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By Charles Loiacono Strike! Possible or Inevitable? |
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The procedures for negotiating labor agreements have been codified since
day one. By procedures, I don’t mean legal rules for good faith bargaining
or impasse procedures. I mean the time tested dance that takes place as
the parties slip and slide around issues. I mean the posturing, the lying,
the maneuvering, and the saber rattling—in short, the gamesmanship.
When you have negotiated as many contracts as I have, you reach the point where your perspective is sharp and your understanding clear. I look upon negotiation dances as perseveration of the worse kind. The parties repeat their steps in the dance because those are the steps they learned and because they know no others. I have been observing the college as they follow the footprints printed on the floor. Every step is predictable. Because I know what steps will follow next, I am convince that come September 30th the AFA will walk out and engage in what will be a long and bitter strike. You may well think that such a prediction is premature. It is not! There are others in the dance. First, we have the college negotiating team that will do and say all predicable things. This time, those things will be rote, because the status of the Board of Trustees is in limo. Then, there is the ensuing election. Not only is the governing body at the college going to change, the governing body of the county may change. Finally, there is the new and strong relationship between the AFA and the NCCFT. New there is a rhythm new to this dance. Everyone who has been around knows that the AFA does not bluff when is says “NO CONTRACT, NO WORK.” There is no way that we will work one day beyond September 30th.
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That’s why we called the membership meeting for September 29th. The dance
calls for the final steps to be a call for help from the administration to
the county executive asking for help. They will have one day to stop the
dance and be responsible.
Well, if that’s the case, why am I predicting a strike? One, because, this time it will be too little serious consideration, too late, and two, the other side does not really believe that we will strike. And, of course, they are wrong! Why not wait and give them a chance to negotiate in good faith? Been there, done that! We allowed the administration to stall negotiations before reaching agreements on other contracts. In each case, when we had had our fill of the stalling and the bad faith, we found ourselves in the exact position the night before a strike deadline as we were the year before or the years before. At that point, inevitably, you are looking at reduced retroactive pay or more often a wage freeze for the period of time you were foolish enough to work without a contract. Not this time or ever again! The administration, the Board of Trustees, the county executive, and the legislature will read this and think that this is just part of the dance—Charlie’s arabesque. But, I am not dancing. I am standing, arms akimbo. I have had enough. This idea that negotiations must be skilled deception and clever dissembling is just plain dumb. I’ll see you on September 29th. You will ratify a contract or you will vote to strike. If it’s to be a strike, bring your walking shoes, because this will be a long one.
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