OfficiallyScrewed

I understand that 150 years ago unions did their part by equalizing the playing field and giving workers an advantage of numbers over the establishment or owners.  But in this day and age it always seems strikers hold people hostage in order to get their way.

The OPSEU strike of Ontario educators is a classic example of this.  The strike was started just before the school year ends for 150,000 college students.  This timing brings the issue to light but it doesn’t make any friends among the students or the tax payers out there.  The risk of losing the school year by students has repurcussions beyond just a repeat or extension into the summer.

1. Students often are on 8 month sublet leases.  This puts many in the awkward position of having to extend their leases or find other accommodations.
2. The reduction in student summer length limits the amount of time they can make money to help pay for their education.  This can dramatically affect a person on a limited income
3. The loss of a school year for 150,000 is a bit economic bust too as it, in essence, took the student out of the tax paying pool of citizens for a whole year.
4. How many of those 150,000 won’t even go back to complete their degrees if they can’t afford to repay for an extra year?  (I am not sure that they would lose the money, I have not seen any confirmation of what the financial hit would be or who would pay should a year need to be redone)

Why the teachers would not choose to strike a couple of weeks before the school year started is beyond me.  It would help save the students the risk of losing a year.  It would give them time to prepare for accommodations as needed when the school year starts (if it starts late) and it gives many of them the opportunity to extend their existing summer job to help pay for things when the year does eventually start.

Instead they try to stiff the taxpayer while OfficiallyScrewing 150,000 students.

I have never been pro union, but in this case the timing of the strike is what really gets my goat.

In relation to the OPSEU teacher’s strike, I heard a college professeur call Lowell Green today.  He mentioned some numbers that relate to his story.  Let me restate these (along with my assumptions)

1. He has 18 hours of teaching time a week
2. He has at least 1 hour of prep work for every 1 hour of teaching time (let’s assume 1.25)
3. He has 32 weeks of teaching a year (i.e. 20 weeks of no classes)
4. He makes $70,000 a year
5. He does some prep work over the summer. (let’s assume 1 day a week, because after all it is summer)
6. Let’s assume a veteran equivalent to 10 years in other industries and give our teacher 4 weeks of full paid vacation annually.  This would be complete down time with no prep work, no teaching, no marking, etc.

Now for Math 101 – Adding and multiplying
40.5 (x32 weeks)=1296 (the hours of teaching and prep for teaching)

8 (x16 weeks)=128 (the hours of work in off teaching weeks)

Total hours?  (1296+128)=1424

Now for Math 102 – Dividing and Crying
$70,000 / 1424 = $49.16 per hour worked  (note minimum wage in Ontario is currently $7.75/hr and moving to $8.00/hr on January 1st, 2007)
1424 / 48 weeks = 29.67 hours per week (not on vacation)

Now for Strike Assessment 101 – There is never any subtracting

And that, my friends, is Officially Screwed