Well, my good babblers, I don't recall what I was doing in 1973, or if I even bothered to listen to any news that day, but for the 2001 date, I felt like writing it down about a week later...Sept 18, '01
here's my slant on a day in history:
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I was on the picket line that morning, doing time (8 'til noon, for $35 strike pay - God knows when I'll see it - apparently He has more pressing issues) with the rest of my UNDE/PSAC local, hittin' the bricks, blocking traffic a few minutes at a time, with the slim hope of actually affecting anything or even 'making a statement' (the military only had to whine a little to get their raise, so we thought that might work for us...making them whine, that is), even if that statement is only, "we can't get any respect, so we ain't giving any!"
Anyway, at 10am I offer to take over flagman duty for an hour, so I had to wear the reflector vest and hold the Stop/Slow sign and take my cues from the flagman a couple hundred feet away at the north end of our picket, and the next half-hour passed by uneventfully. I think it was around 10:30 (I had no watch on) that Ray, our local prez, grabbed a megaphone and addressed the crowd of strikers. He didn't point it my way, however, and though I tried, I couldn't make out, but wondered just the same, what he was saying to them, and no one walked over to apprise me. (Though I'd never given it a second thought that day, neither had I the inclination to inquire as to the subject of Ray's address, such was my state of shock and grief to follow. And it never occurred to me again, until I'd thought about writing this account the next day, and it struck me how bluntly rhetorical that question had become.)
Around a quarter-hour later, during one of the traffic stoppages, there were around 15 vehicles backed-up at my end when this exec-looking type gets out of his car, fifth from the front, and strides purposefully toward the MPs, who were in their vehicle on the shoulder adjacent to me, maintaining their police presence at the picket line so things don't get out of hand. The suit, indignantly gesturing in my direction, begins interrogating the MPs as they rise out of their vehicle to face him: "What gives this guy the right to block this road? I'd like to make a complaint - who do I lodge a complaint with?"
"Write your MP", I piped in, easily within ear-shot, and...no pun intended.
"...blah, blah, blah...", he persisted, his agitation mounting with every deeper shade of red evinced on his face.
Meanwhile, the flagman at the other end yelled, "Break!", and when the picketers cleared I flipped my sign around: SLOW, to which the traffic began to flow.
"...and these people are blocking traffic!", he raged on, unaccustomed as he most likely was to not having things his own way.
"Now you're the one who's blocking traffic, sir", I calmly interjected.
He glanced over and noticed the cars moving past me, turned around to see about 20 vehicles now backed-up behind his. He stormed off, disgusted, and as he drove past me I said, "Your patience is appreciated". (In retrospect I'm glad I didn't antagonize further with, "Have a nice day!") The cops just looked at me and smiled as I tipped my hat - they never had to say one word to the guy!
I had to stop the vehicle at the very end of that next line because the change had been called and picketers were commencing to cross. "Sorry," I apologized, "We'll only hold you up a few minutes; we appreciate your patience", and the driver, in army fatigues, didn't seem to mind.
About a minute later this driver rolls his window right down and says, "Have you heard?"
"Heard what?", I answered.
A week later now, and it's still too hard to fathom: "Terrorists hi-jacked two airliners and flew them into both towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Both buildings collapsed. They flew a third plane into the Pentagon", the chap related, his children looking bewildered in the back seat, trying to wrap their little minds around the significance of such news, as was I.
I was stunned, letting it sink in, the surrealism commandeered my brain, like I was Clark Kent being told the Daily Planet was rubble, and I was thinking if this doesn't begin World War III then I don't know what will. "Man, this could start World War Three", I blathered, unable to say anything beyond what I'd just thought. On cue, an automaton, I flipped the sign. He just nodded and drove on, a pall of gloom left on the day, and me, in his wake.
At the side of the road, I asked the MPs if they'd heard the news. They said, "Sure; we been listening to it on our radio here for the last hour".
