I second that! The Toronto civil workers strike was horrible, and garbage was unbearable! I really hope this doesn't come to a strike, 'cause I chose Mac for that reason - quiet and/or peaceful =F. And let's not forget a situation like York's (and yes, I know that it's not the same type of workers going on strike =/, but still)

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

I second that! The Toronto civil workers strike was horrible, and garbage was unbearable! I really hope this doesn't come to a strike, 'cause I chose Mac for that reason - quiet and/or peaceful =F. And let's not forget a situation like York's (and yes, I know that it's not the same type of workers going on strike =/, but still)

I know, there was so much garbage in Toronto that I smelled it all the way from here! ...Oh wait Hamilton just smells like that...

The employees are not just striking for the pension of future employees.

The plan that Mac is offering for new hires would make the plan of the current employees unsustainable and would cause it to collapse.

Like Nicole said PLEASE do your research and get educated about the issues surrounding the strike before being blindly against it.

They have very good reason to strike.

Also, people need to seriously stop comparing this situation to York. The union is different, the workers are different, the contract issues are different, and most of all classes will continue.

A little inconvenience on our end when it comes to admin support is worth these employees fighting for a solid pension plan for themselves and their future colleagues.

I agree with Callen and Nicole.

There seems to be so much anti-union sentiment, mostly because a strike would "inconvenience" them. What a selfish attitude to have. We're only here for 4/5 years (+ any graduate school) and if the union should strike, it will only be for a small fraction of this time. These people are fighting for their pensions which have much longer implications.

Also, classes are still resuming it's clearly not like the York strike.

damn...
I was just wondering if this would affect the ability to buy new books for classes. It says the bookstores would be affected by this strike, does this mean they wont be open during school?

Read the Local 555 FAQ sheet here to read about what they are fighting for and why it matters to them:
http://www.cawlocal555.ca/doclinks/m... proposal.pdf

The assumption is that their pensions are 'safe' because they legally have to pay them out, but from what I understand the union is worried about the university 'winding up' the pension plan for existing employees and putting their future benefits at risk. Also, the pension plan option, if an employee stays at McMaster, is in my opinion a better choice... you get a pension payment each year for the rest of your life plus health benefits, etc. so it's expensive for the university to maintain. With the RRSP plan you get a lump sum and have to manage it yourself once you retire, plus you have to buy into your own benefits package which can cost a few thousand dollars a year. The benefit to the RRSP plan is you can take it with you from one job to another, the pension plan if they leave McMaster and go somewhere else to work have to start all over again and cash out what they had in the pension plan which won't be much unless they've worked there a long time.

Originally Posted by Black.Mamba

damn...
I was just wondering if this would affect the ability to buy new books for classes. It says the bookstores would be affected by this strike, does this mean they wont be open during school?

I really wouldn't worry about books. You're not going to need them for the first few weeks and they'll most likely hire scabs to cover for people. I just expect it to be a little more chaotic than usual.

Or you could just buy them from upper years.

;__; none of my books are out.

Originally Posted by .:callen:.

Also, people need to seriously stop comparing this situation to York. The union is different, the workers are different, the contract issues are different, and most of all classes will continue.

A little inconvenience on our end when it comes to admin support is worth these employees fighting for a solid pension plan for themselves and their future colleagues.

Callen :-) ,
Although I agree that the pension/benefits/Job evaluation issues are important, the strike will be much more than "a little inconvenience" for many people. As you know, I work for Facility Services and quite a few of the people I work with simply can't afford to live if they go on strike. That's awful! Not only that, but think of the effects on the university itself. Classes may go on but that doesn't mean that the students will exist unscathed.
For example, Myself and the people I work with are responsible for keeping the university running smoothly and cleanly. If they are to go on strike, there will be a huge issue with maintenance because there will be no one to call when a toilet starts to flood a bathroom, or a sudden rainstorm floods the musical instrument rooms. And we're only one service!
So, although I agree that there are important issues at stake, there are also equally big things at stake for the employees and important services on campus.

*completely unrelated*p.s I haven't seen you in forever? stop hiding and come visit haha.

Originally Posted by Chad

you get a pension payment each year for the rest of your life plus health benefits, etc. so it's expensive for the university to maintain.

It's not as expensive as the university maintains. For 6 years, the investments the university made with the pension fund money did exceptionally well. This meant the the university paid $0 into the fund for three years and a reduced amount of money for another three years because their investments were so profitable.

You can see this on page two of this document: http://www.cawlocal555.ca/doclinks/P...erJun e09.pdf

The university is claiming it's too expensive because they failed to put any of the savings from the good years away to help the fund in the bad years, like this one. Once the market turns around (as it has been doing since March), the fund will again return to profitability.

The cost is a red-herring.

Ya, I heard about how it was doing well. It's a shame they didn't plan for bad market times like this.

I would just have one request of the union: let us know which university entrance you're going to picket at. That way, since I don't care what you have to say, I'll go through the one you aren't at and not be inconvenienced.

I think when people hear the word strike now, (after an entire summer of ridiculous strikes in Southern Ontario) they will immediately feel frustrated and annoyed. Regardless of what they are striking for, it may be selfish of me to say this, but it really just makes things a pain during the year. If I was a first year coming into this, I would dislike it even more because it's another thing that makes the transition more difficult.

the statement above also says that the libraries may be affected... so while classes can continue and stuff, academics will still be affected if students cant get help with finding research materials to do assignments, also would this affect the hours of opperation of the libraries?

Originally Posted by .:callen:.

The employees are not just striking for the pension of future employees.

The plan that Mac is offering for new hires would make the plan of the current employees unsustainable and would cause it to collapse.

Like Nicole said PLEASE do your research and get educated about the issues surrounding the strike before being blindly against it.

Economics is not my strong suit, so can someone please explain to me how how changing the retirement package for new hires to a group RRSP, based on market performance, would cause the current employees guaranteed plan to collapse?