New Friends/Acquaintances
Regardless of the eventual outcome of the strike--in terms of
work-and-pay equity and other related matters—a big benefit for me has been
meeting college colleagues on the picket line I didn't know
beforehand. Making new acquaintances-friends during this strike will let some of us acknowledge some striking colleagues by name or face-recognition if we see them inside when the strike is over; which can help the college be an even-more-hospitable place to work.
While picketing we don't have time or opportunities to get to know each other well or to speak to every striker. But the colleagues I have met on our daily strike shift, 3-7 p.m., are kind, thoughtful, good-natured professionals--which perhaps isn’t surprising since those kinds of people might be drawn to our line of work.
Nosebleed Section of Picket Line
Notably, I first experienced the inherent kindness and thoughtfulness of my striking colleagues in our first week of picketing. One day I had a sudden, unexpected nosebleed, for no apparent reason, which persisted for about an hour; and which had never happened before.
The next day a doctor said my nosebleed likely occurred because I had nasal congestion, and being out in the cold for an extended time likely caused a membrane to burst unexpectedly; hence my nosebleed. It left me feeling embarrassed and self-conscious.
Notably, I first experienced the inherent kindness and thoughtfulness of my striking colleagues in our first week of picketing. One day I had a sudden, unexpected nosebleed, for no apparent reason, which persisted for about an hour; and which had never happened before.
The next day a doctor said my nosebleed likely occurred because I had nasal congestion, and being out in the cold for an extended time likely caused a membrane to burst unexpectedly; hence my nosebleed. It left me feeling embarrassed and self-conscious.
But the concern many male and female picketing colleagues
expressed to me was touching—especially since most of them had never met me
before.
Sharing Stories
Perhaps more than I realize, some of us on our picket line have shared diverse personal and professional stories with each other; all the while implicitly helping ourselves and our colleagues make it through another strike shift, including:
Sharing Stories
Perhaps more than I realize, some of us on our picket line have shared diverse personal and professional stories with each other; all the while implicitly helping ourselves and our colleagues make it through another strike shift, including:
· a
professor who has her Ph.D. and teaches electrical engineering—and all of whose
siblings, amazingly, are also electrical engineers;
·
a professor who is simultaneously dealing with his divorce and
the strike itself, while remaining optimistic and eager to return to class with
his students;
·
a professor who introduced me to putting hand warmers inside
gloves or mitts in deep-freeze temperatures--and to whom I am grateful for her
thoughtfulness; and
· a
professor who, besides providing insight and intelligent views of the strike,
keeps some of us in stitches daily with some side-splitting jokes that always
lift the general mood.
Upbeat
As we near the end of the fifth week of the strike, with no definite end in sight, outwardly my colleagues never seem in a foul mood, or angry, or otherwise upset. To the contrary: every day there are lots of smiles, genial conversations, concern for others on ‘the line,’ and positive but realistic thinking.
As we near the end of the fifth week of the strike, with no definite end in sight, outwardly my colleagues never seem in a foul mood, or angry, or otherwise upset. To the contrary: every day there are lots of smiles, genial conversations, concern for others on ‘the line,’ and positive but realistic thinking.
Weather
Generally, the weather has co-operated, with two horrible exceptions:
1) shortly after the strike started, those of us on the late-afternoon shift had to endure non-stop driving rain and powerful wind for the last three hours of our four-hour strike shift; and
2) One website says Friday, Nov. 10 was between minus 5 C and minus 12 C (https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/london/n6g/november-weather/55489). That day the combination of freezing temperature and bitter wind was bone-chilling and I often wondered if any of us on the picket line were in our right minds, and why we were there.
Oddly, while I cursed the weather and the strike itself that frigid Friday, I never thought seriously about leaving early. I believed if I left the picket line early just because I was cold, while my colleagues persevered, I’d be letting them down, and—equally as important—I’d be letting myself down.
Nearing an End?
Now, as this Ontario college faculty strike nears the end of its remarkable fifth week, my picketing peers and I hope for a satisfying end to this ordeal, so faculty can return to our respective workplaces and our students.
While the strike is tedious and worrisome for various reasons, it has been bearable because of the kindness, good humor, and thoughtfulness of my picketing colleagues; and because of the verbal support of some of my former students who came to speak with me on the picket line.
Thus, for me the strike really has been an experience in perseverance, humility, and gratitude. And with any luck, the next time I see any of my students they will be in a classroom, not visiting me on the picket line.
Generally, the weather has co-operated, with two horrible exceptions:
1) shortly after the strike started, those of us on the late-afternoon shift had to endure non-stop driving rain and powerful wind for the last three hours of our four-hour strike shift; and
2) One website says Friday, Nov. 10 was between minus 5 C and minus 12 C (https://www.accuweather.com/en/ca/london/n6g/november-weather/55489). That day the combination of freezing temperature and bitter wind was bone-chilling and I often wondered if any of us on the picket line were in our right minds, and why we were there.
Oddly, while I cursed the weather and the strike itself that frigid Friday, I never thought seriously about leaving early. I believed if I left the picket line early just because I was cold, while my colleagues persevered, I’d be letting them down, and—equally as important—I’d be letting myself down.
Nearing an End?
Now, as this Ontario college faculty strike nears the end of its remarkable fifth week, my picketing peers and I hope for a satisfying end to this ordeal, so faculty can return to our respective workplaces and our students.
While the strike is tedious and worrisome for various reasons, it has been bearable because of the kindness, good humor, and thoughtfulness of my picketing colleagues; and because of the verbal support of some of my former students who came to speak with me on the picket line.
Thus, for me the strike really has been an experience in perseverance, humility, and gratitude. And with any luck, the next time I see any of my students they will be in a classroom, not visiting me on the picket line.
