submitted by Karl Koth, VP Social Policy

The Problem

Over the last few months, we have highlighted in the Newsletter what we see as one of the most serious threats to our positions, as well as to the emerging ambience which surrounds our society: the neo-liberal onslaught on the education system, in general.

Just last week President Barack Obama announced his plan to provide the first two years of community college education free to students in the USA. It was but one of his proposals to reduce the socioeconomic inequities that are plaguing our societies in various ways. Obviously this was also a two-pronged attack on ignorance and adversity, and for those reasons the reaction to this proposal has been swift. It was greeted with acclamation by many students too cash-strapped to attend college, but it was also condemned from some obvious forces on the neoliberal Right, as expected.

From my perspective, the reason for the attacks from the Right is transparent. What is most feared is the possibility of an educated population, one especially honed to think critically. It must be an irksome threat to those who would keep populations either incapable of critiquing societal problems, or unearthing the machinations of large corporations. That an educated, critically thinking, mass of people is a threat to the Right, should be as obvious and thus we can understand their continuing attack on education, both at the secondary and the tertiary level.

To put the matter succinctly: a dumbed-down population will put up with a lot more of the invasive, exploitative tactics of the corporate world, than one honed on critical analysis: thus the neo-liberal attacks on our education system.

Scope of the Neo-liberal Assault

For proof that there is indeed an assault on the entire system, that this assault is a pervasive and universal one, we need not look far. It includes the public school system, especially secondary schools, and stretches through the community colleges to universities.

Henry Giroux, (whose articles we have published here from time to time) had this to say about  secondary education and the attempt to subsume it under the corporate agenda:

“Neoliberalism…. is also a mode of pedagogy and set of social arrangements that uses education to win consent, produce consumer-based notions of agency and militarize reason in the service of war, profits, power and violence while simultaneously instrumentalizing all forms of knowledge.”  See original here.

Further, the following excerpt from an article by Kevin McKay, writing in Academic Matters: Journal of Higher Education, outlines the scale and reasons for the corporate attack on the college system in Ontario:

“As governments in the 1980s and 1990s embraced a neoliberal ideology, a competing vision of the colleges emerged. This new vision emphasized corporate organization, privatization, entrepreneurship, and inter-institutional competition. On today’s college and university campuses, the two visions are locked in conflict. At stake is whether post secondary education continues to fulfill a progressive mandate centered on education as a tool for social justice and change, or whether it succumbs to a neoliberal agenda driven by government austerity and private interest.”  See original here.

The Method of Attack

How the attack is being carried out has now become clear to us: attack the very curriculum areas that provide first rank critical thinking, namely the Liberal Arts, and half the job will be done.

David Suzuki , while on his cross-country Blue Dot tour last November, visited the U of M. He spoke about the need to see the environment, not as a specific, isolated, compartmentalized, “niche” issue, but to “enshrine the right to a healthy environment  in the Constitution.” And while also criticizing the intrusion of the corporate world into the universities, made inter alia the following remarks concerning  the Liberal Arts and their place in the university.  Suzuki was interviewed by none other than U of M President, David Barnard.

BARNARD: What would be your perspective on the responsibility- or the possible response by universities to this kind of disintegration, this compartmentalization?

SUZUKI: Universities have enormous potential, it would seem to me. But you see, I got a bachelor of arts degree. At Amherst it was felt that in order to be a fully educated person you had to get a liberal arts degree. So, even though I did an honours degree in biology, I was never allowed to take more than half my courses in science. I had to take courses in literature, in philosophy…  To train people with a bachelor of science degree, with maybe one course in English in freshman year, is absurd!  People going out and using the most powerful tools humans have ever had and not having any background in philosophy or religion, I mean, I think that’s a failure of our educational system. And to me, the biggest change I thought was the universities going and welcoming corporations and private companies into the university and taking money from the corporations. You just have to go into the department of forestry at UBC to see why environmentalists like me were fighting against the professors. You see all these huge signs that say ‘donations given by’ and all of the [names of the] forest companies. And that’s what the forestry department thinks they’re doing: training people to go out and service the forestry industry. A huge mistake- to bring corporations into universities.

“Conversation with a Visionary,” On Manitoba: Connecting Alumni and Friends of the University of Manitoba, Winter 2014/15, pp. 11-13.

Our (CUPE 3909’s) Response

To further explore these concepts, we have planned a presentation/discussion for February 25th, at 4:00 p.m. in the Marshall McLuhan Room, at which Professor Henry Heller will present ideas relevant to this important topic.

All over North America, universities are hiring increasing numbers of contract and adjunct instructors.  Sessional academic workers are teaching more courses, but most are still working under precarious conditions.  CAUT (The Canadian Association of University Teachers) recently held a panel to discuss the rising reliance on contract workers at universities.   Read their comments here.

For those interested in a little background, but specifically tied to our own University of Manitoba, the September/October 2005 edition of Canadian Dimension is particularly apt.  Among other articles touching on the privatization of and corporate influence on Canadian universities, there is an article that delves into the attempt by the U of M to suppress the film “Seeds of Change” which documented the takeover of Manitoba agriculture by that agribusiness vulture, Monsanto.  It examines the connection between the University and Monsanto, especially the invitation to Monsanto to set up shop in the University’s Smartpark.

