Originally Posted by .:callen:.

I find it concerning that so many people liked/thanked a post that said that we should make sure to 'make life a living hell for these people'

I don't think that particular line was the reason we all liked/thanked the post, at least it wasn't for me... I really liked the sense of working together/the idea of helping and teaching each other.

If there is a strike, then classes are not supposed to be cancelled (so far), so it will be important to work together in a situation such as that.

Originally Posted by huzaifa47

Yeah, but the T.A's Imo are the biggest concern right now. If we lose them I would think that classes would obviously get cancelled! I think that is what happened at York as well.

One of the key differences at York however was that contract and sessional faculty were also on strike, so there was a shortage of instructors.

Here at Mac, contract faculty (CLAs) are represented by MUFA and sessionals are represented by CUPE Unit 2. Neither of these are currently in negotiations with the university and neither will be striking. So I think there's a higher probability that the university will be able to continue if the TAs go on strike.

Well I'm sorry for thinking people putting tens of thousands of peoples' education on hold (and sending their money down the drain) for a bit of cash is COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS.

In short, I'd be pissed. I'd want to make sure they know who they're affecting by doing this.

"Your employer is trying to exploit the
lingering fear and insecurity many of us feel from the global financial crisis to
intimidate you into accepting less than you deserve."

Wow. I'm really glad that the union is fighting for incoming new hires and protecting their benefits, but that line just screams delusion and a lack of grasp on reality. It's words like that that strike anger and a need for "uprising" where employees in the first place aren't in that bad of a situation.

Originally Posted by micadjems

Well I'm sorry for thinking people putting tens of thousands of peoples' education on hold (and sending their money down the drain) for a bit of cash is COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS.

In short, I'd be pissed. I'd want to make sure they know who they're affecting by doing this.

I don't believe anything has been said about classes being cancelled.

My original post was about what I would do were there a strike that cancelled classes, such as at york.

I obviously don't intend to spend my time from classes and studying bugging union people if they're not interfering with my life.

Originally Posted by micadjems

I obviously don't intend to spend my time from classes and studying bugging union people if they're not interfering with my life.

Your student union is not the same as the CAW or CUPE. Your student union aka the MSU, will have the chance to speak on student's behalf, and will hopefully steer the bargaining committee towards avoiding a strike. Perhaps my initial use of the word "union" was misinterpreted. Either of these two unions could cause serious waves at McMaster should their services be on strike come September.

Originally Posted by Matt Wright

Your student union is not the same as the CAW or CUPE. Your student union aka the MSU, will have the chance to speak on student's behalf, and will hopefully steer the bargaining committee towards avoiding a strike. Perhaps my initial use of the word "union" was misinterpreted. Either of these two unions could cause serious waves at McMaster should their services be on strike come September.

Pretty sure she meant union people not MSU people.

Originally Posted by micadjems

Well I'm sorry for thinking people putting tens of thousands of peoples' education on hold (and sending their money down the drain) for a bit of cash is COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS.

In short, I'd be pissed. I'd want to make sure they know who they're affecting by doing this.

Once again, I think it's important to point out that the state of labor relations is due to the unions and the university. The university decides where to spend the money, who gets it and why.

So if we're all going to get pissed at people, lets send the vitriol in both directions.

Originally Posted by michelle

I don't believe anything has been said about classes being cancelled.

I think Jackie's point was that if classes are cancelled, then the workers causing the strike need to realize how selfish it is to waste our time and money. Nevermind the fact that they wouldn't even have jobs without us.

Originally Posted by kirchhoff

I think Jackie's point was that if classes are cancelled, the workers causing the strike need to realize how selfish it is to waste our time and money. Nevermind that they wouldn't even have jobs without us.

It's a two way street. We wouldn't have classes without them, either. Some of the issues at hand are important to these people. You may only be at McMaster for four(ish) years, but some of these affected people work here for a lot longer than that.

Originally Posted by michelle

It's a two way street. We wouldn't have classes without them, either. Some of the issues at hand are important to these people. You may only be at McMaster for four(ish) years, but some of these affected people work here for a lot longer than that.

I don't care what the issue at hand is, it's never acceptable that anyone can potentially put 20000+ students lives on hold, and waste thousands and thousands of student dollars.

They can negotiate all they want, but a work stoppage is irresponsible and selfish.

How is the MSU involved in the bargaining process at all? I highly doubt they have much sway.

Interesting, isn't it, that the very product of the machine that is a University (aka the students) wouldn't have much say or influence in something which could affect them so immensely.

The MSU lobbies University administration regularly. Members of the BoD are meeting with higher-ups in the unions involved; discussion is happening, and we are talking. How well do the unions and administration actually listen, or how much do they care? Well, that's something that we can't really say at this point.

Originally Posted by Taunton

I don't care what the issue at hand is, it's never acceptable that anyone can potentially put 20000+ students lives on hold, and waste thousands and thousands of student dollars.

They can negotiate all they want, but a work stoppage is irresponsible and selfish.

So why not hold the administration's feet to the fire? Ask why they're choosing to spend our money on hiring an increasing amount of highly paid executives. On starting a new campus that many faculty disagreed with. Starting new capital projects, etc. etc. etc.

Given that the administration is the one who allocates our money, it's reasonable to ask them about "wasting" student dollars as well.

I don't want to come across as a big union supporter, I'm not. The last time TAs were negotiating, CUPE seemed a bit loony. (And really loony at York).

But I'm really disappointed that, as students who are meant to be learning to be critical thinkers, the entire focus has been on the unions without any consideration of the people who hold the most power in the University.

This sounds so much like the students are telling the unions to bend over and take it. But we could just as easily say the same thing to the admin, bend over and acquiesce to CAW's and CUPE's demand.

If the admin wants to ask their workers to make sacrifices, perhaps they should be prepared to make some sacrifices of their own. Are they doing this?