How I Learned to Stop Caring and Love the Dance

A Treatise on the OSSTFs Pre and Post Election Strategy.

Tis the season to be in the garden. And while I was out stomping about in the triple mix, my mind
began to focus on provincial politics and the politicians that cover Ontario with a deep layer of manure
every time the polling stations escape the storage lockers.

Then I started to dance on that pile of crapulence.

Indulge for a moment the metaphor....

If you wanted to cut some rug at the local dance hall, you would hope that the gender(s) that sexually
interest(s) you would be in attendance. Now, in the name of expediency I will sacrifice inclusivity and
explain it as though yours truly is the fellow at the dance den.

If I show up and survey a crowd of potential dance-mates and see a tsunami of testosterone (to wit - a
sausage-fest), I would have a few strategies to consider. I could leave the party and head for a more
estrogenic environment or I could wait and see if the ladies are just late or I could close my eyes and
pretend that the guys are gals.

My strategy? I would probably leave. What I could not do is change the circumstances. They simply are
not in my control.

The OSSTF and all the teacher unions are in a similar pickle. They showed up for a dance and couldnt
find a partner. But unlike me, they stuck around. In fact, they staked out a corner of the club and
started grooving to their own rhythm. And if you have ever seen it played out, you know that guy
quickly becomes the awkward dude that kind of freaks you out but still manages to mildly amuse.

Heres why our not-so-guilty feet have got no rhythm. (In the three strategic areas in which the unions
shamefully boast a vacant dance card).

The Election Strategy

Stated simply and directly, an election strategy requires viable options. Any labour organizations
election strategy must be built around the notion of being king-makers. All the backroom group-think in
the world cannot escape the simple truth that the election is the moment to cement your dance partner
for the next four years and to accumulate some governing party promissory notes. Whether it be
propping up the opposition, or giving a political party previously unattainable legislative legitimacy - its
about making friendly kings and indebted queens.

However, in Ontario, the music has stopped and all the dance partners went home with somebody else.

The OSSTF speaks of intelligent, astute, and flexible political strategy. While in the same breath saying
we have to avoid Hudaks anti-labour tea-toddling tomfoolery.

Well, surprise, that means we are endorsing the Liberal party. If the Liberals are the only party that can
challenge the PCs then our stated goal of defeating Hudak means that we are supporting Wynne.
Forever.

All this while Bill 115 still resides in short term memory for most of us. And the OSSTF has the gall to
suggest that we are going to teach the Liberals a lesson because we are not officially endorsing them.
Whether officially or not, we have endorsed the Liberals in this election. We didnt have any choice, and
the Ontario Liberal Party knows it. In fact, they knew it when they introduced Bill 115.

They knew that when it came down to it, the teacher unions (and Labour in general) would not only not
support Hudak, but that they would need to do everything they could to avoid a PC government - and
out of necessity come back to the Liberals. Believe this, the McWynnties knew they could sell us out
and we would still have to vote for them. I guess were not really King-makers after all.

Its akin to bringing a special someone to the dance party, buying her a dress, a couple of drinks, some
flowers and then discovering her astride of the guy in the Ralph Lauren shirt and penny loafers when
you return from the restroom. And then when she comes over to you - you buy her another drink. But
you think youre winning because you absolutely, one hundred percent for sure, are not sending her a
birthday card, although when the time comes, you will buy her a cake. The Liberals know we have no
choice but to support them - what strategy?

Election strategy requires more than one potential dance partner. We cannot pretend otherwise. If we
cant be legitimate king or queen makers then we must move onto a different dance floor.

The Negotiations

Theres a break in the beat when you notice a nearby hottie, you make eye contact, smile, maintain eye
contact and begin the approach. When you arrive you can feel the pheromones as urges build, then, as
though on cue, the music resumes.

One problem - you expected to tango, but the music and your partner - are ready to rave. Youre
painfully out of step and your hottie sashays over to another. The rose drops from your mouth and you
realize you are the dinosaur on the dance floor.

