they started using a megaphone outside of Keyes, and as a CA my phone has not stopped ringing for a while now....whoever is monitoring the forum that has connections to the TA's is it possible to not use the megaphone? I know it's a great sound amplicfication but it's really disrupting a lot of the students on my floor and to the building

Originally Posted by Phoenix

they started using a megaphone outside of Keyes, and as a CA my phone has not stopped ringing for a while now....whoever is monitoring the forum that has connections to the TA's is it possible to not use the megaphone? I know it's a great sound amplicfication but it's really disrupting a lot of the students on my floor and to the building

Have you tried going out and talking to them? I'd be interested to know what the response to that might be.

I suspect it might be a little more effective if all the CA's and even a few extra Keyes residents went out to talk to them about it all at once.

Originally Posted by Taunton

Have you tried going out and talking to them? I'd be interested to know what the response to that might be.

I suspect it might be a little more effective if all the CA's and even a few extra Keyes residents went out to talk to them about it all at once.

Heck, even if one came out and talked to them.

While waiting to get into one of the parking lots today, one of the picketers came over to talk to me, and he was extremely friendly (even knowing that while I wasn't TA-ing, I told him that I wasn't going to picket). I'm sure that their not all bad people , especially if you're polite when you approach them!

Originally Posted by talues

I'm sure that their not all bad people

LOL misguided maybe, but certainly not bad. :p

Originally Posted by Taunton

LOL misguided maybe, but certainly not bad. :p

No u!

Originally Posted by Taunton

Have you tried going out and talking to them? I'd be interested to know what the response to that might be.

I suspect it might be a little more effective if all the CA's and even a few extra Keyes residents went out to talk to them about it all at once.

yeah i talked to them, they said they'd stop but then 15 minutes later it was back on lol. I didn't approach them as a CA, i approached them as a student in residence

Originally Posted by talues

1. The recession in Canada is over. I think that it is either over or almost over in the States as well.

2. I agree that it could be much worse. That does not mean they should let the employer walk all over them. Your post would suggest that you are in favour of a "big brother" type of system. That being said, the picketers are remaining within the law and have been complying to police requests.

3. You cannot "fire them all".

4. T.A.s are guaranteed to graduate students in order for them to supplement their income and thus make an amount of money that they (should) reasonable be able to live off of. They are offered as an incentive to come to Mac.

5. Your post would appear to lack anything constructive. Your method of delivery may have helped shroud anything constructive which you wanted to share with us. While I enjoy engaging in an informative discussion, posts like yours threaten to break down the discussion into a situation in which all sides are merely engaging in un-constructive bickering.

I wasn't going to post anything, but I have a few thoughts on this post.

1. I highly doubt you will find anyone on Bay St. in Toronto that will agree with this point. Those in economics should have an idea based on previous recoveries (or lack of).

2. Getting an offer of $40/hr is not being walked on by your employer. Thats over a 10% increase. Has anyone here tried looking for a job recently? NO ONE is hiring. Retail outlets are non-profitable and sales are slow therefore they are laying people off. I'm a manager at a fairly large retail chain and all I can say is that there are WAY to over qualified people comming in and applying and we still have to turn them down because of our hour allocation cuts.The ability to get a 10% raise when no where else is hiring is amazing IMO.

3. I wish we could. Those causing the strike anyway....the ones caught up in all this I just feel sorry for.

4. Mac isnt the only place that offers this. Getting 40 hours a month @ $40/hr = $1,600/mth which is $19,200/year. There are tons of students out there making much less than this, myself included. 10 hours a week is really not a lot at all....now that I think about it thats only about 4 more hours a week then i spend waiting in a line up to park on campus because of the people blocking the enterance.

5. Have you ever tried negotiating with a 5 year old? It's about as easy as nailing Jell-O to a tree.

Originally Posted by talues

1. The recession in Canada is over. I think that it is either over or almost over in the States as well.

LOL...

Epic.

