There are many ways to show your displeasure in the status quo. You can wear pins, buttons, and t-shirts that proclaim your stance on the effects of sewage pumps on wildlife. You can raise money for a cause, put up posters, join a protect march, or blog about your feelings on the issue. However, if your displeasure is work related, you're much more likely to find yourself in a picket line. This article describes what picket lines are and how to deal with them.

When the source of a group's displeasure is linked to a certain location or event, a picket line can be formed in front of it as a protest. For example, if your local government were to choose a new, toxic brand of industrial water treatment chemicals, concerned citizens might form a line in front of the water treatment factory when the truck delivering the chemicals is expected to arrive. Members of a picket line are called picketers and often carry signs proclaiming their aims.

The purpose of a picket line is twofold. Its first objective is simply to raise people's awareness of the issue. Often class action lawsuits in Canada filed by workers against an unfair employer would go relatively unreported unless the striking workers stood in front of their employer's offices with signs letting everyone know that they're being treated badly, how they are being treated badly, and what they want in the future. Drivers on their way past are encouraged to honk in a show of support.

The second purpose of a picket line is to provide a deterrent to people who would otherwise be inclined to work against the group's aims. Customers who want to buy framed art might hesitate to go into a shop when the entrance is blocked by picketers. It's the same with replacement workers (also known as "scabs") hired to replace striking workers, voters wanting to cast an opposing vote, and employees whose jobs include tasks the group finds objectionable.

If you find yourself in a picket line or attempting to cross a picket line, remember to keep calm and stay within the bounds of the law. If picketing, hand out as many sheafs of paper as you want, shout all the slogans that you want, but do not attack anyone crossing the picket line. If you are crossing, be respectful. Listen to the picketers grievances, accept their literature, and remember that they are not legally allowed to prevent you from crossing.