herdoula

I work for a private contractor for a public bus system. The company gets a 4% annual increase in their contract with the bus system so they can accomodate raises. I am in a union. I do not work in a right-to-work state (Oregon).

The company offered us a contract that would have reduced our wages to 1995 levels. Also we would have had to pay $1500 a month in health care premiums. For many of our members (including myself) this is their entire check. We voted it down 102-2.

We were supposed to go to binding arbitration this week. The arbitrator would have given us a compromise contract that both parties (company and union) would have to abide by. The company flat out refuses to go to arbitration.

Monday we are voting on whether we accept the BS contract offer or strike. I really don't want to strike, but the contract proposal was unacceptable.

Now my questions.

Do I have to picket?

Can I get unemployment?

If we strike will they just fire us and have done with us all. It is very expensive to train CDL employees and we have a vulnerable popluation we serve (we are para-transit drivers).

Can I get a temp job or something in the meantime?

I do not plan on crossing any picket lines, but what happens to those who do?

To my knowledge I am not pregnant. My husband had a vasectomy a year ago and has refused to go get a follow up test to see if it actually worked. Its making me really paranoid from month to month worrying about whether my period is going to start or not. Its frustrating that he was so willing to go under the knife last December but won't provide a sample for the lab. He says it costs too much, I told him another pregnancy would be much more expensive. His attitude is that if it hasn't happened by now it probably won't. I'm so frustrated with him. Oh, we've been married 11 years and have 2 children.

My husband was going through his dad's garage and found the flag that was on his grandfather's casket. His grandfather died in 1945. We would like to display it, possibly in one of those triangular cases. We found lots of tips for folding for folding the 50 star flags, but are not sure if there is a different etiquette for an older flag. We want to make sure we don't inadvertently disrespect it.

My six year old has her first loose tooth and she just asked me this question. I told her I'd look it up online to find out.

What do you tell your kids about the tooth fairy? And what's the going rate for teeth these days? I used to get a dollar, but I'm sure its more now.

I just got finished reading the novella. I checked a couple sources and they all said she had normal vampire abilities. I think she's an empath. Kind of like Peter from Heroes. She can do what everyone else around her can. When she was near Fred she repelled too. When she was close to Victoria she had the self-protect instinct. Most telling, when she was close to Jasper she could read his feelings. Jasper wouldn't be projecting his emotions if he was attempting to keep her calm. Thoughts?

Just for fun. I went to Build a Bear yesterday and we got a bear in a Darth Vadar outfit. But we were stumped when we got to the choice of underwear for this bear. I didn't want my bear going bareback. ;)

What kind of underwear would you have chosen?

We just moved into a house that has an small octagonal window right next to the master bathroom shower. (Upstairs) I'm sure most women don't have a problem with it because I'm taller than average. But If I don't walk on my knees to get by the window I'll end up flashing the neighbors across the street as I get out of the shower.

I know I could just use a large square curtain to cover it but I'm not sure how to go about it without it looking dorky.

I think I liked most of it but when Catherine O'Hara and William Shatner came out and started cracking jokes I almost turned off the TV. Michael J. Fox was okay.

We're moving into a house next month and one of the first things we want to do is to change the color of the walls. The living room is painted black and it makes it really dark in there. We're not sure what color we want to paint it yet, but we want something that'll lighten it up a bit. How do we paint over such a dark wall without having to use a zillion coats of paint?

It never occurred to me when we named our oldest daughter Charlotte nearly five years ago that her future siblings would have trouble pronouncing it. My 19 month old youngest daughter is trying to say her sister's name but it comes out sounding like "$hit" I've talked with my oldest about possibly coming up with something to call her that would be easier for the younger one to say but the best we've come up with is "Sister" She doesn't like being called "Charlie or Char" "Lottie" she is open to but it doesn't go well with our last name of Payne.

It never occurred to me when we named our oldest daughter Charlotte nearly five years ago that her future siblings would have trouble pronouncing it. My 19 month old youngest daughter is trying to say her sister's name but it comes out sounding like "$hit" I've talked with my oldest about possibly coming up with something to call her that would be easier for the younger one to say but the best we've come up with is "Sister" She doesn't like being called "Charlie"

Any ideas?

I had a customer at my work yesterday that had a huge green booger hanging out his nose. If it'd been somebody I knew I'd have just let them know about it and told them to get a kleenex. I didn't have one handy or I might have offered him one. I didn't want to offend him or anything. Also he walks very slowly and with a walker so getting to the bathroom to get a tissue would have taken him a very long time.

My husband and I were married by a judge in 1999 in a beautiful rose garden.

Our spirituality has changed a bit in 10 years and we would like to have a handfasting to renew our vows for our 10th anniversary this summer.

We're thinking of having a simple ceremony with just us (and possibly our children) taking part. It will be in a rose garden also. Though it has to be a different one than we were married in originally because its now a housing development.

Any creative ideas?

I'm not asking about the auditory appendages on the side of a pachyderm's head.

I mean the deep fried flattened pastry that is sometimes sprinkled in cinnamon and sugar. I know that they're not called "Orejas de Elefante" either. There is a specific name for this that I can't remember. Someone made them for me once for my birthday.

I just got my first post partum period after having my youngest baby. I used tampons for a couple months when I was 18 or 19 until I discovered Instead and loved them. I used them for 8 years. But after my youngest was born I had an IUD put in and the Nurse-Midwife said that I wouldn't be able to use Instead with it in.

I'm on day 2 of my period and remembering why I stopped using tampons in the first place. I hate them. The Insteads were so much more convenient.

What's the reason I cant use them with an IUD? Or is there another option I'm not aware of?

Someone gave my four year old a play dough set for Christmas. I told her she could play with it on her own small table. I went into her room to find her playing with it on her floor. There was brightly colored playdough ground into the carpet.

What's a good way to get it out of the carpet.

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He'tlp! I don'tl like' mispe'tltling tlhings.

It seems like there is a lot of negative birth stories going around. Its kind of scary for moms to be to only hear the bad. During my first pregnancy that's all I heard was negativity. Can anyone share a birth story that wouldn't scare a new mom or any young women who will have babies in the future?

It sounds like bombs are going off in my neighborhood. Arrrrgh! This is awful. In my state they're allowed to use them until 11pm. On the fourth they can use them until midnight. The fifth they can use them until 11pm and on the sixth they can't use them anymore. My baby won't go back to sleep and I can tell she's tired. I can't wait til the 6th.

My daughter has a disney book that plays music. The button with Snow white's head plays a song that sounds a lot like the Mr. Clean jingle. Anybody know what that song would be?