On Strike – Day 1

First day on strike for our faculty today. We picketed for about four hours before being released for lunch. (As a part-timer, I left for the day.) Many people honked in support, including several staff members. (I’ve heard staff were instructed to go to work or have their pay withheld.) It was about 37F (which is a few degrees above freezing for those who use C), consistently raining in that Pacific Northwest way that is not very cold but feels cold because you are soaked. I dressed in layers but was shivering uncontrollably by the end. The mood was good–big turnout, both full time and part time faculty, lots of snack food: almost all sugar and coffee. I am seriously amped!

I had more than one conversation debating what the administration hoped to gain by dragging this out. We faculty can’t back down. We have too much at stake. Admin can’t run the college without us to teach. With 10-week terms, every lost instructional day is hard to make up. We’ve now lost one with no word yet of any contract agreement. My best guess is they’re hoping the weather will break us. The forecast keeps saying snow is coming, though it keeps not coming. In truth, snow and ice might keep me home because the hills I live on are treacherous, and I’m not prepared to die for a fair contract, but snow will not get us back to work.

It’s hard not to check my email/course site and check in on my students, also weirdly freeing of my time (for now), but I’m holding the line for the greater good. We’ll see how it goes…

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