WMnTIY FREE PRESS. WEDNESDÀYO<~0E 818.PG By the time you read this, teachers at Durhami College, and 21 other community colleges acros Ontario may (or may not be) on strike. If they are, I will b.eut shouldering*picket signa for the second time in my life. The first was five years ago, with the same group. I expect from most of the general public some indifference and lots of impatience. But the. group most aifected by the whele thing -- the students -- will be cauglit in the middle with absolutely ne power. Like most of the other 8,000 or se teachers in the system, my background 15 anything but radical labor. In fact, like many others who*aise will be picketing, the skills and background that brouglit me inte my 18-year career as a teacher are at the opposite end. It was my roI. in management, as managing editer of a small daily newspaper, that qualified me for this job: teaching journalism te post-secendary students at Durham. And in keeping with that background, I amn task oriented. This means getting the job done and worrying about subtlety later. But a strike is net a task. It is a posture. And postures do net complete tasks. So why would teachers even think about striking? Well, it isn't the job. I arn one of those lucky people who look forward each merning to getting off te work. I take gobs of work home with me. I spent several heurs last Sunday at the cellege, working with secon~d year journalism students te complete the college newspaper, The Chronicle. I was not alone; many other teachers were at the college as welI. There may be lazy teachers in the system but at Durham they are few in number and inevitably net very happy. The situation cornes about largely because of the flawed system we have of settling labor disputes. FEET UP More sanity needed The usual path of labor negotiations has been imported from industry. There, two sides have urgent pressures on them to settie. On the one hand, owners of an industry, through the managers, stand te lose profits on a daily basis through a strike. Workers stand to lose wages. A strike is a lose-lose situation, and everyone knows it. And the efTect on the public is usually slight. Se what if you cannot get your car on time this year? The strike will pass in a few days, or weeks, or months. Surely you can drive your old car a few days or weeks or even months more. But importing that system into the public service creates a situation of grave concern. Here, innocent victims stand to lose the most. In a hospital strike, patients suifer more than either side. Students have more te lose than teachers. If police strike, the whole society can be the loser. Now if at this point you rattie your paper and say, "Well, let's just ban public service strikes," then F'm going te send you te stand in the corner ef the roem. You can ban strikes that way, but cannot abolish them --- unless you solve their underlying causes. What we need, instead, is a saner way of settling these disputes. And perhaps a change in1 public perception, se that whenever w. do have a breakdown (ie, strike) that the politicians carry their fuil share of the blarne. I d7on't think we do that new. Are there saner methods? Binding arbitration, for one thing. This has been used often in the past. Ini this, when labor and management cannot agree on * a contract, the unreselved issues are presented te a skilled arbitrater, who acts as judge and jury and makes a binding decision. No appeal is allowedf. But such a system does not hing te curb the iron-clad positions of either aide. In fact, management is encouraged te dig in its heels and offer nothing (or even less); and labor tends te stick te pie-in-the-sky. If settiement were te b. guaranteed by arbitration anyway, littie will be negotiated. There is a solution. Best final offer arbitration lias been used in some jurisdctions. Here, both sides put forth their position te, an arbitrater. New, instead of taking a bit of this side and a bit of that side and forging a new agreement, the arbitrater must select management's offer or the union's proposal in its entirety. Best final ofl'er. Proponents say this method forces bath sides te b. realistic and make proposais close te, what they feel the final resuit will be. Ites worth looking at. Meantime, Fin either eut picketing or net, as the case may b.. And whichever occurs, rd rather they had been avoided in the first place. Poster contest for Recycling Week As part of activity for Recy- dling Week, Nov. 20-26, the Whitby Free Press is holding a poester competition for girls and boys aged 9 te, 13. Th e poster art must focus on the need te minimize waste by "reducing» the amount of waste generated, by reusind'as many items as possible, and by «recy- cling" as much as possible. The theme for Recycling Week '89 is 'Changing Attitudes: Reduce-Reuse-Rcycle.' Entries can be in an y medium but must be at least 17 in. by 24 in. in size. .Entries should be made te The Free Press, 131 Brock St. N., Box *sq uash *racquetball *aerobics *whurlpool Whitby Racquetball & Squash Club 1100 Champlain. Ct. 206, Whitby, LiN 551. Deadline fer entries is Nov. 15. The winner will receive a Recycling Week '89 T-shirt and the winner's poster will be pub- lished during Recycling Week. The top winners in each cern- munity in Ontario will be sub- mittedte the Recycling Council of Ontario for judging in a pro- vince-wide competition. Provin- cial winners will be notified by Dec. 31, 1989. Provincial level winners will meet and have lunch with Envirenment Minister Jim Brad- ley, will tour the Ontario Legis- lature and b. the Ruest of the Recycling Council of Ontario in Toronto.1 The winning poster art ina3 become the Recycling Week '9C promotional poster. Entry forms can be picked up at The Free Press .For moe information cal 668 -6369. Reception for Gray A reception will be held tomor- row (Thursday), 2 -te 5 p.m., for Dr. Jean K. Gray, retiring medi. cal officer ef health for Durhami The ecepionwill be held at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa. HWY. 401 666-422youan. --, .,e e A 1lý4 M E -NN FRESH PORK SHOULDER ROAST 0 99LBU DHRUME OR THIGHS $ .99w., CANADA GRADE A PRIME RIB ROAST CHEF STYLE 3.49LB, WE MAKE OUR OWN OCTOBERFEST SASAESMIDOR SPICY $ 1.69.a 'ICOME MEET THE GENERALS" UNITED WAY DRIVE. BARBECUED OCTOBERFEST SAUSAGE ON A BUN $1.50 EACH. $.50 ROM EACH ONE WILL GO TOTHE UNITED WAY. 4SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21 1IAM-4PM SUPPORT THE UNITED WAY. THE GENERALS WILL BE THERE * BETWEEN 2-4 PM. ~\Jennie-Lynne «;j Meats Meas z1614 Dundas St. E. *ICES lie(Across Fmom The Blck) Open: Tues.-Wed. 9-6 OprThurs.-Fri. 9-8 E T Whitby Racquetball & Squash Club That's rightl The finest racquet and fitness club in the Durham region is bringing back the greatest offer ever. Enjoy Now: * 2 f uli gyms * free fitness testing and programming * saunas *computerized exercise equipment at no extra charge Don't miss out. Corne andjifnthe fun! z 0n CH-AMPL.AIN Ct. o r