Kind of have to get serious for a minute
On Monday evening,(7/11/11) at the offices of the Southbay Labor Council, my co workers and I have to make a very big decision: either to go on strike or not to go on strike. I am personally conflicted by whether I personally should go on strike should they vote yes. I view being a public employee (in my case, the County of Santa Clara, most of you would know it best as Silicon Valley). I do NOT view the agency I work for as my employer. I do NOT view the County of Santa Clara itself as my employer. So WHO is my employer? The citizens and residents of Santa Clara County, THEY pay my paycheck and it is THEM I serve, not the politicians and other “yahoos” making all the noise right now at the county level. I hate politics. I don’t know who is right and who is wrong here, whether the county is right/wrong or my union is right/wrong. I think the truth, as always, is found somewhere in the middle.
Copied in part from my local union chapter’s website:
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SAN JOSE, Calif. – Nearly 3,000 Santa Clara County workers took part in a vote Monday 6.21.11 and delivered a clear and strong message to county leaders: They will not accept anything less than a fair contract.
The daylong vote took place at a half-a-dozen work places from Gilroy to the County Government Center where supervisors meet. An overwhelming majority – 97 percent – voted to reject the county’s proposal and directed the union negotiating team to continue contract talks with the county. Members also directed SEIU Local 521 to seek a strike sanction from the Central Labor Council.
Tygger Knits! (and Crochets!) 
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