'Thanks for the heads-up', I thought to myself while feeling like I was the last insignificant soul on Earth to find out.
My relief came a few minutes later; I handed him back the props while we exchanged incredulities. No one seemed to really know what to make of it or how it would bode for the future other than that it was not good. "How truly worthless our plight here now seems", I remember saying.
With me back on the picket line, about 11:15am, Ray manned the megaphone once more - this time I not only heard it, but anticipated it; he read from a newly dispatched net communique:
"In light of the tragic events in Washington and New York earlier today, security will inevitably be heightened at government offices and institutions. Continuing our picket lines in these circumstances could put our members at risk. In addition, many of our members would routinely assist in protecting the safety and security of Canadians as part of their jobs. Given the current situation, it is appropriate that they remain on the job. As a result, the PSAC is suspending all strike activity for today and the rest of this week.
"As public sector workers, our solidarity goes out to our Brothers and Sisters in New York and Washington, and to all those who are affected."
On that note we broke it off and pulled up stakes; cleaned up the area and headed home. On leaving I asked if the union meeting was still on for 7pm that evening. "Yes", came the reply.
I suppose everyone has their own ideas about what it is we're striking for and probably the 'bottom line' is reason enough for the lowest common denominator. But for many more I think it's a matter of principle, that if we're to be properly sodomized, hog-tied and held over a barrel, then pardon us if we hoot and holler a bit; that if members of parliament and senior bureaucrats can take hefty hikes to their six-figure incomes while limiting everyone else to a paltry 2% snub they've got another thing coming: our silence over their incomptence and gross waste of taxpayer funds won't continue to be had so cheaply; that in 22 years with the federal public service I have never, EVER, seen a contract increase that EVEN CAME CLOSE to the increase in the Consumer Price Index; that, as one brother related in a 'town hall' meeting, "when I started here, I made the same as a Warrant Officer - now, a corporal makes more than I do"; that the government can't hire new tradespeople because few will work for so little, which sooner or later becomes a safety issue because they end up calling back retirees, and how long before one of them drops dead on the job, and at what risk to others, and whose head will roll because of it? You can bet no one's - it's the Canadian Way. (Look no further than Walkerton, the good-ol'-boy system gone awry, for the kind of 'accountability' that gets imposed on those criminally negligent in their duties - ZERO! ZILCH! EFFING NADA! - There was a definite pay-off there, but it wasn't to the victims or the local rate-payers; but I don't doubt it was designed to buy someone's silence, to not implicate other shirkers of office within the local bureaucracy.)
As much as we'd like to put up a common front, we know there is vocalized dissention in the ranks. Not too few number those who think striking won't amount to much more than 'our loss'. Some have made clear that they won't endure a protracted strike and may be forced to 'cross the line', while others think the government will legislate us back to work and are maybe even 'crossing their fingers' that they do. Wouldn't that be just like the government to NOT legislate us back to work so we'll self-destruct and be further divided? Well, things don't look too hopeful and, against all odds, we still feel like we've got to do something, even if it's just a token sacrifice of pay for a lousy 'token' of a half-percent more respect over what they're currently offering us. I can only cling to the delusory prospect that in a flash of ingenuity, someone in Cabinet might determine what a great boost to local economies throughout our beautiful country a five percent public sector pay hike would prove to be. Imagine that! I'd actually be able to 'afford' to order take-out every other week! oh yay.
Um...how many times am I allowed to digress?
There are other issues, with me anyway, like the fact that the bargaining process is in arrears. In other words, by the time we ratify a contract it's close to expiring. This is stupid and wrong. It means that near the end of a contract being ratified the amount of 'back pay' accumulated over a year or two becomes a bribe, so much so that our underpaid, impoverished membership, dollar signs lighting up in their eyes upon their determining the actual figure, will invariably vote 'yes' and settle for less than they should. Every other union strikes the day their contract expires, but not us. I can only blame the PSAC for allowing things to slide this far out of control, though I know it's us, the grass-roots that are too apathetic and complacent to object strongly enough to shake up the union hierarchy. Anyway, I want the union to get out of this bargaining in arrears nonsense, put the offer to us for ratification, and get into advanced negotiations for the next round so that we can be prepared to strike the day our contract expires, like a real union, and put an end to the back-pay bribe.
