Thread by @bryinlyin

one of the common reservations i've heard about supporting continued labor action against ontario college management is that the terms of the CEC's upcoming "offer of settlement" (read: forced offer vote) don't seem *that bad*

let's dig into this a little:

without wanting to restate the obvious, the most fundamental issue here is that this "offer" was NOT obtained through bargaining;

it was unilaterally drafted by a corporate management body that has repeatedly refused compromise on ANY key issue raised by faculty union reps

if you have any stake whatsoever in labor rights (& frankly, if you're a working person, you should), it's important to understand what a terrible precedent this sets

the whole *point* of a union is to give employees a strong voice in shaping their working conditions

even if the CEC's offer seems not to pose an acute personal threat to individual faculty (though in many cases it does)

the fact is that this is your bosses telling you they know what's right for you, your students, & your institution *without your input*

if you're being bullied by someone & they decide to play nice one day, does that mean you haven't been bullied? that your aggressor won't pull the rug out from under you whenever the whim strikes? that you're in any way empowered by their conditional kindness?

no!

the CEC has been union-busting long enough to know that a sheen of individual benefit is necessary to sugar-coat their otherwise vile agenda;

but it's all the issues they DON'T mention that reveal their true power play

as the CAAT-A team has repeated time & again, one of the things faculty are NOT bargaining for this round is additional pay;

bill 124 has already aggressively suppressed that right, & the union is not challenging it directly (for now)

yet, the CEC claims that THE highlight of their offer -- & a demonstration of their willingness to compromise -- is "enhancements" to employee pay and benefits

why would management draw so much attention to these tangential "improvements"?

the answer, & imo this gets to the root of the danger posed by letting the CEC dictate the future of the college system,

is that management wants faculty & students & community stakeholders to forget what they're actually fighting for

*all* of CAAT-A's key proposals are about building accountability & equity into the letter of employee contracts: better job security for partial load faculty; intellectual property rights/consent practices; better-defined counseling & student supports

except in incidental ways, these changes don't cost the colleges money.

they're about things like safety, dignity, & respect;

they're about centering the leadership of (esp. marginalized) faculty in shaping programs & negotiating with management

notably, they are also *long-game strategies* -- designed to protect students & faculty from provincial overseers with dollar signs for eyeballs; to shield the college system from deteriorating into a corporate tuition-laundering machine

in contrast, the CEC's "offers" are cheap gestures -- a few bucks here, a few bucks there -- that might create momentary relief for individual faculty, BUT

a) can be withdrawn at any time on the "cost-cutting" grounds

b) require accepting the CEC's authority as *total*

now, one might argue that CEC is simply taking baby steps towards the same ultimate goals at CAAT-A,

but we know from the mouth of Graham Lloyd himself that the CEC considers faculty proposals for greater equity & accountability *antithetical* to his vision

via Lloyd, the CEC has spewed communiques affirming that management will "never accept" faculty demands for consent around curriculum reuse; "never accept" protections for partial load workers;

management has wasted more time trying to criminalize CAAT-A than actually bargaining

ultimately, what the CEC is banking on is not the (extremely dubious) strength of their "offer", but the fatigue & uncertainty created by their intimidation of faculty

they don't want to settle; they want everyone to give up & accept their terms as inevitable.

well, fuck them

imo, the most valuable thing any faculty member can do right now is tune out management's wall of noise & find solidarity with fellow union members, local stewards, & bargaining team members fighting tirelessly to see this struggle through

i'm routinely in awe of the steadfastness & resilience of faculty & students in the face of not only management's bullshit austerity agenda, but the compounding pressures of pandemic mismanagement & a province more concerned with the optics of financial growth than actual humans

as the partner of a college prof, i see how exhausting work-to-rule is; i see the tensions that arise from negotiating with management & students during a labor action

i also know & trust that solidarity with CAAT-A is a renewable source of hope in the face of corporate impunity

even OPSEU leadership, who imo have dragged their heels a bit supporting CAAT-A, are calling for a strong NO vote on the CEC's "offer"

https://twitter.com/OPSEU/status/1483518641530355716?s=20