Discussions

An exhibit of Brandon Schools, Teachers, and Students in the Town Centre in Pictures, articles, scrapbooks and Schoolbooks, have been put on display with the combined efforts of the Westman Retired Educators Association, Heritage Manitoba and the Brandon School Division. This display covers 125 years of history from the various educational facilities of past and present. If you have 30 minutes to browse in the past, maybe you will see yourself or someone you know, and best of all it is Free.  
What are not on display are the negotiating activities of the Teacher Associations and the School Boards.  
In 1922 Brandon School Board locked horns with its teachers who were disgruntled enough to go on Strike. The cause of the Strike was tight financial constraints on both the City and School Board, which led to the decision of the School Board to cut Teacher salaries by 25% on April 1st, for the balance of the year. With this reduction in salary a Brandon teacher earning $660 for six months work, would receive instead $605. Guess What? Teachers flatly refused this proposal, and the chief spokesman for the Teachers, Mr. B.A. Tingley demanded an Arbitration Board to mediate the crisis.  
The Administration argued that if the present Salary schedules continued throughout 1922, the School Division would only have $5,000 and assorted government grants to carry them through to September. A reduction in teacher salaries was the only option.  
At the time the teachers called the strike their contracts had elapsed, and the School Board was in the midst of taking applications to fill their positions. The Board welcomed the striking teachers to re-apply for their old positions, but under the reduced salary schedule.  
The Manitoba Teachers Federation urged the Brandon Teachers to refuse to re-apply for teaching jobs, but many had already done so, and new teachers filled any vacancies still open. Two weeks after the Strike had began: only one of the 88 positions remained unfilled.  
Today Brandon Teachers cannot strike, they negotiate with the School Board and if they cannot come to a decision a Mediator is chosen to try to solve the impasse. The final step is to go to Arbitration where the proposals of both sides are presented to an Arbitration Board, and their decision is final.