Day 32 – Wet. Very wet. My message is “running” like a cheap mascara.
Well, we lasted 31 days without being rained on during our time on the picket line. There were days I hardly made it home and then the sky opened up, but today was really raining hard most of the time we were there. We took cover and when the rain stopped, we got back on the sidewalk and continued to be visible for anyone who still cared… which by the looks of it is not many people… Still, this morning, a nice lady who works at the building we are picketing at brought us a large box of donuts to share between all of us. Sweet. No pun intended. Another one also commented that we were a “decent” group… not sure if she was comparing us to the group that takes over after us or to another picket line she crossed somewhere else or simply just because we don’t point and scream “SCAAAAAAAABS” at employees crossing the picket line.
Which, by the way, is a very sore point with me. Crossing the picket line for any union member is a personal choice they had to make. I have said before and strongly continue to believe that I cannot get mad at anyone who does. I am not in their shoes, I will not judge them either. I do not see the point in making them feel any worse than they’ve already felt the morning they realized they had no other choices than to go back to work. But every time I mention this out loud, someone asks me why I don’t cross if I don’t see anything wrong with it. Today was the 17th time in 32 days that I was asked the question… Yes, I’m that bored, I keep score of trivial stuff like that… the same way I keep score of this girl that keeps telling me she knows exactly how long the strike will last… On the first week she said it would last 2 weeks, then on the 3rd week she said she always knew it would be minimum 3 weeks, then on the 4th week, she said she had been told before the strike that it would last at least 5 weeks…. This week she had the nerve to tell me she’d told her husband to be prepared for 6 weeks of strike! Yeah, I know, my head is spinning too.
But I digress, today while some guy off the street asked us if many “scabs” were crossing the picket line, I told him that since we didn’t work in that building, we had no way of knowing who was a manager and who was a “scab” (I should have shut up right there and then, but no…) then I added that if there were “scabs” crossing, they had their own reasons to do it. That’s when I was asked once again why I don’t cross if I don’t see a problem with it… I usually answer that it’s a personal choice I made since I might one day need the Union’s help, but today it particularly burnt my ass because it wasn’t the first time this individual had asked me… so I decided to answer him… even more so since he’s not someone who walks with us regularly and has this arrogance about him I wanted to shake a little bit…
Me: “I personally owe a lot to Unions in general… My dad worked for one and because of that I was able to have a very nice childhood. He worked hard and was well paid for his effort. His Union also helped him out when he was hurt on the job and wasn’t able to work for months at a time and was having problems getting paid by Quebec’s worker’s comp.”
Him: “That’s why?”
Me: ” Actually, there’s a bit more as well, see I know that Unions are always fighting for basic human rights, we wouldn’t have some of the liberties I enjoy today without them. Being gay is not something that was wildly accepted when the Union fought for same sex benefits decades ago for their members, and because they were victorious a lot of large corporations had to follow suit. We didn’t just wake up one day with same-sex benefits, someone fought on our behalf.”
Him: “Are you sure about that?”
Me: “Well, you have the internet, right? You can easily check, there are cases from the 80′s where same-sex benefits were part of the agenda at the bargaining table.”
Him: (silence)
Me: “Also, Unions have been there to fight for all other mino…
Him: (at another person walking by) “Hey, do you have a cigarette?”
Me: “… rities too… huh… k… bye…”
Just like that, he was gone, leaving me with my unfinished answer… oh well… At least, he probably won’t ask me again…
After another hour on the picket line, we marched to City Hall where our Teamster friends were hosting a BBQ in support of Local 79 and 416. Because of the rain, there wasn’t many people there, but I still enjoyed a delicious free lunch. Today, I’ve had a free donut, a free cookie, a free bottle of water and a free hamburger… Woohoo. Still, I’d rather be at work and pay for my own burger.
Strike Burger
Just for fun, tomorrow, if I see the “Fortune Teller Striker”, I might bring up the subject of “how long can this strike last” one more time just to see what she’ll come up with… I bet she says 7 weeks.
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Mmmmm Burger.
Too bad it wasn’t forbidden doughnut. DOUGHNUT BLAST YOU NOT DONUT.
*sound of self face slapping* Ahem. Pardon me…. don’t know what came over me there.
“You have the internet, right?”
Well the internet also brought me keyboard cat.
But you’re right. As much as I’m not happy with the union (or the city ok?) right now, I do have to thank them for their civil rights work.
Every day I follow your strike blog entries. I stumbled across the blog early in the strike and it has but the human element into what is happening. In fact it was this blog that lowered my rage at the union (still very pissed at the Mayor) — lowered, but not erased. I don’t like bullies, and the media and online video of CUPE members yelling at, pushing, blocking Toronto citizens PISSED ME OFF! I cannot reconcile any legal right people on strike have to keep citizens off of public property for any amount of time.
Anyway, your blog has helped me see another viewpoint and every day I wish you well and I hope this ends well and you and DR can get back to some normalcy.
Even though I’m a “curvy” woman and some of your blog posts have mocked larger women, I still find you quite likable :-p. Thanks for my daily strike fix!
William: The free donut was as good as the free burger
DR: Yeah, my sentiment exactly, people have forgotten what the unions have done for all of us.. before same sex benefits, there was a time when women couldn’t work, etc.
Kris: thanks, and don’t worry, I’m the first one to make fun of my own large ass-ets… but I’m glad I was able to show a different light on this strike.
I’m sure if the mayor could see that photo of you in the rain, his heart would melt and put you all back to work.