A group of disrespected professionals, forced to the picket line after being frustrated by stall tactics at the bargaining table and being told that management can’t afford to bring their salaries closer to the average for their profession, despite all evidence to the contrary…
The story sounds all too familiar to the seven members of The Canadian Media Guild who have been on strike for more than a year and a half against their reticent employer, Maritime Broadcasting System.
That’s why The Saint John 7 (as they’ve come to be known) took a short break from their own picket line on January 13 to join members of The Association of University of New Brunswick Teachers (AUNBT) at the Saint John Campus of UNB in a show of solidarity on the first day of the teachers’ strike.
“We know how difficult it can be to face the uncertainty that comes with strike action, and how important it is to know you have the support of the community, so we want to make sure right from the outset that our sisters and brothers from the AUNBT know that we stand with them in their fight for fairness!” says Gary Stackhouse, president of the Guild at MBS Radio in Saint John.
Stackhouse, who also serves as president of the private radio branch of the Guild, says he and the other CMG strikers had some very interesting conversations with the striking professors about the similarities in their struggles. “Like us, they see their struggle as being about more than just their own wages. It’s about a battle for the direction in which our public educational institutions are heading… just as WE are battling for the future of private radio’s use of the public airwaves. We see the same shortcomings in the way these public resources are being administered.”
Check out the Saint John 7’s Facebook Page.