I was a grad student at UT-Austin and we didn't have a union, so I find the TAA stuff kind of interesting, but one aspect of the strike that I found more than a little puzzling was why they TAs on strike pushed the "don't cross the picket line" issue and attempted to make students, faculty, staff, etc feel uncomfortable (some may say harassed) entering the buildings. I understand going on strike to get publicity for your cause, but why generate negative vibes by doing this? For example, I recieved email from one of the professor here at UW-Madison pointing out

I notice that the Concerns of Young Mathematicians has an article about the TAA strike, where it says "Boris Popunkiov ... said the association asked 1200 of its 1900 members to cancel their classes." I think this puts a false spin on matters since ALL grad students were exhorted not to enter Van Vleck for any reason, leading to the boycott of a colloquium I'd organized.