It is against the spirit…

It is against the spirit of a work stoppage, I think, to answer work e-mails. But on the other hand, I have a backlog of e-mails in my queue and it will only make my life harder if I wait two days to answer them -- when we're back to work on Thursday, it will be busy enough catching up, without adding them as well. I would not cross a physical picket line, but is it reasonable to answer my own e-mails in order to make my life easier this week? How about if I write the answers, but queue them in draft mode and don't send them until Thursday? That sounds sort of goofy, but is perhaps closer to the spirit of striking? Hm. I will not, of course, be answering e-mails while I am physically picketing. Although smartphones make it possible to do so, which is sort of strange.

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"The Faculty Union at UIC are engaged in collective bargaining with the University and so far have not settled on a contract. The union will strike for on Feb. 18th and 19th. I will respond to your message on February 20th."

Official website, UIC UF, Local 6456: http://uicunitedfaculty.org

Chicago Tonight video interview featuring UIC Faculty Union President Joe Persky: http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2014/02/13/uic-faculty-union-threatens-strike

Faculty on Strike by Walter Benn Michaels and Lennard Davis for Jacobin magazine: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/02/faculty-on-strike/

UIC United Faculty on Front Lines of Crisis in Higher Ed by Elizabeth Shermer for the Labor and Working-Class History Association: http://lawcha.org/wordpress/2014/02/05/uic-united-faculty-front-lines-crisis-higher-ed/