Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!db.toronto.edu!jdd
From: jdd@db.toronto.edu (John DiMarco)
Newsgroups: ont.general
Subject: Re: Community College Teachers on strike
Message-ID: <1989Nov14.144805.4377@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
Date: 14 Nov 89 19:48:05 GMT
References: <606@alias.UUCP> <1989Nov11.143948.15365@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> <255DCAC0.7630@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca> <1989Nov14.111855.27329@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu>
Distribution: ont
Lines: 45

flaps@dgp.toronto.edu (Alan J Rosenthal) writes:

>>flaps@dgp.toronto.edu (Alan J Rosenthal) writes:
>>>Why do people always blame the union for protracted strikes?  Certainly it
>>>must at least sometimes be the management's fault!  Of course the union could
>>>end the strike at any time by giving in on all issues, but so could the
>>>management.

>riehm@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca (Carl Riehm) writes:
>>Is it possibly related to the fact that it is usually the *union* that
>>proposes new working conditions which favour itself, rather than *management*
>>that proposes new working conditions favouring itself?

>I don't think this is true.  Often strikes are the result of the management
>proposing CHANGES which are bad for the workers.  

I don't think it is really important which side of a labour dispute is
proposing change. A strike/lockout can be called by either party to ensure or
prevent change, depending on the situation. 

What I do think is important in this case is the fact that students, who are 
not involved in the labour dispute, are being hurt by a strike initiated by
one of the parties in this dispute, namely, the teacher's union. IMHO, this
is inherently unjust. Students are not at the bargaining table; they should 
not be punished for what happens or fails to happen at that table. 

This 'punishment' is not slight - in some cases, it could ruin a student's
education. (e.g. Mary Smith can't afford to spend an extra year in school, 
but she needs an extra year to finish because of the strike. Therefore she 
can't get afford to get her diploma.) 

Note that this works both ways. If the administration had called a lockout, 
it -- and not the union -- would be harming students by suspending their
educations. 

Before either party in a labour dispute decides on strike/lockout action,
that party should consider very carefully the effect of such action on
innocent third parties. 

John

--
John DiMarco                   jdd@db.toronto.edu or jdd@db.utoronto.ca
University of Toronto, CSRI    BITNET: jdd%db.toronto.edu@relay.cs.net
(416) 978-8609                 UUCP: {uunet!utai,decvax!utcsri}!db!jdd