It is all in how you look at it
The union guys are in an ugly business. They are perceived by many as nothing more than a bunch left-leaning fat cats who toss their members to the wind at a moment’s notice, a group of greed heads who, giving the perception of having never really done an honest day’s work in their lives, suddenly have all the sympathy in the world for the average working stiff.
Which is more or less true and brings me to the point of this screed. For some dark reason known only to the greed heads and the sheep they eat, I have been on strike for a couple of weeks. Being able to make sense of this insanity is not easy. So I am offered an increase of 3.15% for each of the next four years and, essentially, fewer teaching hours. Let’s see, more money, less work and I am on strike. What’s with that?
What’s with that is the sheep on the picket line are freezing their asses off so the union can essentially take control of what they call “education quality”. It’s politics and the faculty are being used as pawns in the grand game of
I was reminded of all of this when my son came home and told me, “Hey,Dad, you really should go down to the picket line and show those guys how to light a real fire. What they have going in the barrel is pretty pathetic.” Not me, Jack. If any fires are going to be lit, they should be set down at the union office and fed with pork fat. This would result in all sorts of “bad mojo” …. screaming fire trucks, a diversion on the nightly news from the “real issue” … but maybe a real honest “Burning Man” festival on their doorstep complete with mad drumming, wild chanting and crazies slathered in Pork Fat is just the jolt to the left ventricle they need.
Naturally my “Instant Messenger” is buzzing with students wondering when this “thing” will end. I find this to be the saddest aspect of the strike. They hammer incessantly at my virtual door, begging and pleading for something to do because they are bored. Nothing like a little deprivation to make the kids realize just how good they have it and to appreciate what they are getting. A strike is just the thing we needed to get their attention… better than forced marches and cold showers. They get the shaft while the sharp end of the stick, the point, is reserved for the exclusive use of the greed heads.
The greed heads and the sheep they eat have carved this into the point of the stick: “We are really concerned about the quality of education.”
That is a noble ideal and if it really was the reason for this strike then it would have been over about a week ago either through the Hog Farm signing a contract or the
You see, it is all in how you look at it.
posted by Tom Green at 12:11 PM
3 Comments:
Well Tom, I thought I would add a comment - something simple, along the lines of "ya I agree with you - go you!" but then I thought... no it's so much more complex than that. What part of what you said am I agreeing to? Well, alot of it really. But there is alot that I don't get about all this stike mambo-jambo, that being said there is alot alot I DO get. I get that I paid aprox. $4000 in tuition this year, $5100, in rent and $800 in TTC passes all just to go be able to travel to school everyday. I get that I will be in debt for pretty much the REST OF MY LIFE because of my decision to go out there and obtain this wonderful thing we call an EDUCATION, And I get why some choose to go out there and do the picket line thing while others like yourself do not. But really what I don't get is why for the last almost 3 weeks now, I've been sitting on my ass doing absolutly nothing just waiting to hear if I will lose everything I have dedicated my life towards for the past 4 years! Its suppose to be the home stretch right now. I'm suppose to be graduating in just a few months! I know "they say" we will not lose the semester but like you said "they say" this is about "qulaity education" and I can't help but doubt either of those statements after just describing to you where I'm sitting. I'm trying to be understanding and open minded about the stike thing on both sides... but I still can't help the need I feel inside me to go out a kick selected individuals in the head.
I'm surprised there are not more poiliticans out there being shot on a daily basis. (not that i'm implying anything)
-Mel Rowe
Well, with this guy in power (Stephen H) I guess you'll be working more but
earning less (if he stays in power for more than 2 years.
Unions fight for your rights!
If there were no unions you'd be working 60 hrs a week..getting paid
much less than what you'r getting now and perhaps there would be no vacation pay..etc.
Didn't I always say "long live social democracy'
Amir..currently in the mid east
When it comes to economy the best system ever found is “Social Democracy” (a combination of some capitalism, plus socialism)
Social democrats focus more on economics, instead of politics these days.
Social Democracts have been in power in Sweden for more than several decades.
Their system works and has proved to be one the most successful ones in Europe(and maybe in the world). They support their healthcare/education system instead of sending soldiers to Iraq. (The Netherlands has some peace keeping force in Afghanistan,
but that’s a different story.)
Another example is the Netherlands. One of the most Liberal/Democratic
countries in the world. You’re free to smoke M in the streets of Amsterdam.
The gov spends a lot of money on cultural events, schools, hospitals…etc.
As long as conservatives who like to pretend they’re liberal, like you, live in North America, civil liberties will be limited and a true civil society will become a dream.
A real democracy is based on equality of rights. Some organizations have to maintain
your democratic rights. One of those organizations is unions. If you try to weaken them,
it means you’ve tried to lose your democratic rights!! It’s very simple. You don’t need
to be a political scientist to figure it out. Unless you’re a conservative.
Can people have a system close to the Netherlands and Sweden in North America
in the near future? The answer is no, as long as people like Tom are in majority it would never happen.
I personally think the economy needs
to be liberalized, but at the same time we have to remember there are
always some restrictions. The poor
and the working class need the support of a reponsible government.
We won't have a responsible gov
unless there are some watchdogs like
unions, civil rights groups, etc..
to put pressure on it.
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