“Again, it’s a social issue that affects some of our members, but we also have trans students. The teachers live with this reality and must contribute to the integration of these students. We know that, among people from the trans community, there is a higher suicide rate, and we therefore want to play a larger role of actor of social change at this level, ”she explains. .
The Alliance therefore took a stand against the bill in its latest union newsletter.
Environment and eco-anxiety
“Issues like the environment, it’s easier to take a very firm position,” continues Catherine Beauvais-St-Pierre. Even if this does not interest everyone to the same extent, these are rarely the issues that divide. “
It underlines the direct consequences of heat waves, which are more and more frequent and which occur earlier and earlier, on the work of teachers. She denounces the fact that Montreal schools are very rarely air conditioned and that students too often find themselves in conditions that are not ideal for taking their ministry exams at the end of the school year.
“We also see that we have students who are living more and more with eco-anxiety. Teachers can reassure them by showing that they are sensitized and that they believe that we all have a role to play in avoiding disaster. They are influential people in the lives of these young people, ”she says.
The union recently participated in a climate protest and, among other things, freed its members to take part in the one in September 2019, when Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was in Montreal.
If for some members, the union must refocus around collective bargaining activities, the president says that her organization must also continue to act as a social movement, while defending the working conditions of its members.
Because the first value of unions, “it is above all solidarity”, she concludes.