I would rather be working and earning my full pay and helping my students have a successful semester. But I feel compelled, for various practical and philosophical reasons, to join my colleagues on the picket line in this legal strike.
The majority of faculty, including professors, counsellors and librarians, supposedly voted in favor of the strike; now in its sixth day. The strike started Tuesday, October 17.
At Fanshawe College in London, where I am pleased to work when we aren’t walking ‘the line,’ there are three four-hour picket line shifts daily at various locations at the college: a) 7 a.m.-11 a.m.; b) 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; and c) 3 p.m.-7 p.m.
Yesterday, October 23, day five, was absolutely the worst so far, because of the weather.
A horrible combination of unforgiving wind and rain started slowly around 3:30 p.m. with barely-discernible sprinkles, leading the hopeful among us to naively think the predicted torrent might actually hold off until our four-hour shift was done.
Not so.
The wind and rain gathered steam in tandem; quickly morphing into wicked sheets of rain pelting down, lambasting anyone in its miserable path. The powerful wind and driving rain mercilessly bombarded strikers for the last three hours of the 3-7 p.m. shift.
The wind surely would have carried away some picket signs if they weren’t held tightly by the dedicated strikers determined to complete their shift.
Tolerating this weather attack presumably constitutes 'other related duties.'
No doubt some strikers disagree with the strike and are picketing mainly for the money; making sure they stay on ‘the line’ and qualify for their strike pay.
Some strikers might have other philosophical or ethical reasons for sticking it out on the picket line even in the driving rain.
Regardless of strikers’ motives for striking, presumably those of us on the picket lines all want the same thing: to get back to work, and to help our students salvage what is left of their semester.
These two goals might be easily attained, relatively speaking, if the two sides in this labor dispute—the union (OPSEU), and the College Council—are speaking and listening to each other.
But the rumor mill provides some interesting gossip, some or none of which might have some merit or none at all, such as the following questions:
--is it true both sides haven’t been speaking to each other at all since this strike started on October 17?;
--is it true some pre-settlement strike activities are pre-planned theatrics to get attention?; and
--is it true both sides knew from the outset this strike will last about three weeks; long enough for both sides to gain something, but short enough so students can still save their semester and not sue colleges or governments for lost tuition?
If the two sides are not speaking to each other, as we start Day 6 of the legal strike, the union and the College Council are demonstrating no respect for the strikers who just want to work, and no respect for Ontario's college students whose academic success is potentially in jeopardy through no fault of theirs.
If the union and the College Council really are not speaking to each other yet, six days after this strike started on October 17, their dilly-dallying is also effectively holding the college faculty and Ontario’s college students hostage.
The striking faculty and the students need the two sides to reach a satisfactory solution soon.
The union and the College Council must put aside their game-playing and posturing and disrespect for faculty and students, and just do what is right.
