Week 14: Day 1

[sciencequeen]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I'M SO FREAKING HAPPY!!!!

Today is the first day of my last week of classes FOREVERRRRRR!!!I can't even believe it

Comments

[sciencequeen]

You make some good points!

My example of the Vegas trip woman was really spectacular - it was a TV show, and you're right, the amount of people who will suffer that won't get that kind of treatment will far outnumber the isolated case incident.

You're absolutely right with regard to teachers - good wages and working conditions do attract more people. But that's only if the money exists to be given. Here, the school system, the health care system, and most essential services are burdened and can't afford to pay people more.

Working conditions are also quite subjective. Who defines what money is required for a "good quality of life"? I can give two real examples (not from a TV show) - one of which I feel is ridiculous, and one of which I feel has merit:
Example 1: our teaching and support staff union at uni went on strike. They claimed they were not getting remunerated for their work fairly. They based this on lack of wage increases in line with inflation. Except that teaching assistants make $1800/month for teaching two 1-hour tutorials per week, and assist the professor/lecturer in marking. As a result, all of our marks were delayed and some of our tutorials got cancelled. What was worse though was that OTHER unions striked in solidarity! So the unions that run food services, the library, the pool, etc also shut down! Thankfully, they were not allowed to strike every day, but some of them also barricaded a faculty member from entering the parking lot because he was crossing a picket line in order to teach his class! I think the TAs are over-privileged grad students who have little right to complain.

Example 2: our paramedics went on strike a couple of years ago. People argued that paramedics shouldn't be allowed to strike, because they are providing an essential service. However, why they were striking (again wages) was very important. Towns which are rural have a hard time attracting paramedics. Usually, a small town will only have one paramedic. Sometimes, they are responsible for many towns in a specific area. The paramedics that choose to work these towns are usually "on-call" for a certain period of time (48 hours or so). They usually opt to take this work because they do not have enough seniority to get work in the city, if they live in an urban area, such as Vancouver. While you are "on-call", you have to be in the rural area to be available for service any time in that 48-hour period - during this period, they were getting paid $2.50/hour! They would only have their regular wage if they actually received a call. So if you don't receive a call for your region in a 48-hour period, you received $120. I don't know many people who can make a living on $120/week. That's welfare wages. Except these people are the front line in saving lives. I certainly think the paramedics were justified in striking! They also should be providing incentives to work in the boonies, not punishing them! Most other jobs like doctors or pharmacists get MORE money to work in remote areas. Doctors (I think) are unionized, pharmacists are not - their incentive? To reimburse a new grad with 2-years worth of what their tuition was.