With that as a bit of background I'll cut to the union meeting, 9/11/19:00h.
Nothing too detailed here (I don't have the memory for it) but I can touch on a few of the issues raised at the meeting. Just general strike-related stuff, mostly, like how to muster the membership to the warpath to deal a deathly blow to The Great Satan, er... Treasury Board; or what do we do about scabs in the membership who end up crossing our lines if we can't beat the livin' shit out of 'em? "Shun them", came the answer. What? That's hardly The Canadian Way! It's more like, "Here, take this broom-stick and when I bend over, shove it up my ass as hard as you can and see if you can't do more damage than the last parasite. I still have a spleen intact, after all,...so piss on you!" But seriously....we also discussed where would we picket? Location, location, location...is there some strategy we should be heeding? Most folks just want to picket our workplace, the base, at its gates. Simple, but futile...if we're not going to be militant about it and shut the base down, i.e., no commercial traffic free-flow without consequences: no more Mr. Nice Guy; it's got to cost them something - their insurance deductibles, maybe even higher premiums. But most would lack the heart or stomach for something like that (not this cowboy). Others think we'd get more media attention if we picketed with another local in downtown Barrie. I tend to agree, since we're neither angry nor militant enough to effectively strike our own workplace, at least we could jam up downtown somewhere. And speaking of the press, did you know that the public service is not too highly exalted in the public esteem? Me neither, but I wouldn't put it past the ingrates! heh Apparently there's a rampant false impression out there that public servants are all gorging themselves at the trough. Wrong, fools! Don't confuse us with bureaucrats, contractors, consultants, senators, deputy-ministers, and politicians! They're the ones taking you for a ride that you're all too complacent to even vote them out of office or voice objection over. And all I can say is you deserve the fleecing you're getting out of it - every last $billion!
I guess I better tie this in to the disaster soon if I don't wanna lose ya!
A Sister said she thought the Attack on America presented us an opportunity, at which point I said I agreed before I'd even heard her out. She went on to say we could exert more pressure at the borders and before she could elaborate, her suggestion was dismissed out of hand, citing untenable sanctions in a time of crisis would heighten public scorn and prove a detriment to our cause. To this I also agree.
After various other discussions, I had occasion to again bring up the history-in-the-making, which had been unfolding these past 12 hours.
"Ray, you said that we are not held too high in the public eye, but I think the events which occurred south of the border today could provide us, or the PSAC, a rare window of opportunity, not to use as a bargaining chip, but rather as a face-saving means to back out of this strike, which many members don't want nor can long commit to, and put the offer to the membership, which they'll likely ratify because no one can afford to be on strike while failing to stare down that sizable back-pay bribe, and do it all ostensibly under the banner of patriotism and national unity in support of our closest ally, which should garner us some favour in the public eye, while at the same time moving us toward a more forward-, as opposed to backward-, bargaining stance which would lead to the eventual end of the back-pay bribe - a victory of sorts, when you add the proper spin."
May I say that when I talk, people's jaws drop.
"What do we want to help the Americans for?", said one guy lacking vision. (I swear, some people can't see beyond their own goddamned noses!)
'Fool!', I thought. "It wouldn't be 'for them', it would be for OUR benefit," I tried to explain...Aw, ya can't tell a Heinz pickle nothin'! At least there was one member who voiced favour for my suggestion, but anyway, no motions were made nor carried on any issue that night, so my 'vision' didn't even get to die on the order table.
One thing about windows of opportunity: evanescence is their essence - here and gone! I should know: I've missed enough of them!
Peace, Salaam, Shalom
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posted 11 September 2006 08:16 AM
