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Friday, March
24, 2006
When
things happen, they certainly happen quickly, eh!
Apparently we’re talking again.
Apparently the College ran a $50 million dollar surplus last year.
Apparently our requests for more faculty weren’t unreasonable
after all. It’s really nice
to know that educated people have, in fact, been making informed and
educated decisions all along (yes, I am referring to our bargaining
team!). So, now we get to go
into the weekend on a note of optimism and hope.
Speaking of optimism, I’ve noticed a rather sharp plunge in morale
the last couple of days. It’s
so hard to be on strike – hard to walk back and forth in front of a
mostly empty College and feel like what we’re doing, in the grand scheme
of things, is worth the tread we’re wearing off our running shoes.
Frankly, when things looked so bleak yesterday, I was getting very
close to chucking my adopted Pollyanna attitude and going to work at Giant
Tiger for minimum wage. (I know people there, and they certainly seem fine
with their jobs). The bottom line is that I believe in all of you –
believe that our students are worth optimal teaching conditions, believe
that you deserve to be in classrooms where you work with integrity, and
believe that the College education system has been grossly underfunded for
at least a decade. Hang in
there and be good to each other. As
Eithne (or was it Dale, I can’t remember) said this morning – “We
have a ban on BMWs – a ban on Bitching, Moaning and Whining”.
Announcements:
1)
The pay is in!
Please see Jim Miller for your cheques.
2)
I’m thinking of having some kind of
party next week, but haven’t come up with a really good idea of what
yet. Any one with ideas or
willingness to help plan, please get in touch with me.
3)
A number of people have asked for updates
from
Centennial
College
in regards to John Stammer, the faculty member who was struck on the line.
At this point we have no more news, but there is a contact e-mail
on the CAATtales website for any of you who want to convey your thoughts
to the family.
4)
There are extra raincoats in the trailer.
Please feel free to use them at any time – even if you just need
to have an extra windbreak.
5)
Please help me out by keeping record (in
the trailer) of all the donations to the line.
We have a couple of people working on thank you notes for the
donations thus far, and I really want the donors to be aware of our
gratitude.
In solidarity,
Lynne
lynne.a.gardiner@sympatico.ca
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