John joins the war effort

Doing his bit to get Dad back to work.

Well, it was inevitable. John and I have joined the strike. Not on the front lines, of course - we've been recruited to man the office weekday mornings. Mike was scheduled for office duty today, but they had a shortage of guys on the picket lines so he asked me to fill his place. The office, it seems, is a bit of a hot potato - everyone would rather be out picketing. However, someone's gotta do it, so I said I'd take it for them as much as I can. John enjoys it. It screwed up his naps a little, but it's a cool new place to explore, and there's nothing dangerous to eat. And every now and then someone comes in and makes funny faces at him, so it's working out alright so far. After our first morning, John and I have each logged more time to the strike than the majority of the guys who actually work for this company. Apparently someone's pet dog has put in more hours on the picket line than anybody, other than the picket captains. The organizers are pretty irritated by the whole thing, but all they have to do is make a schedule of where and when people need to be and the attendance problems would vanish. They're working on that this weekend - though, they said that last weekend too.

The strike is turning ugly. Lots of cut cables, vandalism, fires, thousands of people mysteriously knocked out of service in the night. (I guess all the guys are out prowling for cables in the night, leaving them too tired to picket during the day). The new piece rate company is here and running now. There was some talk in the meeting - all dead serious - that when one of the workers is spotted they are to be chased off with wooden stakes. Most of the energy is spent hunting down and tormenting scabs and managers. Telephone and e-mail terrorism campaigns were officially launched, sparking sinister cheers from the crowd. It's a lot like being part of a really dirty political campaign. It's dozens of guys living out their "if I were quitting this stinking job tomorrow, I would..." scenarios. Very dangerous. Hopefully, this won't last long. And hopefully, more will join in! Where are the 90-odd percent who voted to strike!? Mike voted No, and he's still putting in more time than most. Oh, and don't worry - Mike isn't getting involved in any of the illegal stuff. It sure is keeping the police busy, though!