Maybe I’m just in a grumpy mood but it irks me how confrontational people, especially in groups and organizations, seem to be; Saudi Arabia and Canada over a tweet no less; Donald Trump against whomever he decides to lash out at week by week, usually via tweets; Canadian provinces versus each other or the federal government; management versus unions. Here in our province the SGEU, the union that represents government workers, has been given a strike mandate by its members to aid in negotiations with the provincial government in contract talks that have been ongoing since the fall of 2016. Like 99% of the general public, I’m not privy to the minute details being discussed and argued at the bargaining table. All I know is we hear the word “committed” used a lot by both sides. Both the union and the province say they are “committed” to negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. When talks stalled in April, both sides said they were “committed” to returning to the bargaining table. When talks broke down in June the government said it remains “committed” to negotiating a settlement. Refreshingly, unless I missed it, I didn’t see that dreaded word used by the union side on the June news release. A good definition of committed is being loyal and willing to give your time and energy to something you believe in. I’m sure both sides fit that description, which is better than a secondary description that means to be placed in a prison or mental institution.
That’s Coffeetalk. I’m Vic Dubois.