Late last night, the B.C. Teachers Federation became the final provincial government union to accept a net zero contract.

That’s great news—the provincial government should be commended for sticking to its net zero guns and holding the line these past two years. A raise for the BCTF (as late as this spring, the union was still demanding an increase of 15 per cent over three years) would have triggered “me-too” clauses and reopened every public sector net zero contract. Net zero has saved taxpayers $3 billion—roughly seven per cent of the province’s total budget.

A few random thought s come to mind as I sift through the various news releases. 

First, how about mediator Charles Jago? The BCTF hated him from the start, and even went to court to get him thrown off the case. But Jago persevered and did what no one thought he could—got a deal. Jago’s mediation business just got a big boost. As Education Minister George Abbott said: “His success in this endeavour is consistent with the many successes he has achieved in his distinguished career.” Kudos to Dr. Jago—most of us thought he was working mission impossible. The B.C. Public School Employers’ Association mentions in their news release that Jago oversaw 16 bargaining sessions.

Second, the BCTF was obviously worried that the government would legislate a two-year contract this summer and take away some of their perks. That legislative hammer forced the BCTF to sit down and consider net zero. It will be fascinating to see how Susan Lambert and the BCTF  leadership spin this to members—they will want teachers to ratify a net zero agreement they have so viciously opposed for years. In the BCTF news release, Lambert played the “we-were-bullied” angle as best she could:

“After a long and difficult round of negotiations, we were compelled into this process under threat of huge fines and further punitive legislation,” said BCTF President Susan Lambert.

“We have been able to achieve some modest improvements but, above all, we succeeded in getting government take its concession demands off the table,” Lambert said, adding that no other public sector union was subject to such an attack on due process and fair treatment.

Er, Ms. Lambert: no other public sector union was so greedy to demand $2.2 billion in contract improvement while the world economy was in the tank and the B.C. Government was running deficits. The rest—including the BCGEU—realized they were coming off generous 17 per cent, five-year deals and made due. 

Third, the deal expires June 30, 2013, just six weeks after the next political election—one that everyone thinks Adrian Dix and the NDP will win. Clearly the BCTF did the calculation that negotiating with labour-friendly New Democrats would be better than the net zero Liberals. Smart move by the BCTF, but Dix will now be pressed during the campaign on how he will handle the BCTF and other public sector unions. This will be a recurring issue, and it will fascinating to see how Dix tries to manage labour’s expectations.