Negotiations by definition require two willing partners who share an understanding regarding the rules
of the process. But in the case of Ontarios Education Sector and the Government of Ontario - the
government indulges in the Lambada, the groin tangling forbidden shimmy, while we are Dosey Dohing
our way through a square dance.

Heres how the beats will drop.

We strike - they legislate us back to work after they save a week or two of salary.
Or we rotate strikes - they lock us out and legislate us back to work after some savings accrue.
Or we withdraw extracurriculars - they consider merit pay or making extras mandatory.

Different dances.

To be clear, I fully support significant labour kick back in the form of strikes or withdrawal of
extracurriculars, but the tune has changed and the power of these moves is somewhat muted.

And then theres the elephant on the dance floor. Does our membership really have the stomach for a
long labour battle?

About 40 years ago teachers walked. Left the classroom and hit the tundra-fied sidewalks for over eight
weeks. They sacrificed pay, stood in the cold, and ultimately made a huge difference. During the Bill
115 labour dispute, many teachers were reluctant to pull their clubs or teams. Something has changed.

If you want to play old school labour tactics in a new world political system, you had better be certain
the membership will join in your conga line. But right now, I am not sure thats the case. Its time to
educate the membership, to listen to the membership, to engage and motivate the membership.

The Post-Election strategy.

So youve recently broken up with somebody special. Lets not pretty it up, they dumped you, the day
before Valentines, for your best friend. And you show up at the dance club only to see him or her
grinding away on said former bestie. Do you run away?

HELL NO.

Living well is the best revenge. Get the best looking person you can find (I dont care if its your cousin)
and dance the night away, in full view of your gone, but not forgotten, former dance partner. And do
things with them, again in full view, that you never did with your ex.

In a world where the OSSTF can no longer play king maker, cannot effectively execute a traditional
negotiations strategy, its time to shake the money maker with some new dance partners.

The parents. The students. The media. The neighbours. And the middle class.

The parents want a partner who protects their children from the corporatization and politicization of
education. Ma and Pa Ontario want to believe that teachers are the vanguard of education and that we
will protect their interests as well as ours. Tthey need to understand the issues, and right now most
parents dont. Were educators; lets educate.

High school students have an underestimated understanding of the issues and are acutely aware of the
challenges facing them when it comes to financing post-secondary education. Nevermind the increasing
and unrelenting stresses they face in high school. And how did O.A.C./grade 13 disappear without a
public education campaign from the OSSTF? I am not suggesting that we politicize the classroom, rather
that we should engage student groups. They are sympathetic and will partner with us.

The media needs to cover a compelling counterpunch. One of the reasons they dont cover our side of
the story is because (no offence intended) teachers are painfully bland. We dont give them sound bites
or colourful imagery and nobody wants to dance to boring, obscure tunes about charter rights or
teachers struggling to make ends meet during their summers of leisure. When youre standing just off
the dance floor, your eyes are usually drawn to the sexiest of revellers. Teachers need to sexy up their
arguments. The media couldnt care less about who is on the moral high ground; they care about
whoever is the most interesting to cover.

Our neighbours, and the middle class in general, need to understand that teachers are the canaries in
the coal mine. No, I shouldnt mix metaphors, so...were the go-go dancers. And if the go-go dancers
can be eliminated there is no reason to believe that the music wont stop suddenly one day. And the
middle class will become a quaint memory (like my actual dance club days). While that may be a
dramatic statement, I sense a growing agitation amongst the middle class as our financial challenges
mount. The OSSTF needs to tap into and unify that agitation, in the unionist, and the non-unionist,
middle class. Its there - teachers need to lead the charge.

Rather than taking the lead, our union leadership seems to be awkwardly holding on to a by-gone era.
The OSSTF was founded just as the roaring twenties were taking hold. Sadly, we remain the flapper in a
room full of rappers.

You can follow Rob Scott on Twitter @robbiescotty

Rob Scott
June 2014