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Notes -
Update to the education workers strike
Last week I wrote about how the Ontario government was voiding Charter rights in order to impose a contract on the union for education workers (basically, the employees in schools who aren't teachers or admin). They went on strike on Friday, there were protests over the weekend, there seemed to be a crescendo as both sides started to entrench, with other unions from Ontario and Québec announcing plans to strike or protest in solidarity, and rumours there would be a call for a general strike and then... thunderous anticlimax. The government of Ontario announced at 10 AM today that the legislature would rescind the bill and return to negotiations if the strike ended. The union appeared surprised at this (they had their own press conference scheduled right after to call for an escalation in strike actions, but had to delay it), and a few short hours later announced that schools would reopen tomorrow. The union says it reserves the right to strike (because now doing so would be legal; the actions up to now were illegal because of the use of the notwithstanding clause) but with tensions ratcheting down I'm betting on no more drama.
Basically this looks like capitulation from the province. They spent a lot of political capital on bringing out the Big Stick and then surrendered rather than smack someone with it. Maybe there will be further twists to come but it looks like they had an expectation of a much more muted public response. The Ford government relies very heavily on public opinion polling to mediate their decision making (all throughout the pandemic they were some of the worst offenders of trying to make policy via the latest poll) and apparently polling showed most Ontarians blamed them for the strike.]
Anyways I'm obviously tentatively happy about this. The atmosphere among the crowds in Queen's Park today was pretty jubilant. I really hope this is a shot in the arm for labour because it's been a long few decades without any meaningful wins in Canada.
Well I hope they come to an agreement quickly and this spectacle can end. As a resident of Ontario, I'm honestly shocked by how many people survive here on such meager wages with the cost of living so high. Yet there seems to be no end to the service workers and delivery drivers willing to do these jobs. I guess there are always ways to make ends meet, and for many migrants from around the world it's still paradise by comparison. Sure feels like we're sliding towards a neo-feudal dystopia though.
It's a really bad look for Ford to try to force the contract down their throats, even if some of their demands were a bit much. If going full authoritarian, he should have just dissolved the union altogether...and then moved on to broader education system reform.
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