CAW meet NHLPA.
NHL team owners meet Ford, Chrysler, GM.
Now that we have the introductions completed, would the CAW and the vehicle manufacturers please provide a tutorial to the NHL and the NHL Players' Association on how to conduct bargaining sessions.
The two auto sector groups were at odds and yes, there have been strikes in the past, so we're not talking about Mother Theresa versus Gandhi here.
But this is how it went down. They sat at the table, discussed their differences, hammered out a last minute deal with one automaker, saw they were making progress with the other two, so extended the deadline and I expect that by today, they'll have a deal. Bing, bang, done in 72 hours, deal made. Neither side won but they have a workable contract.
Now contrast that with the feckless NHLPA and NHL owners' efforts.
All summer we heard stupid stories about "the other side not coming back with any substantive counter offer, so there is no reason to return to the negotiation table."
When the meetings of the not-so-great minds did actually occur, and believe me, it wasn't often, the mantra then changed to "we couldn't come to an agreement after 90 minutes of tough discussion, so we walked away. We don't know when we'll meet again, but we're available and they have our phone number."
What a load of bull roar.
So on Saturday, North America lost its top rated professional hockey season, for at least awhile and what bothered me more than anything was the fact that as the owner-imposed deadline approached and then passed, nobody was even at the table trying to work something out. They let it pass as if nothing was amiss in the wonderful world of greed versus greed. There was nobody in the mix with the authority to keep the two sides at the table, nobody who could tell them that "you stay at this table until a deal is done. I hope you like pizza. Fifteen minute bathroom breaks every three hours ... please exchange your smelly shirts for clean ones during those breaks gentlemen. See you in a few minutes."
That didn't happen. There were no lengthy give-and-take sessions, apparently no shouting, no frustrations, no real displays of anger, no confusion, no explanations and it seems, no actual negotiation.
They sorta just let the whole thing slide into temporary oblivion, putting thousands of regular working people out of work because of their greed.
There were no eureka moments, no flashes of brilliance, no meeting of the minds. In fact, no meeting at all. All the talking was done to reporters and other people who didn't count.
So shut down your fantasy pool sites, dear diary. Gary and Don have spoken ... but apparently not to each other.
And here I was, going to talk about educational issues this week, and I spend my valuable allotted time and space ranting about hockey.
How about exiting on a political note?
I understand that Justin Trudeau is going to be the next leader of the federal Liberal party, only because he has his mother's good looks and the political name recognition.
If that's what it takes, then I suggest that those four guys trying to win the provincial NDP leadership nod might want to take the hint. I predict that the first one who changes his name to Thomas Douglas Bradley Diefenbaker wins in a landslide, and I don't care how good looking his Mom is.
Check out our website at www.estevanmercury.ca, it's good viewing.
