Real-Life Math
You are a custodian working at a local elementary school. Your union is in the middle of a tough round of bargaining with the school board.
For years, the school board has wanted to hire private janitorial firms to do some of the cleaning. In the past, the union has been able to fight this off by giving in on other areas, such as vacations and overtime.
This time the negotiators for the school board are standing firm. The school board wants a private cleaning firm to take over the janitorial services at half of the schools. Since there will be only half as many schools to clean, this means that custodians employed by the school board will have to work part time (20 hours per week) instead of full time.
Last week, the union rejected the school board's final offer and announced that there would be a strike vote. You are uncertain of what to do. Should you vote for or against going out on strike? For that matter, maybe you should just accept the inevitable and try to find a full-time job somewhere else.
Before making a decision, you want to figure out the financial costs or benefits of each option. The union has made it clear that they expect the strike to be a long one. It is already May, and schools will be letting out for a 10-week summer break in a month.
If you go on strike, there is a very good chance that you will have to get by without a regular paycheck until the fall. Currently, you work a 40-hour week and are paid $10 per hour. How should you vote?