Effects on our lives - incident and impact report

Two things to clarify in regards to comments made in this report:
The red vehicle is a security vehicle escorting replacement workers in and out for their shifts.
The mail is not being delivered because union members are not required to cross picket lines, even if they are part of a different union and have nothing to do with the strike.  This means that the mail has been delivered everywhere on our street *except* Artspace.

Monday, May 12, 2014

My younger daughter and I were heading out at 3:30 to pick up my older daughter from work.  The following is on my dashboard video, which is not positioned well, so people are not as visible (the holder is designed for hands free use by the driver, not taking video out the window).  Audio does pick it up.

As we were being blocked for about 2 minutes, the strikers were singing.  One union guy began shouting out about security, saying "security doesn't care about you",  "security has turned their back on you" and repeatedly calling for security (I believe he was calling one guard by name).

My daughter and I both commented on how cult-like the strikers behaviour was, which I found funny but my daughter found uncomfortable.  As we drove away, she expressed anxiety over the union guy's comments about security.  She felt threatened by it, and that he was insinuating that we needed security to protect us, but that they would not be there for us.

As we came home, I had both daughters with me.  They blocked my van from entering the parking lot.  We noted that, as my older daughter put it, they broke the "Wonderbread" convention and had more non-white people.  We saw the man who's butt got manhandled, but did not see the woman who grabbed him and made racist comments at the security guard.

As we waited, another vehicle came behind us and the strikers began calling to clear.  They cleared half the driveway to allow this other car in.  By then, it was past 2 minutes and they let us through as well.  As we drove past, my older daughter heard one of the strikers telling another that we were residents of Artspace and that I was a "real asshole."

Considering their behaviour, I found that hilarious.  It also shows that they have singled me out for extra harassment.

As we were leaving, the gentleman living in our old unit (his name escapes me at the moment) saw me and called out that he had more mail for me.  I went over to his unit to get it, and some strikers began jeering me.  My older daughter followed along, out of concern for my safety, and waited outside while I went into the unit.  I noticed fliers in his mailbox, including a notice for another RCMP info session, so I grabbed it for him and brought it in.  He made a comment about not caring about it (I later realised that this was the notice from before, not a new one, which means he'd not been collecting anything in that mailbox for some time).  As he gathered the mail for me, he mentioned that he was being terminated.  At first, I thought he was talking about his job, but he told me it was his membership.  I was surprised by this, commenting that it takes a lot for this to happen.  He informed me that he had been told he'd broken the law and endangered other members, then said that he wasn't sure if it would be followed through with, yet.  I suggested that perhaps, if he didn't know he was doing something wrong, he might not have to leave.  He didn't seem to concerned.  As we were walking down the stairs, he referred to himself as a "left wing radical" and that he had to go and support his "union brothers."

At that point, any sympathy I may have had for his situation disappeared. 

As we walked past P___, she asked about mail.  She had heard that, due to the strike, mail was not being delivered.  This is very concerning, as interfering with mail delivery is a federal offence. She had heard of a location where we could pick up our mail, but it too far for her to walk.  I would like to have this confirmed.

Later, my daughter recorded the strikers from a window as they mobbed the replacement worker with the red SUV again.  They were shouting a lot of vile, nasty things while chanting and generally being obnoxious and disruptive.  My daughter heard a woman she was sure was the same woman who called me an asshole, yell out "God is watching you."

Whoever this person in the red vehicle is, he is putting up with an incredible amount of abuse.  (I think I saw that the driver was a male, but I honestly am not sure; I'm usually behind the wheel myself, so I can't really look.)  If you have a chance, please let him know we really appreciate his willingness to keep coming back to care for our members under such stressful and abusive conditions.  I don't understand how, just because they are strikers, they are allowed to harass and abuse people in ways that would get them arrested in other conditions.

I also wanted to inform that, for the past couple of days, rather than deal with the stress of the strikers and put me through more harassment, my husband has been walking in to work.  It's less damaging to his back than taking the bus, but still causes him a great deal of pain and discomfort.