Re editorial March 7th "Math doesn't add up."
I found "disheartening" the miscalculations and misrepresentations in the March 7, 2015 editorial "Math doesn't add up." Perhaps when the editor mentioned that he heard "a professor misleading the public" he was referring to the March 5, 2015 item in the Citizen, written by one of the Citizen's reporters who quoted Professor Swainger; otherwise, it is difficult to know when or which professor mislead the public. I did not see from that March 5th article that Professor Swainger demanded salaries similar to those of UBC. Reporter Samantha Wright Allen appeared to write responsibly on the newsworthy item that a strike had begun and provided quotes from Dr. Swainger on his feelings about being on strike. How did the editor interpret the March 7th article as a professor misleading the public and that UNBC faculty are asking for UBC salaries? Instead, although not in the article, it is my understanding that the faculty are asking for fair and equitable salaries. If Mr. Godbout has insider information to the contrary, maybe he could reveal his sources. Otherwise, he could become better informed by reading the summary of UNBC Faculty Association concerns found in his competition's newspaper or the report of independent consultant Vince Ready, as well as information from UNBC administration.
I presume the point of the editorial was to show that salary comparisons within sectors do not work. Including both the newly negotiated salary of UBC's Dean of Medicine in the same editorial as the $24.90 per hour salary at the Penticton Herald makes no sense at all to this reader. I note that the editor did not compare his own salary to that of his reporters, yet providing the salary of the UBC Dean of Medicine is suggestive that the UNBC faculty is comparing their salaries to those of UBC. Two further points in the editorial that did not help me understand the point, while seemingly insulting to UNBC faculty, are: suggesting that faculty can move elsewhere if they do not like their salaries and comparing UNBC to the Trail Times. Disheartening, for sure.
My own thought is that no matter how the math adds up, the citizens of Prince George and students of UNBC would lose considerably if 25-year veterans of UNBC, such as Professor Swainger, moved elsewhere.
I declare that I am not a member of the UNBCFA.
Anne George
Prince George
