A Teachers' Strike Postmortem

A teachers' strike post-mortem seems in order.

I have a theory about the BC Federation of Teachers to bounce off you.

First, let us note that the recent strike, while it scarcely showed the government in a good light, was disastrous for the teachers. For their troubles and huge fines they accomplished nothing. Their legislated contract stays in place and they really got no money in their own pockets. On what they stated to be their main concern, class size and composition, they got that, which, added to a loonie, will get you a cup of coffee.

Secondly, let me reiterate that I agree with the teachers that class size and composition ought to be part of the bargaining process, though I have recommended an arbitration process.

Itching for a fight

The problem with the teachers is that they're still not quite sure what they want to be. In days of yore, teachers were proud to be professionals, albeit poor ones. When, in the 70s, they became a union, there were a lot of teachers who, while wanting a better deal, were unhappy with, indeed in some cases much opposed to, being a union along side the lunch bucket crowd, hitting the bricks from time to time. Teaching, to them, was a tradition and while they could understand some sort of organization negotiating, oh so politely, with school boards, they were just not the sort to be dumped in with, ahem, the working classes. It was no accident that they're not called the BC Teachers Union.

Since becoming a union, teachers have been at war with the government. The left has managed to control the executive which has seen that the best way to keep the minions happy is to quarrel with the government whenever the opportunity presents itself.

A few days ago, I bumped into an old friend who was, back in my government days, Deputy Minister of Education. We discussed the strike and I observed that going back to my time in government 30 plus years ago, the teachers provoked the government whenever it could. He agreed and we reminisced about the day virtually all the teachers in the land came to Victoria, clogged traffic (great example for the kids) and marched upon the Parliament Buildings.

I have a theory. The union, insecure with a large number of teachers not all that fussy to this day about being part of a union, must always have a dog and pony show of some sort going. If they didn't fight the government at every turn, they fear that terrible question every organization executive fears, "what have you done to justify your existence?" Thus, it is that the union with the largest number of dissidents within the ranks becomes the most militant.

The Ready solution

All governments since the day the BCTF was founded have come under fire, very much including the NDP which also legislated teachers back to work. But the biggest scraps have always come when so-called right-wing governments are in place. This is because the teachers, the radicals of whom are easy to rouse anytime, are, at the leadership level, staunch NDP supporters. Most unions are, but the more mature leaders come to the table to bargain, not win provincial elections.

The government has hardly been faultless. If the teachers' union is always spoiling for a fight, the Campbell government has been all too eager to join in and lob a few grenades of their own.

In part, the ongoing scrap has much to do with the issue that confounds both sides - class size and composition. There are arguments that this is a management matter and counter-arguments that only teachers have the ability to know what is necessary. As it stands, this is a management issue because the government has so legislated. Vince Ready proposes a mechanism wherein this matter can be thrashed out. (Modesty prevents me from saying who, from the beginning, on air and in print put forward this same solution.)

Something like Mr. Ready's solution must be found before the situation becomes such that much more serious job action will confound the system. For what we have seen is not just a labour-management dispute, but an ongoing political fight, the victims of which are schoolchildren and their parents.

Rafe Mair writes a Monday column for The Tyee. His website is www.rafeonline.com