CUPE 3909 is comprised of academic student and sessional workers, some of whom are also parents struggling with locating regulated child care in Manitoba. The deficiencies in the availability of quality child care impacts the ability to work and study effectively and as such CUPE 3909 supports the increased availability of child care on our campuses. Recently I had the distinct pleasure and honour of representing CUPE 3909 at ChildCare 2020 conference. ChildCare 2020 was hosted at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg from November 13-15 and was the first national child care policy conference in 10 years and only the fourth in Canada’s history. The goal of the conference was to renew action on early learning and child care in Canada. Over the three days, attendees discussed the need for a national child care program which is non-profit, accessible, affordable and high quality child care for all Canadians.

During the conference, there were a number of plenary sessions, most notably, an opening address by Premier Selinger who spoke to the provincial NDP’s commitment to the universal and accessible child care for Manitobans. Following Premier Selinger’s opening address the key note speaker Stephen Lewis spoke passionately to the ineffectiveness of income splitting and recent tax credits having nothing to do with child care. He spoke to the need for early learning and care that is inclusive and highlighting that child care speaks to the fabric of our nation.

The conference proceeded with a number of mini-plenary and workshops exploring child care in Canada, including who is responsible for child care? How do we pay for child care? How to move the movement forward? to name a few. The conference also took great strides in identifying common misconceptions regarding universally accessible child care, such as the economic consideration. For example some believe a national child care system would simply be too expensive and require large tax increases to cover the costs, when in fact research from Quebec which currently has $7 a day child care, found that for every dollar invested in child care the economy sees up to a $1.75 return through increased participation in the workforce and the creation of jobs. Research also demonstrates that the amount the current federal government’s income splitting scheme, which provides over 85% of Canadians without any kind of return, could cover the cost of child care for any and all Canadians who need it.

Another notable session of the event was a speech by the Leader of the Opposition, Thomas Mulcair and a video message from Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. It is important to note that invitations were sent to the Conservative party however, no one chose to attend. Thomas Mulcair reiterated his party’s recent announcement for the provision of $15 a day child care to be rolled out over two terms. Justin Trudeau spoke to the importance of the gathering and the liberal party’s commitment to family, however, no promises regarding child care were made.

Overall, the conference highlighted the reality so many of our members are facing: inaccessible, expensive and questionable child care options. It is time for child care to be made a priority and for development of a national program that provides universal, non-profit, accessible and high-quality care for our children, the future of Canada.

Click here for more information on ChildCare2020.

In his latest article Henry Giroux points to the creeping “pedagogical terrorism” that is strangling  the academic world. But not being one who would merely criticize the “enemy” he turns his gaze to those “liberals and progressives” in academia who are busy digging their own graves with an amazing “ideological self-righteousness.”

We would do well to heed his words, to come together through our own collegial activities and our union rather than sniping at colleagues and playing the divide et impera game which plays into the hands of those trying to silence us, and, in some cases destroy our jobs.

Read the whole article, Academic Madness and the Politics of Exile here.

On October 28 CUPE 3909 held a dinner for Sessional Academic Workers in appreciation of their contribution to the University of Manitoba and as part of Fair Employment Week.  Fair Employment Week is an initiative of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), and is a week designated to remember that all academic work must be fairly supported, validated, and remunerated.

At a time when 33% of professors at Canadian universities are on temporary or part time contracts, the plight of sessional, adjunct, and contract professors as well as graduate students who work as lecturers or instructors, remains a topic of discussion.  The president’s column for the CAUT Bulletin “Ivory towers have a dirty little secret”, which dealt specifically with this issue, appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press.

Noam Chomsky recently spoke to the Adjunct Faculty Association of the United Steelworkers in Pittsburgh where he remarked on the similarities between the corporate business model designed to reduce labor costs and increase labour servility and the corporatized university that is increasingly hiring precarious workers.  Read article here.

Early in October, Post-doctoral fellows at Dalhousie University voted to join the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), joining the growing number of precarious university workers seeking union representation to contend with their concerns about pay levels, benefits, and working conditions.

You are invited to attend this term’s CUPE Local 3909 membership meeting.  The Executive will provide updates and we’ll announce the winners of the Unit 1 Bargaining Unit draw for 2 Future Shop $100 gift certificates.

The meeting starts at 1:30 in the Cross Common Room of St John’s College but feel free to drop by later.

Lunch will be provided.

In an interview published by Truthout on October 13, 2014, Henry Giroux, well-known activist and writer, exposes the conceptual framework by which Neoliberal forces attempt to co opt the university for their own nefarious ends.  He points to the negative effect of increasing privatization of education on the quality of as well as access to education.  Giroux believes that university education is now less about constructing a future than about training students for the workplace and that because of this, many universities are shifting focus away from programs and departments that do not lend themselves to business interests.  While the article deals mostly with the situation in the US, Giroux’s commentary is easily applied to Canadian universities.  Read the interview here.

On Tuesday, October 28, CUPE Local 3909 will be hosting a dinner for Sessional Academic Workers.  We will meet at 4:00 in the Cross Common Room at St. John’s College for refreshments and Dinner at 5:00.  Look for your invitation in the mail and please RSVP by Thursday, October 23.