Optimists see change as opportunity. Pessimists find change to be irritating, risky at best. Realists weigh change one case at a time.

Doctors face a paradigm shift in how they interact with government. Binding interest arbitration (BA) promises to fix a power imbalance between doctors and government. Many docs have wanted BA for years.

But will BA fix everything between doctors and government?

Are there reasons to vote against BA?

Reasons to Vote No

A few doctors believe that there are 4 insuperable reasons to vote against this contract. If you agree with these four, then you should vote No, too. Continue reading “Looking for Reasons to Oppose Binding Arbitration”

After years of wrestling a more powerful opponent, doctors opened their emails to find that government had offered a truce.

I never expected to see this.

Who would give up such advantage?

Government used to rule supreme. It could legislate whatever it wanted.

Why would government change its mind and give up absolute power?

A part of me must have believed that this would happen. Why else would I have spent years lamenting government power and control?

In hindsight, things had to change.

Government was trying to lead a horse to water that would not drink. Continue reading “Binding Interest Arbitration – A New Era?”

Like the last post, many people have asked for copies of my first address to Council as President.

A number have shared bits and pieces on social media, so I thought it was best just to share the whole thing here.

This is just a starting point. I look forward to seeing where we – all of us – take this from here.

Shawn

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Thank you, Mr. Chair, Members of Council and Special Guests.

In my election speech, I offered three priorities for the OMA over the next year: trust, unity and excellence. I’d like to expand those ideas a bit more over the next few minutes. I offer these for discussion. I hope you will argue with me. I offer them as a starting point to a larger conversation.

Everyone agrees: We need an agreement. But we need more than that. We might get a wonderful agreement. But if we do not have a system—the excellence—to socialize it with our members, it will fail. Continue reading “First Address to Council”