(This piece first ran in the Hamilton Spectator on June 25.)

It is becoming a virtual certainty that come the fall, there will be a province wide strike of Ontario public high school teachers. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF) has filed for conciliation, which means teachers across the province can strike if the union and province fail to reach an agreement.

Parents and students should expect strikes to continue, considering the lack of competition imbedded in Ontario’s education system.

The recent revelation of a plan to strike in the fall school year speaks to a broader union strategy aimed at using local strikes to put labour pressure on the province about targeted because the local unions have the most activist teachers and the most money available for strike pay.

The fact that the strikes are really all about the money should come to no surprise to anyone. The question though is what is to be done about a public sector union that is threatening to hold children and their parents hostage, and which seemingly cannot be satisfied with governments of any stripe.

Labour conflict with teachers has plagued the consecutive governments of Davis, Peterson, Rae, Harris and McGuinty. The perpetually unhappy teachers union is now even going to war with Wynne, who got into politics as a $468 million in taxpayer money after becoming leader and repealing McGuinty’s legislated contracts in 2013.

But should teachers be dissatisfied with their wages, benefits and education budget? The 2012 declining enrolment.

Like most public sector workers, the fact that teachers’ wages, benefits and pensions are high compared to private sector workers will not constrain their demands. Unlike private sector unions, public sector unions are not concerned about the risk of bankrupting their employer – there is a seemingly unlimited pool of tax dollars to draw on to meet union demands. On this front, the premier and minister should be commended if they are able to achieve their goal of negotiating a net zero contract (although a reduction in the budget is preferable given declining enrolment).

Additionally, most government services act as monopolies, and are faced with little competitive pressure. In many jurisdictions, teachers are prevented from striking because they act as a monopoly and provide an essential service. In the United States, Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v Saskatchewan. That case involved a Saskatchewan law which removed the right to strike from public sector workers deemed to be “essential” by the Saskatchewan government. The Supreme Court struck down the law andessentially held that public sector unions have a constitutionally protected right to strike.

One workable solution could be to simply create more choice in education. There is some competition between boards, primarily the English Public and English Catholic boards, but more school choice may be a useful pressure valve to undercut the overwhelming power the teachers unions have over government and parents.

For example, reinstating the use of tax credits for private school tuition, the use of a voucher system or the creation of (non-unionized) Charter schools are now all policy options that should be on the table.

Change is badly needed in Ontario education, because as things stand now, there is virtually no government that will ever give enough to satisfy the teacher union demands. And the province simply cannot afford to keep paying.