Abbotsford and Mission teachers are wearing black on Friday to mark the 10th anniversary of provincial legislation that resulted in the death of the union's right to negotiate class size and composition during bargaining.

The province-wide Black Friday event is designed to remember the Liberal government Bills 27 and 28, which eliminated the B.C. Teachers' Federation's right to bargain for class size and composition while negotiating collective agreements, said Mission Teachers' Union President Mike Trask.

The BCTF won a legal challenge in B.C. Supreme Court last April when Justice Susan Griffin said stripping such language from contracts violated teachers' constitutional rights.

The judge gave the government a year to amend the problem, but there has been little progress, according to BCTF.

Trask said Mission teachers are being encouraged to wear black to bring attention to the issue.

"It's a reaffirmation to each other as well as the public as to what our goal is here," he said, adding larger classes have been hard on students and teachers alike.

"I'm hopeful it will show teachers are still together and push the government to do the right thing."

The B.C. Public School Employers' Association, with which the BCTF is negotiating a new collective agreement, has stated teachers can wear black as long as they don't discuss politics with students.

The Black Friday event is actually geared to put pressure on the provincial government, said Trask.

Abbotsford teachers were also asked to wear black, but it won't have quite the same impact, as Friday is a professional development day in the district, said Abbotsford District Teachers' Association president Jeff Dunton.

Teachers attending professional development workshops on Friday will still wear black, said Dunton.

However, Abbotsford teachers waged a more visible protest on Thursday afternoon by demonstrating outside of the district's schools after classes ended.

The peaceful protest was to remind parents and the public that teachers are still on strike and working without a contract, said Dunton.

Teachers gathered off of school property for 15 to 20 minutes to highlight they are still working to negotiate a collective agreement after 10 months.

They waved signs at passing traffic and got lots of positive responses and honks from drivers, said Dunton.

"From the feedback we've gotten, almost every school had people out front and they were well received," he said.

"We haven't heard of any negative reactions. It's hard to yell at somebody who has a sign that says, 'I support public education.'"

Teachers in Abbotsford and Mission are taking part in a province-wide phased strike launched at the start of the school year.

They aren't writing report cards, attending staff meetings or communicating with administrators as part of a job action intended to pressure the provincial government to meet demands around wages, benefits and class size and composition.

The BCTF's latest negotiation package features a 15 per cent wage hike over a three-year period, said Dunton.

The proposal is for a three-per-cent wage raise each year in a three-year deal to cover cost-of-living increases, and a three-per-cent market adjustment in the second and third years to bring B.C. salaries on par with those offered in Alberta and Ontario.

The BCTF says the first-year cost would be $300 million, with an extra $130 million in each of the next two years.

"All told the package put forward by BCTF will cost little more than $300 million the first year. That's still less than the roof of BC Place," said Dunton.

Education Minister George Abbott dismissed the idea last week, saying the proposals violate the government's net-zero mandate for public-sector unions.

Other labour unions have already signed contracts under the mandate complete with renegotiation clauses if the net-zero cap is violated.

BCTF argues that with inflation around three per cent, the net-zero stipulation equates to a pay cut and teaches will flee to other provinces.

Teachers from all over the Lower Mainland are expected to gather for a demonstration in Vancouver on Saturday, said Dunton.

- with files from Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun