Escalation

So the Terry Fox event in Newfoundland is cancelled, management's press release , which the media seem to be ignoring so far, alleges that

It has become clear that the CMG would require children participating in the events on Signal Hill to cross a picket line.

In fact it was adults - technicians hired to do the event, that wouldn't cross the line. No one had any intention of interfering with the event itself, only it's broadcast. There are children in and around the Toronto picket lines on a regular basis and as far as I know, none of them are scarred for life. There was never any intention to do anything but stand aside as the children came through and CBC Management is well aware of this. If people actually pick up this press release and do anything with it, they may win a short term pr victory, but as I've said before Sun Tzu they aint.

At the same time CBC Management whines about slow progress, they escalate the battle of words. It is apparently now fair game to, essentially, lie to score points. So, if the guild now turns around and says that Management's sole purpose in locking the doors was to try to starve the children of CBC employees, and cost people their mortgages, that would, according to management's new rules, be fair game. What a truly shrewd way to expedite negotiations. Apparently when CBC News covered the Daulton McGuinty 'evil reptilian kitten eater' fiasco Management wasn't watching.

Sorry for the rant. In happier news, Michael Moore has weighed in.

Looking Forward

I've been looking long and hard for the bright spots in this, I know that they are few and far between, but there have to be some (even if they are very small) right? For example, we're getting lots of exercise, I've met alot of people I wouldn't have otherwise, that has to be a good thing right? I'm talking with CMG people across the country, (largely via email but still) not a bad thing. I've certainly learned alot, about CMG, the CBC, labour issues (ours and others), and, of course, blisters - Tessa has some good info on this.

I also think there is the potential for one more bright spot. Whether they love the CBC or hate the CBC, we have alot of people's attention. Many have been reminded of just how much they do want and need the CBC and these blogs have generated an enormous amount of attention from people who really want to know what's going on.

So my question is, what if it didn't stop. I mean when it's all over. Obviously we'd stop the picketing, and the politicking, and probably the podcasts too - or at least most of them. But what if all the blogs kept going, giving people the inside story on the CBC and what is happening in the buildings. I don't mean trade secrets, or stories that are about to break, but just the day to day, what kind of things you're working on. How things are going on the inside. What your job is like and how it's going. How your daily life is as a CBC employee. Apparently people are genuinely interested in this, and I think they might be when it's all over too.

Perhaps it would help put a human face to the 'corpse', and build some public support. It could be a good way to interact with the general public and hear their ideas, and concerns. I'd genuinely like to know what people think about this, especially if you are not CMG and are a listener or viewer. If you don't feel like posting a comment. Please email me

A few thoughts for the day

First, as I said on @Lagerheads today. I have heard tons of rumors about when this is going to be over. I'd like to point out that the people on the line have no way of knowing when it will be over. No one on the line can simply say 'today it's over' so, if that is the source of a rumor, it's not true. Lower level managers, inside the building(s) have no more control over it than you or I do, so if that is the source of your rumor, it's wrong. Upper management and the CMG and their various negotiating teams are negotiating, they can't control how the other side negotiates and so - they can't really say on what day the negotiations will be over, so if that's the source of your rumor, it's wrong. I suppose it's possible that CMG or Management have a date by which it 'must be over' but I doubt it, I think they are waiting to see how things go - in negotiations and outside and whatever they come up with still has to be ratified by the membership (that's us.) so if that's the source of your rumor it's wrong. No one, and I mean no one, knows when this will all end. Everyone can guess, but their guess is likely no better than yours or mine. All of the rumors are just wishful (or pessimistic) thinking. It will be over one day, but until there is an official announcement from the negotiators don't get your hopes up every time someone says - 'I heard that it's going to be over _________' because in truth, they don't know. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, or dash anyone's hopes, but I don't see how the source of any of these rumors would know and I don't want to see people continually dissapointed.

Second, I've heard comments from several journalists that they are uncomfotable being very out front on this because they need to remain impartial and will have to cover labour actions again in the future. That is, to an extent, understandable. But, it seems that when labour actions do occur it is frequently only covered as a business story. Sometimes, if it is a public sector strike (teachers, bus drivers, medical workers etc.) the impact on the public is covered. What is rarely covered is the impact on the workers, the reality of weeks and sometimes months without a paycheque, or benefeits. I hope, while retaining impartiality, that this aspect of strikes and lockouts gets a little more attention in the future.

The Perma-Temp Issue

First of all I would like to congratulate and thank the Society for Energy Professionals who have stood with CMG since the beginning of the lockout. In case you haven't heard, after 105 days (15 weeks in case you don't want to do the math) on the line their case was referred to binding arbitration today The CMG isn't the only union facing issues such as outsourcing and perma-temp work ('job is temporary and may remain temporary based on our whims'). Perhaps one of the silver linings of all of this is that with the publicity generated by the CBC lockout, perhaps more Canadians will become aware of the situation. To me this is as an important an issue for Canadians as the future of health care and the CBC itself. It is also, when it's boiled down, one of the things that separates Canada from the United States.

As those of you who know me know, I am an expat, having immigrated to Canada from the US in 2002. The primary reason for the move was that my wife is from here and wanted to come home. But, I had no serious objections. I never got being an American. US culture simply made no sense to me. There are a great many things that separate Canadian and US culture beyond health care and guns.

Now, I hope everyone will forgive the following generalities. No one can say anything is absolutely true about an entire group of people. The following is based on my experiences and observations.

The US is, I think most will agree, in a decline. It has not been helped by 9-11 or hurricane Katrina, but neither of those is the cause of it's problems. Americans in my experience (or at least too many of them) seem to have stopped seeing others as their responsibility, and seem to have lost any sense of the broader societal impact when others suffer. They seem obsessed with personal short term gain at the expense of everything else.

One of the root problems, in my mind, is the near abandonment of the education system, another is obviously health care, but the one I'd like to focus on is Reaganomics. Since the election of Ronald Reagan and the rise of the neo-cons American jobs have been outsourced, downsized, off-shored and perma-temped.

As a result they work hard, they are driven to try to achieve unrealistic expectations so that they won't be downsized, outsourced etc., in the next round. They move, and expect to move, frequently because they have to follow the job market wherever it leads. This has meant the breakdown of extended families as family members move to the farthest reaches of the country following whatever career path they are on. I have seen it, in several cases, result in the breakdown of immediate families (divorces and separations) when spouses are unable to reconcile their particular career paths. It has meant the breakdown of communities and neighborhoods. When no one plans on living in a particular place for very long and everyone works extended hours and/or commutes great distances there is little inclination or opportunity to get to know your neighbors or get involved in your community. To the contrary, people, living in a community of strangers tend to become isolated and are prone to the culture of fear that Michael Moore described so eloquently in 'Bowling for Columbine.' Far from banding together to take back their neighborhoods and stand up against the decline of their society, they throw up walls, and become more defensive and conservative for fear of losing even more.

I hope this is not what Canadians want. I do not think it is what Canadians want, but in this case the long-term consequences of the erosion of decent, secure jobs are not easy to see. Corporate spokespeople make it sound necessary. They use terms like 'efficiency', 'competitiveness' and 'flexibility.' In other words a short sighted attempt to improve the bottom line at the expense of the society that supports that bottom line in the first place. It is 'what's good for me, personally, right now' as opposed to 'what's good for everyone in the long term'.

It is true that permanent, secure, well paid workforce with benefits may be more expensive. It may mean that Canada loses out on a factory now and then. It may mean that the cost of some products is slightly higher, and/or that the government may not be able to cut taxes as swiftly or as deeply. But, the question Canadians must answer, after carefully weighing the pros and cons of each side is 'what kind of country, province, city, neighborhood and household do I want my family to live in?' As I said earlier, the CBC is just one example, the Society for Energy Professionals is another example, there are countless examples and governments, politicians, corporations and individuals are going to have to decide which side of the fence they are on.