Banqueiros em Greve

Today was not a good day to forget my camera. Early in the morning, I headed to Brasilia to teach at Caixa. This Tuesday I only have one class, and it's my small conversation class. When I got off the bus and started heading towards the building I hear loud music coming from speakers right in front of Caixa. I figured it was some sort of promption or something. I have seen that before in other areas. But as I got closer it looked like some military award show...there was a line of men and women in...police uniforms in front of the building. They were sort of in the way of the entrance, so I decided to go around the building to the back...there is another entrance below by the garage. But as I walked around...something wasn't right...this wasn't celebration music coming from the speakers, it was like angry music...and no one was smiling (which is very unlike Brasil). I then noticed that in front of the line of police officers there were some people holding a long banner that went all the way across the entrance to the building. "Banqueiros em Greve." Hum...banqueiros looks like bankers...what is greve...so I stopped an looked it up in my dictionary...and just as I was beginning to suspect...Strike! Bankers on Strike. I walked around to the other entrance, and it was barricaded just the same. Hum...I was supposed to be at work in 5 minutes. I had a few options. I could turn around and go home, or I could try to some how get in. My motivation for getting in was A) I needed to money from the job. B) I didn't want to lose my job by not showing up, and I didn't have any phone numbers to confirm anything and C) which was the most motivation...I was looking forward to an hour long conversation class where we could discuss this strike. So I watched for a minute and I saw one man make his way in. You really have to be quite bold. There was a large empty space between the crowd of on lookers, where I was, and the row of stikers and police officers. I really wanted to get in though. I waited until another girl decided to go for it and I followed closely behind her...hey, I was the ignorant American if anyone asked, right? It was very intimidating, but I successfully crossed the picket line. I went up the the 13th floor like normal, but it was totally deserted. There were probably 5 or 6 people in the whole area, which is a sea of cubicals usually holding...over 100 people. I sat down for a minute...I wonder if my class will even be here. Darn, I really wanted them to tell me what is going on. After about 8 minutes Cristina...one of my students got there. She said, "I thought you were not coming today because of the strike," and then we started class. She was the only one who showed up, but she explained that every year September is the month for negotiations between the bankers and the government. Apparently some of the banks in Brasil are government run. So every year there is a Strike right around the end of September, because they never agree before that. Every single year. And this strike wasn't just for Caixa, it was for all government banks, which include Caixa and Banco do Brasil. 21 years ago the strike lasted a month, and it was terrible because people couldn't get their money out of the bank, they couldn't pay bills, and this was before online banking. She said that nowadays the strikes usually last a week. The first day they will let you pass, but as the week goes on they will start making it more and more difficult. They will stand in front of you, pull your hair, and sometimes they hit and punch. The police are actually Caixa security guards and are there to stop them from punching again...She also explained that they get metrol and soak a rope in it. Then they lay the rope across, and anyone who tries to cross, they either trip them, or cover their clothes with oil.
I didn't go in today, but I am going to attempt again tomorrow. I think because my class with Danyel is so early...they won't be there yet. Cristina explained that they usually start at 8am. Danyel's class is at 7:30am...so maybe I'll be ok. If not, I might have another interesting blog tomorrow...I'm not going to forget my camera this time.

Oh...and you probably want to know what they are striking for...they want to have 6 hour work days, instead of 8, but without a pay decrease. I will repeat that, they want to only work 6 hours a day, instead of the 8 that they are currently working, but still make the same amount of money as an 8 hour work day. I should also add, that as it stands now, after one year of employment, they get 30 days of vacation time....yes, that's 30, one full month. They also get 18 leave days, which can be added up over the years or used as a materinty or sick leave, and they also get 5 personal days. One of the guys that I teach has accumulated his days and next year he is going to take 6 months off....and he may only be working 6 hour work days...anyone else want to join the Brasilian work force?