still in limbo...still thankful :)

i can't believe it has been over a month now since my last post! a crazy emotional whirlwind and many things in a limbo period that is not over yet. so first the story on what's in limbo...then the stories on why we haven't lost our minds yet ;)

I have now been back at work since last thursday (the 11th) thus ending the the strike for my union local CUPE 15. (this pic of Sasha and Nolan was taken the last day of our picket together at Brit. they had a grand time screaming and chasing each other around! lol) My feelings on the whole situation are very mixed.

what best describes how I felt, at the end of our meeting to vote on the recommendations by Brian Foley, is deflated. (if at this point you have no knowledge on the civic strike here in vancouver that had both Mark and I out on the picket lines since July...please visit www.farinessforcivicworkers.ca and www.vancouver.ca to fill yourself in...you might get dizzy from the spin on the city site - professionally woven by the Wilcox Group.)

I wasn't entirely sure why i had such an emotional reaction to that day...and that vote...but on reflection this is my summary. I went into my meeting knowing that Mark's union was likely to vote no on their recommendations because they were not even given a language provision on pay equity promising the city would look into it. With 391 and 1004 turning theirs down, and my own bargaining committee encouraging us to vote yes - though obviously unhappy with it, they had no plan B to make staying out any longer worth it in their eyes - some of the reasons to vote yes did not sit well for me personally.

After 11 weeks I basically felt like the city had broken us by draggin their heals long enough for poverty to start setting in for many of our members. when the strike started (the week of july 23rd), and we heard rumours that the city intended to keep us out 'til at least thanksgiving, I said "no freakin' way could they keep us out that long"...ahhhhhhhhhhh naive little Kathy. my optimistic bubble was burst many times :(

the city has obligations to VANOC on contracting out of public services and privatization of public facilities, and they benefit from having a predominantly auxilary work force with no benefits or job security...but you won't hear them talk about any of these reasons for not bargaining in good faith with us at any step of the way...they can't gaurantee for us what they have already agreed to strip away...at the public's expense!!!

sigh

thanksgiving monday (1st of 2 days my local was voting, and by end of tuesday all 3 locals had voted) was the first time I felt like a disposable worker since i left the service industry. we have basically been told that in this day and age no one has job protection so suck it up and quit asking for it. this is not a legacy for workers that i am proud to turn over to the next generation - primarily Sasha, Che and all the other gems in my world. my logic runs this way - if no one is guaranteed job security anymore...shouldn't this be the time we fight for it??????

my heart felt heavy that the vision of a world that achieves sustainability, with respect for people and the environment, was so obviously still going downhill...such an uphill challenge to overcome...and it deeply unsettles me to think of letting things continue to get worse. especially when I know we are all collectively capable of a society that is so much richer in spirit and integrity than the business model we let control us today.

then, after a few blocks of mourning on the crumbling of workers rights and the inherent risk factors involved for my kids present and future...i came across the MOBY garden on 11th ave (www.myownbackyard.ca) and found happy community-minded folks harvesting their food and celebrating with music...and this filled my heart with the hope I always feel when witnessing people in the movement that continues to push and work towards the better world that is possible...one garden and community at a time :)

I was thankful for the reminder that there are many positive things going on around the world, and in my community, and that there are many inspiring people I can introduce our kids to and many alternatives I can expose them to when we come across something that concerns us.

so now my picket duty is done and i'm happy to be back at Brit, though the stability of the job share is likely a few weeks away yet...so I'm taking as many shifts as we can manage...while Mark continues his picket duty! the routine we had finally worked out to balance picketing, home and sanity is now in flux again...and could be in flux again after tomorrow. Mark and his 391 brothers and sisters they will be voting on the tentative agreement reached today between 391 and the city...and maybe the libraries will open next week too. I hope it is not without at least some of their issues addressed -with at least one clause on a pay equity review to be done!! (I'll add a brief update on this over the weekend when we know more)

while they are still out I'd just like to remind everyone that CUPE 391 was integral to the positive energy that maintained all of the people on strike...they just showed such amazing creative thinking, inspirational ways of keeping people motivated, and exhibited such crucial leadership to a union local that had never been on strike before.
here's pics of Mark and Beth (the uber-cool librarian he works with at Carnegie), the flying bike squad that clocked countless kilometers spreading positive vibes to picket lines across the city, and the 391 members getting there point across in a visual way...




it has been painful to go to Brit and see these folks (some I've known forever through Mark, and some I bonded for the first time with while on the lines) still out there...and I wish I could do more than visit and bring treats to help keep their spirits high! I'll always be thankful to them, and my fellow 15 folks for making the whole strike experience (a first for both Mark & I) a positive one overall!

here are just a few of the folks I bonded with on the 15 line: Annty & Louis Phillipe; Robert, Jeina, Elaine & Anne; Tanya, Giles, Michael and John...all 4 are new friends b/c Brit was the best place to picket ;) - lol; and some of the Brit pool & fitness crew.













get used to hearing my new friend Tanya's name (and her cutey pie Nolan up above w/ Sasha) as she and I are now working on a documentary together!! she is a filmaker who wants to make a doc, and I have had a vision for a doc on the agenda controling public education since working on the Charter for Public Education...so we started brainstorming while walking laps on the picket line. well, there's another positive to come out of the whole thing ;)



"enough about work Kathy! what's happening with your home search??" well news on the home front goes like this: we had an interview with the Northern Way co-op last Friday. (our close friends Thomas, Kristina and their son Keyan live. pictured here with Joe who took us out for breaky while visiting from Winnipeg) we'll know next week (earleist the 24th) whether we're the 1st pick for the 3 bedroom suite. actually, it's a town home with 3 levels. though we're losing space as there is no dining area, we will gain much needed storage space - big plus! there are many positives to this place: it's within walking distance ot work for both of us, we've friends in the co-op, affordable, yada yada yada...

the big downside is the suite is not available when we need it! we have to be out of here Nov 30th and this place is not ready for Dec 1st. the woman moving out has been there for 20 years so it will be getting a mega steam clean and full paint job before we can get in. so it will be days or weeks (if new floors are done now) that we would need to couch elsewhere.
the rest of the search is kinda on hold 'til we hear back...and then I can update more on home...

the stress of all this limbo at once has put me in good practise on the meditation of what I'm thankful for to keep my perspective balanced...and with that i'll end with some pics of Sasha livin la vida loca...and keepin our life full of joy :)