Originally Posted by PTGregD

Didn't they need Two-Thirds (66% Voting No) majority to call a strike anyways? I thought I read that somewhere, because they didn't get that 66%.

I just took a look at the McMaster Daily News site, "The union has a legal strike mandate of 58% and while we understand this does not meet the two thirds majority required in CAW's constitution, the union has outlined clearly to members in its Bargaining Bulletin on August 7th that the CAW national executive can override this requirement and force a strike. Your participation in the Final Offer Vote will decide what happens next. Not participating in the Vote could have the same effect as a no vote.""

So, technically they could strike against the union's constitution, but they've opted not to.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Originally Posted by Jay

"Contrary to the university's misleading communications, there is no
strike action planned at this time."

People should be pleased.

Why are there barricades at the ready at the Sterling Street entrance, then?

Originally Posted by ghjkghkghkgh

Why are there barricades at the ready at the Sterling Street entrance, then?

Lol I'm prettyyy sure those are construction barriers, there is construction(They are clearing up the ridge/valley thingie in between the houses) for a few weeks now going on 50 feet down from Sterling/Mac Entrance. I pass by there every day!

Originally Posted by ghjkghkghkgh

Why are there barricades at the ready at the Sterling Street entrance, then?

Ummm, lemme look into that. I find that hard to believe

Email from Uni:
"The University tabled its best offer on August 20 and requested the Final Offer Vote to break the impasse at the bargaining table. We now expect the union to make new proposals and we will continue to listen closely."

I spoke to someone who voted today, they'll know by midnight tonight if a strike will happen or not.

Originally Posted by plutoz

Obviously the majority of the people who voted disagree with your assessment

Obviously the majority of people who votes are biased (since they're union members)... that's hardly a valid argument. My opinion comes from an unbiased look at the facts.

Its rather unfortunate that the offer was rejected by the union members. Some ppl in their position would be glad to even have a job during this time and here they are rejecting it out flat.

Originally Posted by plutoz

Just received from CAW:

The university forced "final offer" vote has been completed and the
results are in:

1,737 Total Votes
1,071 Voted No
662 Voted Yes
4 Spoiled Votes
6 Not Eligible to Vote (Not CAW Local 555 members)

The unacceptable clawbacks tabled by the university have been firmly
rejected by you. It's time for the university to drop their strong-arm
tactics and get back to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair deal
that reflects the contributions that we make to the McMaster community.

You have made it clear that you will not be bullied and will not give
up the dignity and respect we have all fought so hard to achieve.

Contrary to the university's misleading communications, there is no
strike action planned at this time.

The Union Bargaining Team will be contacting the university to offer
future bargaining dates

Isn't it sad how negative unions are? If these parties would come together and negotiate in good faith, I'm sure this would have been over a long time ago.

I can't speak for how the administration feels about the union, since I haven't read any inside communications from them on the subject, but I suspect that both parties have these negative feelings. Not good.

Originally Posted by plutoz

The CAW's constitution calls for 66% in a strike mandate vote (they received 58% in the vote which was held in July) however this can be overridden by the union leadership if they feel it is in the best interest of the membership. Legally they only need 51%

\

How democratic. Constitutions are supposed to be the ultimate authority of a group or society. It's nice to see that the leadership cares so much about it's members.

"Oh, we didn't meet our constitution's requirements, but who cares about the constitution...."

Disgusting. Why bother having a constitution then.

I said this about the garbage strike in Toronto, and i'll say it again.

Do these people not have any common sense? Here we are sitting in a recession. Yes I know the economy has improved, BUT were nowhere near out of the hole yet. If they really wanted to make demands, and threaten a strike, why would you pick NOW to do it? It's like trying to squeeze juice out of a dry orange. Your not going to get much of anything.

Now don't you think it'd be a better idea to strike when the economy as a whole is in good shape. Seems to make a lot more sense doesn't it?

There's a whole lot of people who are currently out of a job because of the poor economic situation who'd be more than happy to hold any support staff position at McMaster. They'd probably be willing to work for half the wages too.

Would this impending strike explain why the Titles site appears to be down?

Originally Posted by adam7takeo

Would this impending strike explain why the Titles site appears to be down?

No... that shouldn't have anything to do with it. Probably an unrelated server-side issue.

Originally Posted by Greco

I said this about the garbage strike in Toronto, and i'll say it again.

Do these people not have any common sense? Here we are sitting in a recession. Yes I know the economy has improved, BUT were nowhere near out of the hole yet. If they really wanted to make demands, and threaten a strike, why would you pick NOW to do it? It's like trying to squeeze juice out of a dry orange. Your not going to get much of anything.

Now don't you think it'd be a better idea to strike when the economy as a whole is in good shape. Seems to make a lot more sense doesn't it?

There's a whole lot of people who are currently out of a job because of the poor economic situation who'd be more than happy to hold any support staff position at McMaster. They'd probably be willing to work for half the wages too.

They chose now to do it because their contract ended this year. The next time to bargain is years down the road meaning that if the contract isn't fair, tens of thousands of people will be at a disadvantage.

If it was up to me, let them strike for however long they want. See how long they can go without pay before they realize that standing in a picket line doesn't feed their families. However, it is always the students that become the victim of these strikes. Hopefully both sides can agree on an acceptable proposal. Maybe its about time for education institutions to not have unions. Instead have a group of people that act as a complain center that will take care of issues without resolving to a strike. It seems that the CAW has not learn anything from GM and Chrystler nearly going bankrupt (if it wasn't for the tax payers bail out, which I strongly oppose). Anyways, lets hope there is no disruptions for the first years moving in this weekend. If there is, it will look absolutely negative in the eyes of first years and parents.