Now that this strike has demonstrated how vulnerable UWO students are to this kind of monopoly, it's time for the university to take the bull by the horns and protect our uninterrupted access to services while enhancing our freedom of choice --- by contracting out the food services --- now!

With contracting out, Western students would be protected from the abuses of monopoly control. Competition on campus in food services means we will have choices in price, quality, style of dishes (Chinese, Italian, etc.) and not just left with the same bland offerings of the current university-union run food services monopoly.

Contracting out to several firms, perhaps turning the Centrespot into a multi-restaurant food court, with additional variety throughout the campus, for 2 or 3 year contracts, will guarantee UWO students are served on a non-interrupted basis.

By taking the university out of the actual food business, there won't be any confrontation between unions and the university. We can get on with our studies without strike hassles, and they can go out and negotiate contracts with a variety of food providers for the Western student population. Then the university and the students can monitor the situation without the threat of blackmail or confrontation.

With contracting out, we'll be able to have the best of all worlds.

The strike is wrong because Western students cannot in any way benefit by the university having a monopoly on food services. It is not in our interests to have so much power concentrated in the hands of one supplier and one union.

The university should get out of the food services business and leave it to a variety of professionals who can offer us competition, value, and diversity.

Period.

As to the union, let's look at their arguments as set forth in their brochure, "Once upon an an ivory tower" (we're not kidding about that double "an", it's there on the front cover, believe it or not).

"..our cafeteria hot carts are antiquated."

This is the union's explanation for lukewarm 'hot' food that food services offers. The union is saying more money should be thrown into the food services monopoly to correct this. We think there's no sense in throwing good money after bad (food). The university must realize by now that operating a monopoly food services department is inefficient, politicized, of mediocre quality at best. A situation like this is not in the best interests of the over 20,000 individual students at UWO.

The reputation of Western will continue to be damaged by these confrontations and disruptions, which are bound to re-occur if the current monopoly situation remains.

If the university contracted out food services to a number of restaurants and food providers, these new companies would pay for and set up their own equipment. But if the university spends more money on new equipment for its problem-riddled monopoly, it will make contracting out much less attractive in the years ahead. Western students will be stuck with lousy food and no choice. Maybe the union knows this, and further entrenchment of the status quo might seem in CUPE's interest, but it isn't in the interests of Western students.

Among the many beneficial stipulations the university could negotiate with contracted out firms could be a provision that each restaurant or food service hire a certain percentage of its workforce from the students at Western, a deal not possible now with the university's own monopoly!

In commenting on "job security", the CUPE union brochure says "the trend on Canadian campuses is for multinational food service companies --- with slick promises of efficiency and profitability--- to take over university food service departments. We don't want this to happen at our university."

What the union is against is our freedom of choice.

While the union may not like freedom of choice, we feel it's a prerequisite for a free society. Blackmail is shunned in a free society. The union wants to "protect" their bogus "right" to blackmail. With contracting out, Western students would never have to go through this kind of extortion again. With contracting out, we'd have a wider choice of foods to choose from, of better quality, and competitively priced. If they don't perform to our benefit, the university can renew the agreement with other firms more anxious to give Western students the service and products we're willing to support.

What the union doesn't say in their brochure is that contracts with these so-called multinationals expire at the end of a limited time frame, just like the CUPE union contract does. The difference is that in contracting out, no multinational can blackmail the university into negotiating an unfavourable deal. The CUPE union can. It has the power of blackmail over the university and its students, whereas a contracted-out company cannot. That is a big difference!

Another of the many benefits of competition for food services on campus would be the opening up of the market for student-run food services to operate. Certainly with all the talent and enterprise on campus, Western students themselves ought to have the opportunity to get in on the action of feeding over 20,000 students. With freedom of choice, the possibilities are unlimited.

The union comes pretty close to telling a bare-faced lie when they say "the prices you pay in a (contracted-out) cafeteria could rise dramatically." This is so unlikely because if prices did become unreasonable, the university could simply refuse to renew the contract. The loss of such a lucrative market (especially after investing their own money for all that new equipment) will definitely keep prices competitive. If we have a food-court concept in the existing Centrespot, then competition right there would keep prices as low as possible.

The union also doesn't tell you in their brochure that strikes aren't permitted where contracting out is in place. The union doesn't tell you that food prices are generally lower and food quality better.

In the union brochure, they say "we have a long way to go to catch up" before they get the wages they consider "fair". Which means more strikes in the future, even after this one is "settled".

And if the union gets these hefty wage concessions, who do they think has to cover the increased cost of their wages? We do! Western students are the individuals that will have to pay more to the food services monopoly while we continue to get saddled with the restrictions and penalties of being forced to prop up the status quo.

Solving this monopoly problem with its strikes, poor food, etc. means contracting out --- now! This will give us a permanent solution, not the brief, politically motivated truce that we will get if the food services monopoly is maintained. With today's monopoly situation, we'll all be going through these hassles in just a few more years, then again, then again, ad infinitum.

The union says they want "protection" against contracting out. What they really want is to put up a barrier between UWO students and our freedom of choice. With this current food services monopoly, UWO students lose in every way; mediocre food, higher prices, less choice, strike disruptions, bus hassles, garbage hassles, and all the rest.

Let's fix this situation now. Say yes to competition and freedom of choice!

If the union wins, UWO students lose. If the university insists on propping up the food services monopoly, UWO students lose. If we have our freedom of choice, UWO students win. It's as simple as that.

It's your choice, now. Please make yourself heard.

1. Tell your Student Council rep that the USC should recommend to the university that it contract out food services.

2. Write a letter to the Gazette or to Western News and let them know how you feel.

3. Write to the University of Western Ontario administration and tell them you think monopolies, no matter how well intended they were meant to be, are bad business. As a student, tell them it is not in your interest, and therefore not in the university's interest.

4. Tell the strikers, politely but firmly, that you resent their tactics of blackmail. Pass moral judgement on their actions. They have a legitimate right to withdraw their labour, but they do not have a right to inhibit others from entering the university to provide garbage pick-up, mail delivery, bus service, or alternate food and maintenance services.

5. Help us hand out these brochures while the strike is on. Our phone number and address are below.

This brochure was published and sponsored by the UWO Campus Association of the Freedom Party of Ontario. Our association is made up of Western students who believe that the purpose of government is to protect our freedom of choice, not to restrict it.

If you would like more information about freedom and Freedom Party, call us at 433-8612 during the day, or campus coordinator Greg Jones in the evenings at 434-9904.

If you wish to write us, send comments or questions to: