Why now?

Well whoever you may be, you've created a monster. ;-)  There were over 3000 views of yesterday's blog. Thank you. This social media thing is incredible.  Overnight I feel like I'm running a small town newspaper except that some of my readers are in the U.S. and one is even in Germany.  This certainly beats the telephone trees of my youth (one person phones 10, who phones 10 more ... ) !  But allow me to answer a question asked yesterday -- why are you speaking up now?

American philosopher George Santayana said it best: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"  We are at a critical juncture in Ontario and have a choice at this one moment to either find a real agreement between teachers and the government or travel down the B.C. road of labour unrest for years to come.

In British Columbia, the teachers, school boards and government have been engaged in a convoluted tango at various dance halls for 12 years.  Sometimes this tango takes on litigation moves and ends up in the B.C. Supreme Court, twice now in fact.  Sometimes it prefers a more tribunal setting and goes to the B.C. Labour Relations Board.  But unlike most dances, this one is no fun for anyone involved and harms students, teachers, educational staff, parents, school communities, the union and the government.  No fun for anyone except lawyers.

Liberal Premier Christy Clarke has belatedly reached a similar conclusion and offered a plan going forward that includes negotiations and the reinstatement of labour rights.  Though some commentators doubt the Clarke plan, still it's interesting to note how an election in the offing tends to sharpen the political mind.  Far better still, the B.C. Public School Employers' Association and the B.C. Teachers' Federation have recently reached an agreement on a new negotiations framework that will be used in teacher contract talks starting next month.

B.C.'s problems were not solved in the courts or at tribunals in over 12 years.  We in Ontario have a historic opportunity now and can learn from B.C.'s mistakes.  The government, the initiator of our current problems, can decide that *real* negotiations are needed to solve the current impasse.  If the government is genuine, then unions should be at the table to make peace.  And school boards?  Well we should act as employers at negotiations as called for by the Education Act.

I don't know how you're feeling but I'm too old to tango for 12 years.  Even if the current contracts are not ripped up and even with its difficulties, it's time to get back to negotiations.


The views expressed in this blog are my personal views only. Later ... if we haven't had real negotiations over the past year, what the *?&%  have you been doing?