Now what?
from The Little Education Report
There was a meeting during the late 1990s of a few people to see if a joint organization could be created to battle Mike Harris’ education agenda by putting together an alliance of parents and teachers. The thinking was this: teachers have tons of money and human resources to fight politically but when they do so in the name of teachers and education workers, although sincere, there is that nagging doubt that “you are only here for self interest.” Nobody accuses the parents of self interest but, conversely, they have no money and few human resources. If the active parents groups of Toronto teamed up with the federations and CUPE, the resulting powerhouse would rock the education world.
This eventually evolved into the Campaign for Public Education. There were four people at the first meetings, Professor George Martell of York U, parent activist Jackie Latter, parent activist Kathleen Wynne and your scribe. Ontatrio Secondary School Teachers Federation local president Jim McQueen, Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario president Martin Long and Canadian Union of Public Employees President John Weatherup soon arrived and added the necessary muscle to make the project work. Soon lawn signs sprouted all over Toronto with the message from Kathleen as I recall “Give our Kids What They Need to Succeed.”
Over the past 15 years, I have kept fairly close contact as Kathleen Wynne went from parent activist to trustee, to MPP, to minister of education. Kathleen is a Liberal and a liberal and well, I’m not but we both understood in the fight against Mike Harris, there was no room for too much partisanship amongst progressives. She was naturally pulled hither and yon in the political world where principle and pragmatism duke it out for hegemony on a daily basis. Some days you have to take one for the team even if you just argued in caucus or cabinet for the opposite approach.
On the other hand, and I say this as a friend, Kathleen has this maddening mediator’s approach to situations that always finds the truth is in the centre. This is what makes her a Liberal and not a social-democrat. I have often told her “Kathleen… sometimes one side is 100 per cent right and the other side is 100 per cent wrong.” Arrrgh. Was Mike Harris half right or was he wrong on every issue every single day. I rest my case.
Everyone is expecting miracles on the teacher bargaining front but they may be bitterly disappointed. Kathleen maintains “we have to have a conversation (her favourite word) about that but everyone needs to understand that we must have extra-curricular activities back but there is no money.” Classic Kathleen.
Sadly, she was water boarded with the austerity Kool Aid of Bay Street, Duncan, Drummond, and the other self interested losers.
As an aside, some of the teacher protest signs at the Liberal convention made me laugh out loud. Minister of Education, talking points queen Laurel Broten just kept saying “we are just taking a pause here…” which is a bald faced lie. Removing sick days is not a pause it is permanent. One sign read “we are just taking a pause on extra-curriculars” another, “extra-curriculars have been prorogued.”
My approach you ask? Mike Harris lowered corporate taxes by an amount that would yield $16 billion in 2013 dollars thus precipitating this crisis on purpose. To counter the self interested corporate opposition here; Ontario does not have a spending problem, it has a revenue problem. Deficits are composed of uncollected taxes. Go raise corporate taxes by the amount of the deficit, problem solved. The corporate taxes would still be the lowest in the Great Lakes Basin. Mitt Romney complained throughout the American election that Ontario taxes were so low no American state close by could compete. Obama, for heaven’s sake, a Goldman Sachs type corporate liberal on his best day understands a little math. 1) high level public services are a good idea for both social and economic reasons. 2) the poor have no money, 3) the middle class is tapped out. 4) the one percent rich has so much money they literally don’t know what to do with it since public policy has held their taxes low (Bush tax cuts only the latest) since the 70s really.
There is really only one way out of the crisis. The rich on Wall Street with their unbridled greed through hedge funds, derivatives, credit default swaps, bundled subprime mortgages, and obscene CEO pay, has taken the livelihoods of workers, farmers, the middle class, and even a big piece of main street and the business members of the real economy (the people who make things) to the casino of Wall Street, gambled the whole damn thing and lost. Who the hell else should pay for our problems but those bastards? Andrea Horwath is at least on the right path forcing Dwight Duncan to cancel scheduled corporate tax cuts. She is now demanding a reduction in corporate business deductions. Why should teachers lose their sick days while CEOs still write off their lunches and entertainment?
Notwithstanding the screed above, I’m back now. Somehow, although it would be nice, I don’t feel the short term problem is likely to be solved by Occupy Bay Street with pitch forks and torches at the corner of King and Bay. Premier Wynne will be looking at low cost solutions to encourage teachers to lighten up a tad. Here are the first solutions that come to mind. Bring forth the rotting corpses of the Education Quality and Accountability Office and the Ontario College of Teachers. Oh no we can’t do that as if either served any useful function whatsoever. Ken Coran’s ideas of letters of understanding have great promise. It allows for new understandings without technically opening up the contracts and putting everything on the table.
The federations believe millions could be saved by a federation takeover of all benefit plans. Will that even get a hearing?
Recent legislation has created a situation where teacher contracts must be either two or four years long. If the government was sincere, (please no laughing) then NEGOTIATE, year three and year four. Put in a decent wage increase, a cost of living adjustment clause and some compensation for the lost sick days, a buyout if you will. That is the shape of an everybody wins deal. If that or something close is not available then get out the political axe handles and the Louisville Sluggers. This thing is going to get ugly. The teachers are about to do to the Liberal Party what Carrie Underwood did to the car of her cheatin’ boyfriend. Maybe next time they’ll think before they cheat. For those who missed the metaphor, here is the Cliff’s Notes. Carrie represents the teachers and education workers, the bleached blonde tramp is Bay Street, the cheating boyfriend is McGuinty, and the four-wheel drive car is the Liberal Party.
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/carrieunderwood/beforehecheats.html
The federations have literally millions to spend on anti-Liberal advertising and an army of expert political operatives to put into the field against the Liberal Party very soon. They know exactly how to triage the 107 ridings into can’t win, can’t lose and about 30 ridings that determine the fate of governments. Like the success of the united Greeks against the vastly larger Persian army, they know exactly how to deploy their resources to fight either in the narrow valleys or between the cliffs and the sea (Thermopylae). These resources will be deployed on an NDP only basis unless the Liberals smell the coffee. It may already be too late.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.