Walkin' the Line

First day on the picket line oberservations:

• very boring
• lots of support from public
• no end in sight
• no one wins in a labour dispute

For the first time in my career I feel we are totally justified in our position. The government set up a system they now declare 'unworkable' and 'broken' and then proceed to create laws to enforce their position. How could the bargaining system EVER work if this is the inevitable conclusion? No managament group would EVER bargain with employees if they knew that at any point they could just create a law to 'solve' everything. And this is what the government thinks is fair?

How do we explain to students that breaking the law is okay? In fact, how do we explain to students that sometimes laws are unjust and must be changed? Problems are solved by working out solutions, not by enforcing laws. Our government insists they have solved the problem by passing a law. I would not want to hold this up to students as an example of good problem solving.