Once Again on the BC Teachers Strike

Last night I gave a talk on the BC Teachers strike to a group at the Socialist Project’s bi-weekly meeting. I was on a panel with my respected colleague Sam Gindin, and I must admit that it was an honour to be on the same bill as someone so knowledgeable on trade unions and the left. The meeting was well attended and, to be honest, I was a little nervous presenting a paper to a group on the left, as there were quite a few political activists and left academics in the audience that I really admire. It was comforting that a few friends and my wonderful wife came out to support me!

But, nervousness aside, the talk seemed to go over quite well. I outlined the events leading up to the strike, focusing on the BC government’s heavy handedness and then moved on to the media coverage of the strike. This is an often heard rant by those who have heard me speak before, as I found the media coverage on the teacher’s strike to be particularly sanctimonious and one-sided. As I tried to point out in my talk, this one-sided news coverage tended to focus overwhelmingly on the “legality” of the strike and rarely focused on the contradiction that the law was passed by the Liberals in their dual role as employer and as the government, which, I would argue, is a fundamental miscarriage of justice.

After that rousing tirade (well, maybe not rousing) I continued to the meat and potatoes of the talk and focused on the two events that have defined the strike for the left. This led to a discussion on the relationship between the BC Federation of Labour (who some accused of selling out the teachers) and the NDP (who were also accused of this). While I was disappointed with the BC Fed and the NDP’s overall position on the strike, I tried to maintain that it was too simplistic to argue that the Teacher’s strike was simply another case of being “sold out” by the trade union bureaucracy or by the Social Democrats. Rather, I tried to emphasize the structure of collective bargaining laws, the split between public and private sector workers and the ongoing fears associated with neo-liberalism and government restructuring. This led to a lively discussion.

All and all, I think it went well. Despite being a little nervous in front of my peers, I hope that it gave people something to chew on. Thanks to all those who attended and asked questions, it was really energizing.