Media coverage - Picketers not going anywhere

This article is a little more unique, in that they actually gave more details and allowed more say from our members.

Picketers not going anywhere
Union dispute at Artspace Housing Co-op is holding its ground

“The union is outside picketing, shouting and saying all sorts of derogatory things about our organization—things which make all of our residents feel uncomfortable and, for some, unsafe. These are not the sort of tactics we would want to see from anyone calling themselves our allies,” Ulanicki says.

In the meantime, the residents are feeling like hostages. Young says there’s a girl down the hall who is afraid to go to school because of all the swearing and the presence of video cameras everywhere. He describes being woken up by picketers shouting at six o’clock every morning and worries about the disruption the community will face in coming days if the strike continues.

“There were two little girls who used to come and visit my dog every day,” Young says, explaining they’ve been scared off by the picket line. For him, the foul language and shouting on the picket line is reminiscent of a lifetime of bullying—something a lot of people with disabilities endure. “I’ve been bullied all my life,” he says. “I don’t like bullies.”

What is extra frustrating is reading things like this.

AUPE vice president Karen Weiers was found on the picket line. “We want conversation not confrontation,” she says about the possibility of changing tactics. “Our members want nothing more than to get back to work.”

 The picketers have been confrontational from the beginning, the only conversation they want is what they can control, and AUPE itself has been adversarial and dishonest in all their dealings with us since the beginning (see tabs above for more details).

As for the claim that their members (I assume they mean the striking care staff, who have been a minority on the picket line) want nothing more than go go back to work, to our user members, that has become the equivalent of a threat; after seeing their behaviour and hearing the things they've been shouting about them on the streets, they can no longer feel safe allowing them into their homes to provide care.