A better way is needed

College faculty strike had a major impact on those who had no say: Ontario students

Students’ lives should not be so negatively affected in order to preserve the right of the college staff to have the right to strike or management the right to lock them out.

One thing is perfectly clear from this year’s faculty strike at the 24 colleges in Ontario and it is that the present system is not working for any of the parties. So there has to be a better way.

For students any system that places them at risk is not a good one. I am sure that those students especially from families who may have a member as part of a union know that sacrifices have to be made. But the vast majority, more than 60 per cent of college students today, are mature students returning to college to make a difference in their lives. Many have families and are making difficult decisions just to go to college and it may be their last chance. Many more are international students who are on restricted circumstances and have little choice but to continue or they would lose their student visas. More than 500,000 students’ lives were disrupted this fall.

The present system is not working for faculty or we would not have decades of built-up grievances trying to be resolved. The central bargaining approach leads to the discussion of the worst case labor relations issues that exist in the system. But these should be resolved at the local college. Or they are so large, such as the basic funding to the college system, that they cannot be resolved at the bargaining table. For example the present conflict over the number of full time faculty is a result of underfunding of the college system. The only one who can solve that is the government.

So is this process of bargaining really about management faculty relations or about the government’s willingness to fund our system similarly to other jurisdictions in Canada?

The system is not working for the administrative staff who find themselves having to take hard lines because they do not have the resources to do what they know is best for proper student learning outcomes. Or they have to tolerate mismanagement by peers from other colleges that leads to a process that strains their own local circumstances.

Why not allow a college that wishes to engage faculty more directly in governance to do so. At Fleming for years we have had union members on all the subcommittees of our board of governors so that they had a voice and were informed about and could influence the discussions regarding critical issues at the college.

The system is not working for the government because they seem to be allowing the work stoppages in education to go on longer and longer out of fear that they will be sued for interfering with bargaining rights. This cost them millions, with the elementary teachers’ union settlement last year and I believe was the reason for the prolonged strike in the colleges this year.

So what has to happen?

First off, something has to change or we could be right back here in the near future and despite heroic efforts by all parties to save a semester, one will be totally lost. Oh, they will say this is being done to preserve the quality of the system into the future or to protect the right to bargain but at what point do leaders on all sides face the facts and say we need to change things. We have a dysfunctional system. Please do not say that you will use the time between negotiations to make up and form better relations. I have been there and tried that. Things can get worse unless real leadership is taken.

I believe that a new model for bargaining is needed. The one I favor is that neither party has the right to punish the students. The only way to do that is to have a system where binding arbitration is the step after mediation if bargaining is unsuccessful. If the government would declare education as an essential service then the parties would be obligated to work harder at resolution. I believe here is not a single student or parent out there who would say it is not to them. It would require expert mediation and arbitration resources but I would rather spend money on training and developing world class mediation and arbitration people than millions on paying for the dislocation of students every few years. And what about the disruption lives of the thousands of staff out on picket lines. Don’t they deserve a better way also.

By the way, while we are at it maybe we should go all the way and declare fire, police and health care workers essential as well. In all these cases the third party (victims of fire, crime or health) are not at the table but are susceptible to a decline in the needed service at a critical time in their lives. If we care enough to say that hospitals are better places when patients are engaged in decision making in hospitals, should we not allow them to be either at the bargaining table or recognize their rights by not allowing them to get caught in the cross fire of labor relations? Why would we do that to people who are vulnerable?

It is time for a bold step. Final offer selection by a skilled arbitrator after extensive mediation would force all parties to be more reasonable. It has worked in other jurisdictions. All present parties would have a chance to bargain but at least there would be resolutions without victimizing students.

We certainly can do better than the present system.

Brian Desbiens is a past president of Fleming College. His column appears monthly.