The ongoing strike at York University puts Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty (the so-called “Education Premier”) in a very awkward position. He garnered the support of the teachers’ unions after Mike Harris hollowed out the Ontario educational system in the late 1990s. Now, in dealing with workers at York, he has to tread carefully not to upset this constituency that helped him get elected. The teachers’ unions, who are in the midst of negotiations and are already poised to strike, would not approve of workers at York being legislated back. At the same time, however, he also has to cope with pressure from the right wing press and other corporate interests who want make an example of the York strikers. Clearly, he is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The poor fellow is really under a lot of pressure.
So, what has he done? He has sent in a mediator, Reg Pearson, to “bang some heads.” These are strong words, but Mr. Pearson doesn’t have the brawn to back them up. McGuinty has set no time-limit for the mediator to resolve the dispute, and the mediator can only make recommendations to the union and the university. This move reflects Mr. McGuinty’s awkward position and opportunistic politicking. He wants to send a message to the public that he is “doing something,” while at the same time avoiding back-to-work legislation – if he can. He’ll do what it takes to get re-elected.
Now there are rumours circulating that the mediator has threatened that the Liberals will legislate the workers back to work if they do not come to a resolution by tomorrow. This is deliberate fear mongering. Mediators will say anything to get their job done. In reality, the mediator has no authority, nor does he have any idea what the Liberals will do. He has plenty of bark but no bite.
The Liberal Party is the party of big business – let’s not forget that. But back-to-work legislation is fraught with dangers for the Liberals. Strikers at York are by no means at the end of the line for bargaining – and the bargaining team should not let this threat detract from holding firm at the bargaining table. After all, weakness invites aggression.
But, predictably, York University has responded negatively to the bargaining team’s latest offer. After the bargaining team bent over backwards over the course of the last two days, slashing its demands from 10.8% to 9.4% and then again down to 8.3%, the employer’s response was a resounding: “Not inclined.” To put this into perspective, York’s accumulated surplus over the last three years was approximately 139 million dollars, but workers’ demands add up to only approximately 6 million dollars over two years. President Shoukri’s bonus this year ($80,000) is almost exactly what has been removed by the administration from their extended health benefits plan. York is sitting on a pile of money, but it’s tactic remains the same – delay. They are waiting to see if the union will buckle under increased pressure from the mediator, the fear of back-to-work legislation, and the increased pressure the business students will put on the picket lines when they return to class on Monday. In reality, the administration is backed up by every other university in the country in order to make an example of the York workers.
If legislation is eventually tabled, then it is up to workers at York to spread the struggle as widely as they can. Back-to-work legislation is an attack on the democratic right to free collective bargaining. If it comes to that, the economic struggle that workers have been waging for months now will be transformed into a political struggle for the democratic right to strike. And workers will find that they have many allies in Ontario willing to defy back-to-work legislation with them.
