Our union is on strike , and I am going to ride the picket line. I am thinking of making a pin on for my jersey, but the best thing I can think of is

I DON’T WANT
TO GET FAT

I JUST WANT
A FAIR
CONTRACT.

I am hoping people seeing my 300 pound behind pulling up the steep hills around work will get a little inspiration from it.

Today is our fifth day on strike, and with that our helth insurance is also stopped, so I have not been riding as much as I would, so maybe this will help in more than one way.

Good luck with the strike! Our contracts ended in November, so strike time was November and December.
Take advantage of the time and ride on!!!!

What's the strike about?

The button/sign you're thinking making doesn't really seem to make sense. "I don't want to get fat"... pardon me, but if you're 300#, unless you're a very big guy who's all bulked up then I'd say you're already fat.

Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of unions, but If I was driving by and saw that, I'd have probably have even less sympathy for the striking workers.

You are right, I have already changed it to I AM RIDING FOR A FAIR CONTRACT.

We are striking for a number of reasons; none of them are pay oriented.
The university wants to be able to pull any bargaining unit member out of the union for any reason, by doing this gives them the ability to fire anyone they wish for any reason. This will in all rights make our union completely ineffective. Another sticking point the university wants to create another pay scale. This pay scale will in effect break the bargaining unit members into three classis in the same classification. Lastly and least important is the university wants us to start paying into our healthcare. This wouldn’t be unacceptable if the university wouldn’t have made it possible for the president and his family to have complete coverage, along with complete coverage after retirement and complete coverage to go to Cleveland clinic one of the most expensive hospitals in Ohio.

Overall the university wants the upper management to get rich on student’s enrolment moneys while we fall below cost of living standards. A 1.5% raise on 30,000 is an H of a lot less than a substantial raise on 150,000.00 + housing, clothing, auto, and entertainment pay, with a guaranteed contract for ten years. Something is wrong with that picture, and we shouldn’t have to take the flack or fallout for it.

That is why we are on the picket line. We were told by university management it is not about the money, it is about the principal.

I use to think that strikes are useless, but after going through one I have to change my mind, and anyone who has not should pay attention to what is going on before they judge the people on the picket line. I sure will in the future.

I have to agree that no one wins in a strike, and being a university in crisis the whole community looses, but our union was forced into this by the university, and it is exactly what the university wanted. So in conclusion I apologize to the students, community, and to my friends, but this is something we had to do.

Tiered pay scales and reduced healthcare benefits. Just like they've been trying to do to the UFCW grocery workers. It's the same everywhere.

No matter what you do, do not let your leadership let the university get away with the tiered pay scale, especially if new workers in a given category get paid less that existing workers in that same category. If they get it, as soon as the contract is implemented they will start doing everything they can to get the "older" workers to quit--mess with their hours, give the new workers preferential treatment, you name it. This is happening right now to SoCal UFCW grocery clerks that I know personally, after their weak leadership knuckled under to the grocery chains' demand for tiered pay.

OK...how about "RIDING FOR MY HEALTH / FIGHTING FOR MY HEALTHCARE"?

The Only thing I can say to that is Yea baby bingo has been called. I will make the sign tonight.

Good luck with the Strike, longest I was involved with was 4 months, wasn't much fun. We were out for health care benefits. Company wanted us to pay and union said no. That was in 89...still don't pay any more for health care. Make sure to ride your bike...relieve stress.

Don't forget to put the name of your union and local, and some sort of unmistakeable declaration like "[Name of university] unfair to labor" on your sign in small print. That way, there is no question that you are part of a sanctioned picket line, just in case the cops try to harrass you for riding on public property.

I agree with skiahh. I am not a union fan either. I would rather handle my complaints on an individual basis. If the company doesn't respond, then I can move on and find another job. If enough people move on because they are being mistreated, then the company will have to either change it's ways or go out of business. I have never had a union job, but I have never had an employer that didn't provide a fair wage. For some reason it seems it is always the union employees that find something to complain about when it comes to wages and benefits.

Bigmark, here's another board member's vote of support. Good luck--and make sure that you have a union bug on that sign!

Get a shirt made with black letters on yellow, that's right, yellow shirt, a big guy in yellow will be photogenic, and that's what you need. Vive le' Union!