Personal Planning Guide for a Strike or Lockout

Dear Member…

The Local Union has prepared this pamphlet for those members who find themselves faced with the possibility of a strike or lockout.

Strikes and lockouts are a very real part of the collective bargaining process that cannot be ignored.

Doing some basic personal planning well in advance of a strike or lockout will allow you to reduce the negative effects such actions can have on you and your family.

We hope the information contained in this pamphlet is of value to you, and we hope you will never have to use it.

In Solidarity,

Ivan Limpright
President

THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING PROCESS

The goal of your negotiating committee and your employer is to negotiate revisions to your collective agreement. No one representing workers enters collective bargaining with the goal of negotiating a strike or lockout. But strikes and lockouts are a very real possibility as a result of either or both parties’ inability to come to an agreement on the issues.

The purpose of a strike is to put pressure on the employer to meet the collective bargaining demands of the workers. By withdrawing their labour, the workers place economic pressure on their employer by curtailing the ability of the employer to do business.

The lockout is the employer’s equivalent of a strike: the employer refuses to allow the workers to work, and therefore places them under economic pressure by removing their paycheques in an attempt to force the workers to back down from their demands, or sometimes to force them to accept the employer’s demands for changes to the collective agreement. No matter which it is, a strike or a lockout, one thing happens: the workers lose their paycheques.

HOW DOES A STRIKE HAPPEN?

Contrary to the myth that union leaders simply call strikes at will, there is a specified process that must be followed before a strike can occur.

First, the membership directly involved must vote by secret ballot to indicate that they are in favour of strike action if it is necessary to back their demands.

A strike vote provides your negotiating committee with a stronger mandate at the bargaining table by sending your employer a very clear message that you support your negotiating committee, and that you are serious about the demands you have made. The stronger your strike vote, the louder the message you send to your employer!

A strike vote does not automatically mean that you and your coworkers will go on strike.

Planning for a strike means that should a strike occur, you will be prepared for it rather than be left scrambling to make arrangements the day after the strike or lockout begins. It just makes good sense to plan in advance and be prepared.

WHERE TO BEGIN?

Planning your personal finances and obligations is as good a place as any to start planning for a strike or lockout. Here are some suggestions:

• you should seriously consider seeking temporary employment during a strike/lockout. Our local union encourages you to do so.
• do not make any major purchases until the threat of a strike or lockout has passed.
• save as much money as you can. The union will provide picket pay, but it will only be enough to provide the absolute essentials. Any money you can save now will certainly come in handy in the event of strike or lockout.
• it is a good idea to contact your creditors and advise them that you may be going on strike or may be locked out by your employer in the near future, and you want to make arrangements now to reduce your payments should a strike or lockout occur. Most businesses would not have given you credit in the first place if they were not convinced that you would meet your obligations. They know that you will not be on strike or locked out forever, and that you will pay your debt when you are back at work. Besides, if they are sensitive to your needs when you are on strike or locked out, you will look upon them favourably when you return to work, and will continue to patronize their business in the future.
• arrangements to make loan payments vary depending to whom you owe money. Credit Unions are the most flexible. In fact, most have policies already in place that will allow you to make‘interest only’payments while you are on strike or locked out; you will only have to let them know of your situation, and the arrangements are easily made. Banks can be a little more difficult. If you have been doing business with the same bank for a number of years and you have a good credit rating with them, they are often prepared to make similar ‘interest only’ payment arrangements as a Credit Union. However, you should talk with your branch manager well in advance of you being on strike or locked out. Some banks will re-write loans over a longer period to reduce your monthly payments, and other arrangements that will reduce your payments and keep your good credit rating with them. The key to dealing with banks is to give them as much lead time as you can to make alternative arrangements.
• mortgages are a little more difficult to deal with because of the legalities involved. Talk to your mortgage holder to determine if any arrangements can be made. Again, if your mortgage is with a Credit Union, the chances of you making arrangements are better than if a bank holds your mortgage. If no alternative arrangement can be made, then you will have to let your mortgage payments fall into arrears. However, it is always wise to pay at least the interest on your mortgage. You do not have to worry about your mortgage holder foreclosing on your house. Foreclosure proceedings take a year and longer to initiate, and besides, your mortgage holder doesn’t want your house, they want the interest you pay on your mortgage. As long as you advise them that you may be going on strike, or may be locked out, and that if this happens, you will resume your payments when you are back at work, this will satisfy them.
• the only thing that will make your creditors nervous is not knowing what is going on. If a strike or lockout occurs, do not ignore your creditors or obligations! As long as your creditors know that you are not just ignoring your obligations, they will be cooperative.
• if you encounter difficulty with an unreasonable creditor, call the union office. Often when we talk to your creditor they receive a better understanding of the problem you face.
  

WHAT TO DO WITH THE CHILDREN?

If you are a parent and use child care facilities, you should plan for the care of your children during a strike or lockout. Here are some suggestions:

• contact your child care provider and advise her/him that you are facing the possibility of a strike or lockout, and make arrangements to make up those payments you may miss over time after the strike or lockout is over.
• try to reduce your use of paid child care to a minimum.
• get together with your co-workers and develop a system whereby child care responsibilities are shared amongst yourselves. Make sure picket schedules are arranged in such a manner that when one group is picketing the other is available to take care of the children of those on the picket lines. Picket shifts are normally only four hours, so the length of time you are away from your children will be short.
• Another way to handle the child care needs is to designate specific people among your coworkers to provide child care all the time in place of doing picket duty. Instead of picketing, these people would provide child care…clearly an equal contribution to the strike effort.
• make arrangements with friends or relatives to provide your child care while you do picket duty.
  

WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE FAMILY?

Strikes and lockouts are major disruptions in the lives of families and relationships. It is very important that you include your spouse/partner in discussions about the strike/lockout. It is important for them to understand the issues surrounding the strike/lockout so they can recognize the need for you to be on strike,and can be supportive of your actions.

Encourage your spouse/partner to read information from the union, keep them informed about what is going on, and let them know how you are feeling and what you are experiencing. Strikes/lockouts can be hard on relationships if your spouse or partner feels left out and does not understand what is going on. You want to keep any pressure on your relationship to a minimum: communication and understanding will help do that. In addition, if your spouse/partner understands what is going on, he/she can be supportive of your actions and hopefully take some of the pressure off you.

Children, even young children, are very perceptive about what is going on around them. They may not understand the specifics, but they know when things are different,when something has changed.A noted poppsychologist has described young children as “little radars on legs” when it comes to changes in their environment and surroundings. Therefore it is equally important that your children understand,to the degree their age permits, what a strike/lockout is all about and why you are on strike or locked out. Be sure to explain that it is a temporary situation that will not last a long time, remembering of course that a few days may seem like a very long time to a young child.

Make sure you explain to your children that there will be enough money for food and that they will have a place to live, but that there will not be enough money to do things they may want to do, or buy things they may want. This will ease the pressure on you to provide things you cannot afford during the strike/lockout.

By talking to your children about the strike/lockout and your role in it, you will ease their anxiety and concern as well as removing unneeded pressure from yourself.

WHAT ABOUT MEDICAL COVERAGE?

In British Columbia, medical services are provided under the provincial medical plan through your employer for all eligible employees. During a strike or lockout, employers normally continue to pay the health care premiums for their eligible employees in order to maintain reasonable relations with their employees when the strike ends.

A major concern for the union is those members, and/or their families, who require life-sustaining medication. These medications are often very expensive, and as a result, can place an added burden on those members who need such medication or must provide it for a family member.

Sometimes people are unwilling to confide in others that they, or a member of their family, needs such medication. As a result, they will struggle along trying to continue to purchase very expensive prescription medications on a drastically reduced income. Worse still, some may even reduce the prescribed dosage in an attempt to make the prescription last longer, and put themselves at risk in the process.

It is unacceptable to the union to have members in need of such medications not receive the help they need during a strike/lockout situation. Therefore, if you or a member of your family requires life-sustaining medication, this is what you should do:

• when a strike or lockout appears inevitable, talk to your Shop Steward before the strike/lockout begins and advise him/her of your special needs.
• when the strike/lockout actually begins, provide your Picket Captain with the receipts from your last prescription so the union knows exactly how much additional money you will require.
• DO NOT wait until your medication has run out before contacting your Shop Steward or Picket Captain. It may take a couple of days to process the paperwork to insure that you receive the additional money you need.
• if you do not feel comfortable talking about your special needs with your Shop Steward, then talk to your Union Representative, the Secretary Treasurer, or the President of the local union.
• you may also want to talk with your doctor prior to a strike or lockout in order to double your normal prescription size prior to the beginning of a strike or lockout.
  

HOW CAN YOU CUT COSTS DURING A STRIKE OR LOCKOUT?

There are a number of costs you have that simply do not change whether you are on strike or not. However, there are ways to reduce costs in a number of areas, especially food.

Some people have found it advantageous to ‘stock up’ on non-perishable food items and staples in anticipation of a strike or lockout. They keep an eye on advertising flyers, etc. looking for good buys and where they can purchase goods in large quantities at reduced prices. In some cases, two, three, or more co-workers will get together and purchase large quantities, case lots, etc., and divide the goods and the cost amongst themselves. People with home freezers will do the same with food that can be frozen.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS ON ‘STOCKING UP’

• talk with a couple of your co-workers who you think may be interested in joining you in stocking up so that you can buy large quantities at reduced prices.
• only purchase those items that you will use whether there is a strike/lockout or not.Remember,not every strike vote leads to a strike!
• do not get carried away and end up buying a year’s supply of anything! Remember, you can overdo a good idea! Eating your way through ten cases of beans would be worse than a month on strike!
• if you have a home freezer and you have a little extra space in it, let your co-workers know that you are prepared to share your freezer space so they too can stock up. Even if you are not interested in making joint purchases, you can still help a co-worker by giving them the opportunity to stock up.

MAKING THE BEST OF A BAD SITUATION!

You’d have to be out of your mind to like a strike! Unfortunately, from time to time they are necessary in order to maintain what we currently enjoy in our collective agreement, and to achieve the fair collective bargaining goals we have set.

When a strike or lock out does occur, we all want to ensure that we stick together and, whenever possible, help one another out. After all, we are all in it together, and in the final analysis, that is what will make the strike successful…and bearable!

The union as a whole will do all it can and you will receive the support of other members in other sectors of
our union who are not on strike or locked out. In addition, you can expect the support of workers in other unions. So you’re not in this alone!