Finally the truth of the BCTF strike is revealed
With any campaign or cause there are always leaders and followers. It is rare that the two have the same motivations for joining together with the other. In fact, in politics it is rare that any 2 voters have exactly the same reasons for voting for a particular party!
My friends who are teachers support the strike for the best reasons: they want a better work environment for themselves which will directly improve the amount of time and quality of education that their students will receive. For this I commend them. I don't support their engagement in breaking the law but I do commend them for their altruistic reasons in doing so.
It was revealed today, however, that the motivations of the BCTF leadership and the relatively small number of ultra-militant teachers has nothing to do with the kids and never did. What this is really all about for them is a refight of the last provincial election. The BCTF leaders, other union leaders, and their ultra-militant supporters fought like hell to defeat the current government. They lost and the government won. While all reasonable people accepted the democratic will of the people, these folks did not.
And so they bided their time, looking for an opportunity to seek revenge. They saw it in this dispute. Like good generals they cleverly wrapped it up with award winning rhetoric about the fight being "all about the students". For teachers like my friends this was very appealing. If I were in their shoes I might very well have signed on too.
But what the BCTF couldn't have expected was the ruling from Madam Justice Brown. As I said previously, this was most surely a great olive branch extended to the union. It would have been for any reasonable people. But the BCTF leadership has never been reasonable, not with this government, not with the previous NDP government, not with any government. They've chosen to ignore her ruling, already violating it by using their website to continue supporting the illegal strike. Plans are now in place for a general walkout of all public sector workers in Victoria on Monday, with a province wide general strike surely to follow after that.
Taking a step back for a moment, it's hard to believe this is happening in Canada; reasonable, law-abiding Canada. There is no mistaking that this group is advocating loud & clear that they don't respect the government of B.C., the democratic voice of the people of B.C., nor even the Supreme Court of B.C.
This all makes me think of several things:
- Sympathy must go out to the politically moderate teachers who now realize that they've been used as pawns.
- How large is the group of undemocratic, militant teachers that are teaching our children?
- If things escalate and some of the more militant teachers are arrested, charged, and convicted, should they be allowed to ever teach again?
- Several other unfortunate periods in human history were precipitated by similar small groups of people taking the law into their own hands, turning a democracy into something very different.
- Is there not a striking similarity in the psyche of fundamentalist religious zealots and the relatively small group of hardcore militant unionists?
3 comments:
Hutts,
Thanks for your lengthy response. While I don't at all feel I am "wrong", as you have asserted, I do appreciate your viewpoint.
Last night I was visited by one of my teacher friends. He came over for coffee and we discussed the entire situation for many hours. I would say that your views and his are very similar. Though he revealed some things to me about the vote at the Orpheum theatre that you have neglected to mention.
He feels that this is his last opportunity to improve his working conditions (and thus the learning environment of his students). Why his last? He has many more years to teach but firmly believes that if the BCTF loses this fight then it'll set a precedent for the next several decades.
Though I do understand him - and want the very best for him in his career - I absolutely do not accept that teachers, nor your union, have any right to decide policy in our school system. Make suggestions, sure. Complain about things when things aren't right, sure. But actually set policy? No way, that's insane. It would be like my employees coming to me and telling me that they will now decide what work they do and how the company will be run. One of my ex-employees actually tried to do that. I put up with it for several months (several months too long) but then fired her. What a relief it was to the rest of the staff once she was gone.
Back to your situation. I'd like to focus in on your 3rd paragraph. Your sentiments are identical to that of my friend. And I do understand why you both think the way you do. But just for a moment, try to put yourself into the shoes of the government. Just suppose you were a gov't representative given the mandate to negotiate a contract. Now suppose that this group you're meeting with won't agree with you on anything ... 35 times in a row. They think their demands are reasonable. You do not. And you report this back to your bosses.
Given that scenario, why are you so apt to conclude that the problems with the bargaining were all the fault of the Liberal gov't?
Before you answer that, please remember that your union could also not reach agreement with the previous NDP gov't and were ordered back to work. Nor could they reach agreement with the Social Credit gov't before that and were ordered back to work.
Have you ever seen people go through a divorce? Negotiations are required there too. And yet, more times than not, both parties are completely inflexible, absolutely convinced that THEY are right and THE OTHER person is wrong.
During last night's discussion, I shared with my friend my view that neither party is an angel here. I made several suggestions to him of how *I* would have proceeded [long ago] if I were the BCTF and he thought they were quite superb. I am gathering my thoughts (and researching some financial figures) which I plan to post on a future blog entry. They will constitute my suggestions for what the BCTF needs to do to get what they want for their members. For two things are very clear:
1. In terms of negotiations the BCTF is a dysfunctional organization and has been for several decades.
2. The vast majority of British Columbians want excellent learning conditions for the children of the province, which more than indirectly will benefit the members of the BCTF.
I leave a question for you: "If a law were passed that said that every teacher has the right to join any union they want or no union at all, what would you do?"
hutts,
I have often heard teachers explain that as professionals their views deserve special respect. What exactly do you mean when you use the term "professional"?
What other professional has their position protected by seniority and their individual compensation negotiated by a union?
It seems to me that you cannot simultaneously expect the respect afforded to professionals who either perform or have their employment terminated and have "strength in numbers" "working cooperatively" "to protect its members".
So, teachers are professionals and want respect.
Would this be the same teachers, who, in the last dispute, attacked the car carry one of the negotiators.Seems to me it would be kinda tough to teach your students that bullying is not right when BC teachers exhibit that very trait.
I have maintained for sometime that this is simply a continuation of the fight in the last election when the BCTF spent 5 million dollars to defeat the Liberals.
The BCTF collects over 40 million dollars a year in union dues. What happens to all that money.
And they are doing it for the good of the students. YA, RIGHT!!!
Oh, and BTW, here is a question for parents who have kids in the education system.
WHEN THEY GO BACK,DO YOU WANT YOUR KID BEING TAUGHT BY A FELON??
Horny Toad
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