The unemployment rate in Ontario? is still at 9%, IIRC. That's not a recession being over.

just a point for Eugene...today music was a big issue in the morning..I love my 8am wake-up calls (not)...please instruct the Cootes group of picketers to show some consideration us living in Mary Keyes residence...also there was a very loud speech given to" boost" morale today..all it did was annoy a whole lot of people in my building...me and a few CA's from Keyes went out to talk to the picketers and we were simply tol " dont talk to us, we're doing whats legal, if you have a problem fgo talk to the schools administration"...tha t seems like a rude answer to a polite request to reduce noise pollution, even after we pollitely asked for the music to be turned down..not TURNED off TURNED DOWN...please look into this matter its really bad here in Rez...also if you could please advise the picketers to tell the cars to turn off their engines and not to idle, the smell of gasoline and smoke in my 3rd floor room is ridiculous...thank you and hopefully you can get this fixed

just out of curiosity since a lot of people have been great at answering questions/figuring out the legal issues: What happens if i just hop the curb and cross the 2ft of grass instead of staying in the line of cars?

Originally Posted by spyder83

just out of curiosity since a lot of people have been great at answering questions/figuring out the legal issues: What happens if i just hop the curb and cross the 2ft of grass instead of staying in the line of cars?

You will get a hefty ticket. no questions asked.

if you rush the line, you could be arrested.

Originally Posted by JMerolli

You will get a hefty ticket. no questions asked.

if you rush the line, you could be arrested.

Good point...I don't make $22/hr so I can't afford to do stuff like that...

On another note I can't see it being that hefty as it isn't city property therefore the Hamilton police won't be issuing the ticket but campus security will.

Originally Posted by JMerolli

You will get a hefty ticket. no questions asked.

if you rush the line, you could be arrested.

That's assuming you get caught.

I had a good chuckle a couple of days ago when I saw a Jeep hop the curb and through the ditch to the parking lot.

Originally Posted by spyder83

I wasn't going to post anything, but I have a few thoughts on this post.

1. I highly doubt you will find anyone on Bay St. in Toronto that will agree with this point. Those in economics should have an idea based on previous recoveries (or lack of).

2. Getting an offer of $40/hr is not being walked on by your employer. Thats over a 10% increase. Has anyone here tried looking for a job recently? NO ONE is hiring. Retail outlets are non-profitable and sales are slow therefore they are laying people off. I'm a manager at a fairly large retail chain and all I can say is that there are WAY to over qualified people comming in and applying and we still have to turn them down because of our hour allocation cuts.The ability to get a 10% raise when no where else is hiring is amazing IMO.

3. I wish we could. Those causing the strike anyway....the ones caught up in all this I just feel sorry for.

4. Mac isnt the only place that offers this. Getting 40 hours a month @ $40/hr = $1,600/mth which is $19,200/year. There are tons of students out there making much less than this, myself included. 10 hours a week is really not a lot at all....now that I think about it thats only about 4 more hours a week then i spend waiting in a line up to park on campus because of the people blocking the enterance.

5. Have you ever tried negotiating with a 5 year old? It's about as easy as nailing Jell-O to a tree.

1. No one said we are at the same levels preression, but its generally accepted that the free-fall is over and slow recovery has begun.

2. the offer isn't 40 an hour. The raise is also over 2 years.

3. If you fired us all, you'd have to find replacements. As much as you might loathe TA's (and I understand, I was once an undergrad), we are actually highly skilled workers. We are not easily replaceable.

4a. Compared to other TA contracts, our wage is not out of wack. I know it seems like a lot, but keep in mind this money is also aimed to help fund our original research. This is a crucial point. The TA wage is part of our funding package which is used to support us so we can complete our degrees but also produce work, which benefits the University.

4b. we only work 260 hours per year on this contract and if we are caught working outside the University while TAing or more than 10 hours a week EVER, we could loose our scholarships from the University.

5. We aren't the one's acting like 5 years old. I could point fingers and respond that the University was the one who didn't show up to bargaining meetings before the strike and when they did showed up late and empty handed. But instead, I will say that, we are a union and we are taking the last possible stance available to us to force the University to bargain. This is a crucial political right that people died for in the past. It sad to me that our generation no longer see the important strategic value in strike action. It is our one weapon against employers to ensure we are protected. It should be celebrated.