That was the week that was
This has been a hectic and busy week. I started the week with a swollen face, after one of my teeth decided to explode. I needed emergency root canal treatment, which although painful was nothing compared to the pain I had been experiencing. My cheek is still swollen but not as bad as it was on Sunday evening!
On Wednesday we had pickets outside of our office building for 2 hours, blowing horns, playing middle of the road rock music (think Foreigner) and shouting about wanting a fair wage for a fair days work. I was going to point out that none of them was currently working, but the police were called and directed us away. The Union involved is the SEIU and they represent the service workers at the hospitals. Or to be more accurate they represent some of the service workers. Anyway enough hair splitting. They want more money. The management does not agree. It has come out that certain caretakers (or Janitors as they like to be called here) earn more than teachers do. As Ray would say “it’s a mixed up, meddled up, shook up world”.
My co-workers got all flustered by the strikers and many were running around giving constant updates to what was happening outside our offices. I couldn’t help but contrast their reaction to the reaction of my colleagues at the Child Support Agency. I remember clearly that on more than one occasion that the CSA would have protestors outside. There was also one occasion when one of the protestor’s got inside the building, but obviously hadn’t thought it through because he had no idea what to do once he got inside. My favourite story though of my whole time there was the time that we were asked to stay away from one side of the building because they Royal Navy Bomb Squad were defusing a bomb outside. During all of this my workers and I practiced a large sense of detachment and bravura which to this day I do not know if it was indifference to what was going on or just a huge piece of British stiff-upper lip. You know the idea that if you just continue working then it is not really happening.
On Wednesday we had pickets outside of our office building for 2 hours, blowing horns, playing middle of the road rock music (think Foreigner) and shouting about wanting a fair wage for a fair days work. I was going to point out that none of them was currently working, but the police were called and directed us away. The Union involved is the SEIU and they represent the service workers at the hospitals. Or to be more accurate they represent some of the service workers. Anyway enough hair splitting. They want more money. The management does not agree. It has come out that certain caretakers (or Janitors as they like to be called here) earn more than teachers do. As Ray would say “it’s a mixed up, meddled up, shook up world”.
My co-workers got all flustered by the strikers and many were running around giving constant updates to what was happening outside our offices. I couldn’t help but contrast their reaction to the reaction of my colleagues at the Child Support Agency. I remember clearly that on more than one occasion that the CSA would have protestors outside. There was also one occasion when one of the protestor’s got inside the building, but obviously hadn’t thought it through because he had no idea what to do once he got inside. My favourite story though of my whole time there was the time that we were asked to stay away from one side of the building because they Royal Navy Bomb Squad were defusing a bomb outside. During all of this my workers and I practiced a large sense of detachment and bravura which to this day I do not know if it was indifference to what was going on or just a huge piece of British stiff-upper lip. You know the idea that if you just continue working then it is not really happening.
posted by Nick at 1:49 PM
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