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reel disagreement

Uma Thurman in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill.Handout

There's no shortage of Quentin Tarantino films B.C. teachers could use to describe their bitter contract dispute with the Liberal government.

The province introducing legislation it calls fair and reasonable? The teachers might call it Pulp Fiction.

The squabble over money? Opening scene from Reservoir Dogs.

But the Twitter hashtag that elicited hundreds of tweets this week – as the teachers traded in their chalk for picket signs – was #killbill22.

As @Gharv put it: "Haha Best hashtag I've seen for a while #KillBill22"

Bill 22, introduced last week, would impose a cooling-off period, prohibit further strike activity and impose hefty fines if future strikes or lockouts occur. Education Minister George Abbott has described the bill as fair, while the BC Teachers' Federation has said it must be scrapped because it would hurt students.

The union has called for a 15-per-cent wage increase, but the minister has countered that any deal must fall under the government's net-zero mandate.

Mr. Abbott is no stranger to microblogging. Last week, he held an hour-long Twitter chat about Bill 22. He hosted a similar chat in January about school curriculums.

Some of the tweets sent to the minister during those chats were unkind, to say the least. Several posts within the #killbill22 hashtag might well make Mr. Tarantino – or Kill Bill heroine Beatrix Kiddo herself – wince.

But for those interested in more than political cheap shots, the hashtag allowed teachers from difference areas of the province – Vancouver, Victoria, Prince George – to voice support and unite with others.

Shannon Rerie of 150 Mile House uploaded a photo of herself picketing while on a horse, a post that was retweeted 10 times. @ShannonRerie described her picture: "How we "picket" in the Cariboo :) #killbill22 #bced"

Ms. Rerie was far from the only teacher to use a mobile camera to document a protest.

@teachingtammy tweeted a photo of someone wearing a sign that read, "Even dog obedience classes have size limits." The union has objected to the bill, arguing it would result in class size increases.

@m_allingham uploaded a photo that said the province agreeing to mediation only if it can pick the mediator would be like hockey's Boston Bruins telling the Vancouver Canucks that the Massachusetts team should get to pick the referee, a reference to last year's Stanley Cup final.

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