Ontario Teacher s Strike....

[AZBowla]

Haha, it's so true. honestly i don't like the idea of unions, every other job in the world you agree on a wage before hand and get a cost of living increase every year or so. all unions do is give reason for argument and drama, that and protect the jobs of people who don't want to work hard.

Teachers and other public sector jobs have a harder time of it due to the fact that they are government funded, and goverments like to spend too much money and then cut things like education or other public services to make up for it. Oftentimes, it's the teachers and not the bureaucrats who feel the pinch of such cuts. That's where the union comes in.

I work in a non-union job and have had several others prior to. In many of my jobs there was no annual increase, and in some there was even a pay cut in order to preserve the company's bottom line. Being in a union gives average joe employees like me a means to fight back against that sort of thing. Some unions take advantage of their position and demand unsustainable things (look at what's going on with Hostess at the moment) but for the most part, the union keeps the typical worker from being screwed over by their employer.

[MICHAEL]

Unions are what created THE MIDDLE CLASS!! History and Science were my major! You, have NO IDEA what it was like before they came to be!! NO IDEA! NOW they,,, THE FAT CATS have many thinking they are all corrupt, self-serving organizations! That can be true, but look at the Wonderful Future workers at Walmart have now! Super low wages, benefits that eat up what little wages they make, while the FAT CATS are living the HIGH LIFE! Its say that the very people that would benefit the benefits of unions, fight against them!! SAD,,, that negative propaganda from the Rich Élite, works! I was the proud member of Ironworkers Local #10! VERY PROUD of my union, and the FAIR piece of the pie, they worked hard to get us Ironworkers! I get so sick of the mantra, unions are the problem! The REAL problem is GREED on the side of billion dollar companies!! I could go on for days about the things we take for granted that unions made possible! What’s sad is they are taking them BACK slowly,,,, year by year! So, it will again be, two classes of people, THE RICH,,,, and the POOR! I am done on this subject, and will not write on this form another thing about Union’s and their Great contributions to the forming of the MIDDLE CLASS!

[ArtVandelay]

Next time there's a strike, of any kind, I just want to see this sign:

tumblr_m45jt6otlF1qzn9i0o1_500.jpg

[75lockwood]

Unions are what created THE MIDDLE CLASS!! History and Science were my major! You, have NO IDEA what it was like before they came to be!! NO IDEA! NOW they,,, THE FAT CATS have many thinking they are all corrupt, self-serving organizations! That can be true, but look at the Wonderful Future workers at Walmart have now! Super low wages, benefits that eat up what little wages they make, while the FAT CATS are living the HIGH LIFE! Its say that the very people that would benefit the benefits of unions, fight against them!! SAD,,, that negative propaganda from the Rich Élite, works! I was the proud member of Ironworkers Local #10! VERY PROUD of my union, and the FAIR piece of the pie, they worked hard to get us Ironworkers! I get so sick of the mantra, unions are the problem! The REAL problem is GREED on the side of billion dollar companies!! I could go on for days about the things we take for granted that unions made possible! What’s sad is they are taking them BACK slowly,,,, year by year! So, it will again be, two classes of people, THE RICH,,,, and the POOR! I am done on this subject, and will not write on this form another thing about Union’s and their Great contributions to the forming of the MIDDLE CLASS!

I agree with a lot of what you said, in a perfect world there would not be a need for unions, corporate greed is definitely an issue and i can see that the main idea behind unions is to protect employees from this. that being said this is what i have seen from my prospective on teacher's unions (in ontario) regarding the latest issues.

I can see why the unions are doing what they are, they are being stonewalled by the government and are not getting the reasonable cost of living increase they need. however, the way they are going about it in my mind is completely asinine; the main thing I've always heard about teacher's is that they became teachers because of the children, to help them learn and grow, not for the pay check. what was the first action during this wage battle? Cancellation of extracurricular activity's, field trips, extra help, etc. In what way is this what is best for the children? i'm sorry, but if you have a problem with the government, take it up with them, not the students, what did they do to deserve this?

As for my train of thought on getting a yearly cost of living increase, i was thinking of the not for profit organization that i have been interning at when i wrote this and do realize this is not the typical case for most employers. The world is not perfect, the rich get richer, the poor, poorer, and while i don't see union's as perfect, they do protect the jobs of many hard working people.

[GeoLes]

It seems like every other day our teachers are striking about something different, its starting to get rediculous! enjoy the extra day on the laneS!

In my opinion, teachers are under compensated. In many US high-population areas, they must purchase their own supplies out of their salaries. Where else in corporate America are you required to supply your own pens, postit notes, etc. The service they provide to society is invaluable.

As for them striking, I was not aware that they were such great bowlers.