I have never picketed before and was not sure what to expect when I showed up last Monday for the first of three full days of picketing. I’m an introverted person and had planned to mostly keep to myself, but I quickly found that it was much more enjoyable than I had expected. Yes, I did still keep my earbuds in so that I could take a break from talking and listen to an audiobook every now and then. And yes, I did spend more time by myself than others did so that I wouldn’t get too overwhelmed. But it was genuinely a positive experience, despite the biting winds, the signs blowing away, and the cars that didn’t seem to notice when we tried to cross the street!
On Monday, I donned a pink CUPE hat, pulled a pink CUPE t-shirt over my hoodie, wrapped a warm pink fleece scarf around my neck, and picked up a pink CUPE flag and started walking back and forth along the street. I chatted with colleagues in my department that I hadn’t seen for years, as after Covid, most of the part-time profs started to only come to campus just for the hours they were teaching. I rediscovered the camaraderie I didn’t know I had missed in talking to them. However, I hadn’t appreciated just how physically draining it would be to walk for five hours straight. So I took a colleague’s advice and brought my own chair on Tuesday. I’ll admit, I felt a little awkward bringing a camping chair on the bus Tuesday morning, but it was definitely worth it.
I started Tuesday by making my own sign. I’m no artist – I successfully avoided doing most crafts when my children were little by encouraging them to craft with relatives! – but I channeled my inner artist nonetheless. My sign said “Part-time profs teach (at least) 1/5 of SMU classes” to highlight the fact that part-time faculty are an integral part of SMU and most students are likely affected by this strike given how many courses part-time faculty teach. I felt a little self-conscious sitting down for much of the day, but I knew I didn’t want to have the same hip and leg pain as the previous day so I held my sign down to avoid it blowing into my face (a futile endeavour to be honest!) and smiled and waved at passing cars and students. We sang and danced to music to keep our spirits high – and ourselves warm – and appreciated the students who took pink scarves and small flags and pins to wear in support.
By Wednesday, I was getting into the groove of picketing and felt a lot more comfortable talking to other profs from different departments and swapping stories. So many of us had similar experiences of loving what we do, but not loving the working conditions or the pay. It was encouraging when people from other local unions stopped by to show solidarity, and it felt like a collective hug to know others were rooting for us. As introverted as I am, it was a lovely experience, and it felt really good to be doing something so important with so many other passionate and thoughtful people. It’s not always easy to be on the picket line, but the people on the picket line with me those three days made me feel welcome and valued. And ultimately, that’s what we all want to feel.
