Some Words on the Strike By Luke Simcoe, A&E Editor C ontrary to how we present ourselves some times, we student journalists do in fact like to consider ourselves journalists. For the most part, we believe in values like free speech and the freedom of the press, and we try to hold ourselves to the standards of fair and balanced reporting. It is with these ideas in mind that I’d like to take some time to criticize our local media for their coverage of our ongoing civic strike. I’m also a civic worker — I’ve been an employee of the Burnaby Public Library for over eight years — and I’ve been paying close attention to how Vancouver’s labour unions have been portrayed during the dispute. On the day the strike was announced, the Province ran a full-page human interest story about a couple whose wedding reception would have to be relocated because they had booked it at a public facility staffed by civic workers. Not surprisingly, the soon- to-be newlyweds did not have many kind words for the labour unions or the workers they represent. This story instantly framed the city’s workers in a bad light — their decision to strike was going to ruin this couple’s special day — and not once did the reporter question whether the needs of two people should supercede the needs of thousands of workers. In fact, very little coverage was given to the actual details of the labour dispute, with the paper choosing instead to focus on how the strike would negatively affect residents. Fair and balanced? I think not. When the media does devote some time to the reasons behind the strike, their anti-labour bias is just as apparent. Think about how often you hear about what the union has managed to achieve, such as the 17 percent pay raise over five years, as opposed to what management has refused to provide or tried to revoke. The local media focuses all too often on wages, when in fact pay rates are often the smaller and less disputed issues on the table. This has the effect of portraying labour unions as ‘greedy,’ a phrase I’m sure you’ ve seen repeated in numerous editorials in our two CanWest-owned local papers. And once again, while the papers are happy to point out that the unions have asked for, and gotten, wage increases, they seldom report on the 30 percent pay hike Sam Sullivan and company recently gave themselves (the fact that these individuals can actually vote to give themselves a raise still baffles me), or on how much money the city of Vancouver is saving by not paying their workforce. One of the largest bargaining issues in Vancouver concerns the city’s growing desire to contract out services to private companies. When management is practically salivating over the possibility of laying you off, it’s little wonder that labour unions “As a civic worker, I'll are refusing toback be the first to admit that and Archival Science is required for both positions. The reasons for this are varied and disputed, but it is believed to be linked to the fact that library work is a female-dominated profession. While this is definitely changing, some 80 percent of all library workers are female. So in essence, civic workers and the unions that represent them are striking in support of equal wages for women. How often have you heard that statement in the local press? The librarians of VPL write almost daily editorials to this effect, and yet none of them are ever printed in our major dailies. Fair and balanced? I think not. Let’s huddle up and get a little personal here, down over issues e OK? As a civic of job security. I get paid pretty damn worker,1'1\ be the Without proper ’ first to admit that protections in place well, b ut I ll be dam ned I get paid pretty ae MRS aN Ne aces unionized workers that it’s a bad thing 'y if you try and with their minimum tell me that it’s wage, private sector or a waste of taxp ay Cr abad thing, or a counterparts, the II waste of taxpayer aforementioned mene Fs money. Like I wage increases don’t mean a thing. Heck, the city could offer to pay their workers 1000 dollars a minute if all they planned to do was lay them off anyway. There’s another major issue at play here, and it’s one that you won’t hear too much about, but it’s the reason why the library workers voted resoundingly against accepting the mediator’s recommendations. It’s pay equity for library workers, and it’s an issue that hits close to home for me. You see, library workers are amongst the lowest paid members of the civic workforce, and this is something that Vancouver’s labour unions want to see changed. It varies from municipality to municipality, but library staff often earn between 10 and 30 percent less than other city workers who perform similar tasks. For example, the starting wage for a public librarian is consistently less than the starting wage for a city archivist, despite the fact that they both possess the exact same level of education — a Masters degree in Library 4 said, I’ve worked at my job for over eight years, and I plan on working there for at least a few more. Civic jobs have a much lower turnover rate, and a much higher job satisfaction rate than comparable jobs in the private sector. So, the city saves money by investing in their employees and not frivolously spending taxpayer money on retraining a steady stream of new ones. And in turn, the public gets to come to the library (or swimming pool, or recreation center, etc.) and interact with employees who enjoy, value and appreciate their jobs. Most of my coworkers look forward to coming to work, and we strive to provide the best customer service possible as a result. That’s a lot more than the kids working behind the counter at McDonalds for $6 an hour can say. And speaking of McDonalds, or almost any minimum wage, entry- level job, think of the kind of service (or rather lack thereof) that you get from the employees there. I’m sorry to say that we don’t live in a world full of polite and friendly gas jockeys, or overly competent fast-food cashiers. If someone tells you that you’re worth a mere eight dollars an hour, it’s not exactly a motivator to strive for personal excellence. Ask yourself if you’d really like the people who answer your 9-1-1 calls, help teach your children to read, guard your children at the swimming pool, and clean up the parks where your children play to come to work with the same level of dedication and commitment as a fry cook at A&W? Once again, these are seldom questions you’ll find asked in the pages, editorial or otherwise, of the Sun or the Province. Not surprisingly then, I’m consistently confronted by people who bemoan their status as wage slaves while simultaneously decrying unions. I will never understand why people choose to bring others down instead of trying to bring themselves up. As far as I’m concerned, an anti-union stance is basically akin to saying “I’d like to work more hours for less money.” Unions are responsible for things like minimum wage, and the very idea of ‘the weekend,’ and yet the media, and a significant portion of the citizenry, seem to work very hard at undermining the principles that organized labour represents. My only goal here is to shed some light on one of the Lower Mainland’s defining news stories of 2007, and hopefully provide you with an insight that goes a little beyond what the mass media has to say about it. I’d like to end this piece by reiterating what I said at the beginning: We student journalists are often wide-eyed and idealistic lot when it comes to the nature of our creed, and consequently we spend a lot of time rambling on about the ideals of objective reporting and its connection to democracy. Idealistic or not, it’s a shame that those ideals seem to go by the wayside when the word ‘student’ is replaced by the word ‘professional.’ So as the civic strike in Vancouver continues, and it’s going to continue for a long time, be sure to take the media’s coverage of it with a grain of salt, and pay some attention to what’s not being said instead of just what is. 11