Sitting in the shade - on private property (which now has a sign saying so beside it), chillin'.
And getting paid $80 a day to do it (or $400 a week). Plus $40 per dependent.
Tax free.
Considering some of the striking staff were casual workers, with only a few shifts a month, they'd be making more money doing this, than if they were on the job.
Somehow, I don't think the AUPE paid picketers are getting strike pay; I figure they're getting a full salary.
Plus benefits.
They're not really picketing anymore. They just sit there, for the most part, every now and then yelling insults and verbal abuse at people across the street, including the people living the neighbouring townhouses.
The only time they really move around is when the security van with the replacement vehicles arrives. Then they shamble over and begin yelling taunts and verbal abuse at the replacement workers, or anyone else they happen to spot.
On the morning of July 4, they blocked the replacement worker vehicle from coming in for an hour.
This is something can can cause direct harm to those who are supposed to be getting care, but aren't, because the replacement workers are trapped in a vehicle in the driveway.
What was more concerning, however, was what happened in the afternoon.
As usual, they left for their 3 or 4 hour lunch break. When they returned, they set up their chairs under the tree, blocking the sidewalk, and blocking the stairs, with a number of them sitting on the concrete curb under the tree, as they didn't all have chairs.
One of the picketers brought her two small children, again.
Bringing children onto the picket line is something a number of members have expressed concern over, for several reasons, ranging from the children being taught to engage in bullying behaviour, to safety concerns.
These two children were very young, about preschooler age. Too young to understand that the adults they were with, were camped out on private property. Too young to know that the hill and lower sidewalks they were playing on were places they weren't allowed to be on. (From the chalk drawings they left behind, they were not only allowed to play on the hill, but the entire length of the townhouse row, including the lower sidewalk and up onto the stairs to second level entries.)
Certainly, they were too young to be seeing the sort of abusive behaviour these "adults" are engaging in, but then that behaviour is the sort no one should be seeing.
At least one member reported being verbally abused for pointing out that they were on private property, and that children shouldn't be on a picket line.
Several members expressed concern about the children being trapped on location for several hours, in this heat, and with no bathrooms nearby (given how well provided for the picketers are with food, drink and junk food, we're just sort of assuming they were kept fed and hydrated).
The children cannot be blamed for the mistakes of the adults they were with.
What caused increasing alarm among members, however, was seeing them there all afternoon.
These two little kids would have been stuck out there for at least 3 1/2 hours, in temperatures that soared to 26C (78F).
That is horrifying.
Updated: In conversation about this, a member made this observation.
Picketers have felt free to bring their own children to the picket line, allowing them to play on the sidewalks and Artspace property, yet children who actually LIVE in Artspace have not been able to play freely around their home, out of fear of the picketers.
This member has a great point.
It used to be that the children of Artspace freely ran and played with each other, between the high rise and townhouses, under the benevolent eye of parents and neighbours.
Now, they can't even go out on their balconies.
Even within their homes, they can't escape the picketers, as the noise disturbs their sleep patterns and invades the peace and quiet of their homes.
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