Strikers of the world, untie!

I like words that, when misspelled, make other words. Call it inadvertent silliness. Unite and untie. Santa and Satan.

Isn't the word union about bringing things together? A union of heart and mind. But labour unions seem to be about division. Labour and management. Closed shop. Picket lines you can't cross. Our side and their side.

Unions have done great things in the past that brought us all benefits. Things like paid vacation. Paid sick leave. Not getting fired for not sleeping with the boss. Weekends. Health benefits. Pension plans. Working conditions that won't kill you. Clearly some of these are more important than others...but the least important reason I've heard is the right to pick your shifts. Um, if you're in a service industry, aren't the required hours dictated by the needs of those you are serving?

In this instance, the strikers are the bus drivers of Ottawa, a well-paid group by most accounts. 300 of the 2200 union members took the trouble to vote, and 98% of them elected to go on strike. Those 300 were largely senior union members, who are the ones who get first pick at...choosing their shifts! So now all of their colleagues are unpaid, in the cold and likely to be subject to abuse once the buses return to service. How can only 300 people vote, in a matter that directly and immediately impacts them? Was it hard to vote? Was it an open ballot, so only those in favour of strike action felt comfortable voting? Did you have to vote in some odd location? I smell something fishy. Old fishy. Old, smelly, mercury-laden fishy.

In the interim, I have combined car pooling, abandoning husband carless and walking to reach my place of employment. My daughter missed a day of school, but that's because we were snowed in - and quite frankly, a day of school missed isn't going to impact her. She has a long walk home. The boys walk both ways, as mommy stole the car. I was late for work, as I had to drop off dd (darling daughter) at school, and she had to do her hair before we could leave.

Things the strike has impacted for me personally.
1. 3 hours late to work yesterday - scrounged ride from neighbour
2. Scrounged ride most of way home yesterday, long walk on unplowed sidewalks
3. 1/2 hour late today, long walk from parking spot in cold weather (yes, I'm being a wimp)
4. Burned an extra 3 litres of fuel, contributing additional greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. I don't think that's why it's raining on Monday, but still...
5. My children walking long distances when traffic is heavy

They really need to change some rules around striking. One has to be that a legitimate strike vote requires a minimum level of participation - greater than 14% - in addition to a majority of those voting. 300 out of 2200 is ridiculous. I'm sure most of those less-senior drivers would like the senior driver perks, but they may also want a paycheque before Christmas. Unions. They should rename them dividers, that's what they do.