Commentary from an Observer

As a keen observer of the unfolding story of Brandon University’s (BU) job action
over the past few months, I wanted to comment on some key issues apropos to
the current impasse between labour and management.

Not withstanding the fact that the administration from the beginning has
demanded the strike be summarily ended through binding arbitration; bloggers,
frustrated parents and distraught students have joined in the clarion call for
settlement through arbitration. This argument is a non-starter due to the fact
that in 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that collective bargaining is
a protected right with reference to the ‘freedom of association’ clause in the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Government can pass legislation designating
workers as ‘essential’ and strip their rights to bargain and strike only if it’s
demonstrated that it’s for the good of the country. Try as you might, you’re not
going to come up with a convincing argument for declaring university professors
as an essential service hence it is their right to continue the bargaining process.
To those crying for arbitration, I ask, what other rights do you feel like throwing
under the bus for the sake of expediency?

Keeping on the theme of arbitration, why has the administration from the
beginning of the strike offered it as their main solution? Paraphrasing Derek
Brown (one of BUFA’s lead negotiators), if an employer doesn’t want to bargain
with the workers, they can ask for arbitration. Every time a contract comes up
after that, they can just keep going the arbitration route. Therefore, the employer
has for all intents and purposes stripped the workers of their Charter right to
collective bargaining. There are a few social/political models that end in ‘ism’ that
work that way. Why would any group of workers be motivated to go down that
path?

Speaking of motivations, those haven’t been discussed in the forums and I feel
some context should shed some light on how this situation came about. The
faculty has a vested interest in the overall good of the staff (including the other
unions) at the university, the students and the city. After this incident is over,
they still have to all work together for themselves, their students and their home
community. Most of the faculty have deep roots and ties to the university and
the area. For example, the lead BUFA negotiator, Joe Dolecki, has worked
there 30+ years and has a daughter attending the university. In contrast, on the
administration’s side, there are two main protagonists. Deborah Poff, the BU
president, did her schooling in Ontario and was brought in from UNBC for a five
year term. According to two open letters from the BU team that hired her, they
are deeply regretting their hiring decision considering she was brought in for ‘the
restoration of collegial relations’. Instead of negotiating in the usual collegial
manner, she hired a consultant who without consulting the faculty, re-worded
most of the old contract for debate. Then, contrary to the usual BU negotiating
pattern, she hired Grant Mitchell, a Winnipeg lawyer, to be the lead negotiator for

administration. Mr Mitchell is a member of the Canadian Association of Counsel
to Employers, an organization that advises employers on how to deal with their
workers. He has negotiated for the administrations of the U of M and U of W and
has a reputation of being tough on unions. So of these two sides, who do you say
has more altruistic reasons to fight for a fair and equitable settlement versus who
just cares about furthering their career? Who has more of a personal stake in this
dispute and who is likely going to move on to greener pastures after stirring up
the pot?

Finally, to add my perspective as a parent of a child that went through the
same situation with regards to Vancouver Island University and their long strike
this past spring. I won’t deny that there wasn’t some consternation and some
scrabbling to sort his life out but the strike came to a conclusion and my son was
offered a tuition refund or a term extension to finish off his year. He’s going to
restart his studies in January so it wasn’t the end of the world and things will work
out. Especially at this time of the year with poppies on our chests, maybe we
could remember some of the previous ‘inconveniences’ people went through so
that we could live in a fair and just society.

Blair Gilmore