If you are an Ontarian and you keep yourself up to date with current events then you are aware of the labour disputes we've been having with the provincial government regarding educational workers. Everyone knows that the economy has been suffering for some time now and it's affecting everyone in one way or another. I get it. I also get that everyone needs to do their part to help repair and recover from this economic slump we've been in. However, and I cannot stress this enough, it does not give anyone the right to take away a person's democratic rights. Without democracy we are certainly not Canadian. That's why I chose to take part in the 1-day elementary teachers strike on Tuesday. Since I'm on a leave this year and officially off I wasn't expected to participate. But how could I not? First, it's a very important issue that I feel strongly about. Second, I wanted to support my friends and colleagues. And third, I've never been on strike before. I was interested in the whole picketing experience and curious as to how the public would respond to us.
I arrived at 11:30am and stayed for almost 2 hours. There were about 10 of us picketing on the street outside the school along the sidewalk; no one stopped traffic or anything like that. I have to say that I thought the entire experience was quite positive. We wore signs, waved to honking supporters who passed by, and even sang a few Christmas carols. One colleague's parents even showed up to walk with us in support. Apparently there were a few middle fingers given by passers-by but I never witnessed anything negative from anyone. Overall, I think it was a success. Let's hope it worked on the big scale of things. No one wants to be on strike. We just want a fair shake.
Solidarity forever!
Solidarity Forever....yeah yeah yeah
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