Page 9 ~ Words & Vision ~ January/February 2012
From the
Faculty Contract Administrator
Has “money” become a bad word? I am confused, and I have questions… The Bargaining Survey undertaken by the FSA indicates that for many respondents a salary increase is the highest priority, but the survey doesn't indicate strong support for job action to achieve a salary increase in 2012. Linda Toews
Money can't buy back all your youth when you're old A friend when you're lonely, or peace for your soul The wealthiest person is a pauper at times Compared to the man with a satisfied mind. Jeff Buckley–Satisfied Mind
My mother (God bless her privileged Victorian upbringing) taught me that it was undignified to talk about money. I shouldn't go to friend's houses and wonder, or worse, try to find out what their parents did for work and how much money they made. I should never ask, in a job interview, what the pay was. I should never ask, in polite company, how much something cost. I should work hard and try to live off what I could earn and save and not expect handouts, and that I should try to help others less fortunate when I could. Does this combination of valuing a “satisfied mind” more than money, and our upbringing and attitudes towards money make us uncomfortable enough that we may just roll over and accept the BC Government's “net zero” in 2012? Does seeing poverty and starvation in so much of the world make us feel guilty when we ask for an increase to keep up with the cost of living in our part of the world? Has “money” become a dirty word in BC in 2012? Academics, intelligent and altruistic folk, engage in deeply satisfying and rewarding work, educating future generations. The problem is, in the province of BC, in 2012, together with all the other public sector workers who do wonderful, rewarding, sometimes lifesaving work, it's not enough anymore to have a “satisfied mind”. Can we at least agree that it's not undignified to expect that our wages will keep up with the cost of living? Many have invested years of their time, for many all the years of their youth, in earning advanced degrees to be able to pass on knowledge and a passion for the creation of new knowledge. Can we agree that we are worth being paid appropriately for what we do? Can we agree that some things are worth taking a stand on, and the BC Liberal Government's “Net Zero” position just might be one of those things? Why should we be made to feel demanding, rude and undignified simply because we are asking for a modest increase to cover the cost of living in or on the periphery of one of the most expensive places to live in the world? Is the lower mainland such an attractive place to live that the eventual pull of better opportunities in other places can be ignored while our standard of living declines year after year? Let's approach this calmly, firmly and not try to negotiate catch up beyond what we have lost since 2009 to cost of living (1.8 + 3.2), and let's negotiate annual cost of living minimum increases from 2012 on. We don't want to appear greedy and undignified, but we should expect to be compensated fairly for what we do. End of rant!
“Go ahead
knock”.
Reprinted from the FSA Newsletter Jan/Feb 1982
In my day-to-day work as Faculty Contract Administrator (thankfully not nearly as frustrating as tilting at the government windmills), I am working on a grievance related to the Probationary Faculty IPEC process, observing SAC's for process, learning to understand the process of how a grievance moves to arbitration, attending contract meetings, Labour and Management meetings, still working with the joint committee on the Letter Of Agreement for working conditions for non-teaching faculty (Academic Support Faculty) and liaising with many departments and individuals in the University. This is challenging and rewarding work, and most days I go home with a satisfied mind that I have done my best for that day and for our membership. However, a little bit more money would be nice for everybody and it would satisfy my mind more if we were able to negotiate that in 2012.