Strike – October 30, 2012

Jackie, Geof and Teodora

Myself and Jodi at the East 7th Avenue entrance

Picketers by the Broadway entrance

Shona, D.J. and Ali by the Broadway entrance

Jami and her picket hound "Ribbon"

Daniel on the picket line

Dave and Virginia, from the VCC Faculty Association, express solidarity

THE PICKET LINE SHIFT began at 9 am, as some of us relieved a crew that had been on since 5 am. We converged at the Broadway Campus of Vancouver Community College, on this cloudy Fall day. More pickets were at another location, at the Downtown Campus. Throughout the morning our ranks were bolstered by several students and members of the VCC Faculty Association too.

What are the issues? Our local of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) represents 420 support staff members. At a recent meeting, 93% of the membership present, gave the executive a solid strike mandate. That was after there was no sign of progress by the government's Public Sector Employer's Counsel (PSEC), on monetary items. While our employer VCC was apparently negotiating in good faith, that was not the case with the provincial government, and so our differences have come to this. So far we have had a one day strike, a ban on overtime and the possibility of further action, unless their is a positive response on salaries, which have not been raised in some years.

Why be on a picket line if one is settling into a life of retirement? An invite to return to the Marketing Department here at VCC on a temporary basis, and go on a time sheet. seemed to be mutually agreeable. With a 6 week commitment this would be an interesting and intense diversion. Being here has also brought me back in contact with some great former co-workers. As for the labour action, it felt entirely right to be taking a leave from retirement, to take part in this very thing too. As one faculty member said in regards to this strike, who joined the picket line in solidarity, "let's hope we get traction!"