This garden bed was designed for better accessibility (though not wheelchair accessibility; those are the other raised beds) for our members who wanted to garden, but could not get to the plots available behind the townhouses.
Due to the size of the space, the bed was divided into two parts, with a narrow access path in between, for better reach. Picketers frequently would be seen in this pathway, sometimes with their butts on one side and their feet up on the other. Other times, they are seen puttering about in the plants. This, in spite of the private property signs in both sides of the garden bed.
Several members maintain the plants in there, and they have been taking advantage of at least one of our members who has been allowing them to "help" her. It is expressly forbidden for members to invite picketers to trespass on Artspace private property, and they know this, seeing as how there are signs stating this all around the high rise. The member is not being held at fault for this, since we know full well they are using her for their own purposes, but it is sickening to watch them take advantage of her like this. I suppose it's not a surprise. They have a thing for targeting the vulnerable, though not a single one of them could ever match this person for sheer strength of will. Sometimes, it is those who appear the most fragile that turn out to be the most mighty. If they want to see what real dignity looks like, they could learn a lot from our members. Instead, they use, manipulate and take advantage. Of course, it's what they're being paid to do (while some insist they are volunteers, we've heard non-SAIL picketers talk about being paid $11 an hour to be here, though of course, there's no way to verify that).
Aside from blatant disregard for private property (and being an object, not part of any sidewalks or entryways, it cannot be considered part of the 4 ft easement), it is damaging the bed. While having someone occasionally sit or lean on the beds for a short time will not harm them, they were not designed for seating. Certainly not by groups of people almost daily for months.
The picketers know this.
They know they aren't supposed to use the garden beds to sit or lean on. They know it because people have asked them to get off, at which point they might stand up, but go right back to sitting on them again soon after. They know this because they read about it on this blog.
They obviously don't care.
Well, someone finally got tired of it and put up some little signs, in addition to the other Private Property signs.
An extra one was added to the middle, just for a bit of humour.
I don't think they got the joke.
There was also some fly paper added to the top of the garden walls.
Of course, when the picketers showed up, they obviously weren't happy with it, but they did end up spending more time on the other side of the street, where they could lean against their rental van. If they did actually obey the signs and refrain from sitting on the walls for a change, I will at least credit them for that.
Unfortunately, less than 24 hours after these went up, someone took it all down. Not just the fly paper, but the signs, as well.
We don't know who. Most members were quite pleased with the signs - and the fly paper! Perhaps one of their insiders did it? Funny; seeing "infiltration" as one of the types of misconduct forbidden in the labour regulations, it seemed like such an odd thing. Unfortunately, now we understand why it's there.
It really is like something out of a bad spy movie, except that it's real people's lives that are being manipulated and twisted. They use both the honey and the stick, in typical abuser fashion. They are trying to play members against each other; most of whom have no direct connection to SAIL. It's just a game to them, with human beings for game pieces.
With the signs gone, I would hope they still got the message and will show some respect for other people's things, seeing as how they're constantly going on about how all they want is "dignity and respect."
Of course, if they truly understood dignity and respect, they wouldn't be picketing our private homes to begin with, nor would they be using and abusing our members, never mind using other people's things for their own convenience.
This whole thing would have gone very, very differently if only AUPE had stuck to labour regulations from the start.
Every now and then, we get people who make comments about how the real bad guy in all this isn't AUPE or SAIL, but AHS, for not providing enough funding to meet AUPE's demands.
That is something outside the scope of this labour dispute. SAIL can only work with the numbers AHS gives them, and AUPE can either choose to accept that or not.
They chose not to.
Which is irrelevant to what is happening at our home.
It is not AHS that is responsible for AUPE choosing to picket our homes rather than the place of employment.
It is not AHS that's responsible for AUPE trying to designate our co-op as some sort of long term care facility, rather than private homes, to justify their actions.
It's is not AHS that's responsible for AUPE picketers who engage in blatant misconduct, deliberately targeting a community with their abusive behaviour.
It was AUPE that chose to go the aggressive route, and the responsibility lies with them, and with the individuals who have been engaging in those activities.
Like dignity and respect, I suspect their definition of responsibility isn't quite the same as anyone else's.
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