Thursday, November 5th 2009
Perri Maxwell
I have zero sympathy whatsoever for CUPE 3906 and their inconvenient, unwarranted, and counter-productive strike.
Here’s the first thing I don’t understand. These people agreed to certain terms and conditions in order to work as Teaching and Research Assistants in the first place. Why then, do they have any right to strike? If you didn’t agree to those terms and conditions, why did you take the job? If you’re unhappy with the terms and conditions or the bargaining protocols, why don’t you just quit? What gives you the right to selfishly inconvenience almost 25,000 full and part-time students and nearly 1,500 faculty members? How dare you say you’re the good guys fighting for better educational standards while you’re toying with my right to education right in front of me? I’m pretty sure most students would rather settle for larger tutorials than no tutorials, rescheduled exams, limited office hours, plus the added eyesore of having to watch you parade around like hooligans while we’re on our way to class.
Let’s be honest. I only have the members of CUPE 3906’s best interests at heart. This strike could not be more counter-productive for everyone, including the union members who are on strike. You’re inconveniencing yourselves. Think about it: your decision to strike has left you picketing in the cold and wind of an upcoming winter with no pay cheques in your pockets. You’re wasting valuable time that could be spent warm and comfortable indoors, grading papers and helping students who are trying to achieve academic goals and contribute to society. Not to mention, you’d be making money for your time and effort.
Doesn’t that sound great? It sounds like… (could it be?)… a job. Isn’t that what everyone wants these days? I wonder if these people have ever turned on the news or read a newspaper in the past year. In case you didn’t already know, we’re currently experiencing an economic crisis. How dare you complain about having a job when finding work is so difficult now, especially for students?
I also have a hard time understanding the logic behind a strike and the subsequent picket lines. If you really want the support, respect and sympathy of the faculty members, student body and Hamilton community, do you really think you’re going to accomplish that by putting added pressure on professors, holding up traffic and rerouting buses? No one other than the university administration has control over your pay, benefits, or tutorial sizes. Why should we suffer this cruel and unusual punishment as a result of your unsuccessful negotiations? The vast majority of people does not even know or care what you’re really fighting for. All people see is a hoard of pirates causing a ruckus over a battle that has already been lost.
Don’t even get me started on the loitering, carbon dioxide emissions, and wasted gas money that you’re imposing on faculty members and students who are just trying to do their jobs. Don’t you have jobs you should be getting to?
Give it up already. You are embarrassing yourselves and disgracing this institution and the students who pay to attend this school.
I hope you shiver in the bitter cold and suffer deafening honks, dirty looks and middle fingers until you finally come to your senses. Your efforts are futile. Quit, or shut up and get back to work already.
Tags: CUPE, McMaster TA Strike, Protest, Strike, TA Strike
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It seems it is very difficult for them (the grad STUDENTS) to accept they are still STUDENTS and can’t expect to make a living off of a STUDENT job.
If they were fighting to have the rules that says they are only allowed to work 10 hours outside of the school removed, then I may have some compassion for them. They are not however. All they want is more money.
I am very unhappy with the way the strike is being carried out and dealt with for a number of reasons. I think a lot of students feel the same way…
1.I payed approximately three hundred and fifty dollars to park on campus and as I cannot access the parking facilities properly I would like my money back and I will find parking elsewhere.
2. Some of the signs the picketers are holding say “higher education, not higher wages”. Is higher wages not part of what the TA’s and RA’s are asking for? While they are picketing for higher wages my “higher education” is suffering on multiple levels. Firstly the TA’s are not teaching, secondly the time I have spent in the line of cars to get into the school (between 20-40 minutes each day) is time that I could have spent studying. Thirdly, the wait time makes students late for classes.
3. In the shuttle buses that pick students up from the parking lot there were anti-idling campaign posters posted on the roof. The poster states that a car should idle for no more than 30 seconds. The exhaust produced is harmful to the environment and the strain of idling on the car damages the spark plugs as well as other parts of cars. The strike has caused mass idling all day long for students. I would not only like a reimbursement on the gas used while waiting, but also a reimbursement if something such as my spark plugs do break on my car.
4. The TA’s are not working and are not being paid by the university their regular wages instead they are being paid by the union. I paid for my schooling and since I am not receiving what I paid for (class time with the TA’s) I would like the part of my tuition that paid for tutorials back.
I understand that the union has its complaints and I am also aware that the university has many things to account for in the budget. I agree some tutorial sizes are too large and as I am not a TA I am not very familiar with the other issues but I am sure that they are valid. However, the strikers blocking the students from the school is not the way to go about this. I am very upset and hope something will be done about this situation very soon.
The strikers announced over louder speaker to the students waiting in the line to e-mail the school if we are angry. Please stop using the students to get what you want and fight your own battle.
“How dare you say you’re the good guys fighting for better educational standards while you’re toying with my right to education right in front of me?”
This is what really irks me too. The university has never pretended to be “the good guy”, and I appreciate that. It’s frustrating how the picketers act like they are suffering for the greater good and they should be respected for it. The people who are suffering the most are the students, and we’re the only ones who don’t have a say.