Suburban Mom Goes On Strike, Pickets Own Home

Suburban Mom Goes On Strike, Pickets Own Home

(CBS) DEERFIELD, Ill. Being a stay-at-home mom isn't easy. The pay stinks, and you're not always properly appreciated.

So a mother of three in the north suburbs decided she wouldn't take it anymore.

WBBM-TV's Alita Guillen reports on the yogurt spill that sent a mom over the edge and onto the pavement.

Joanna Fishman did something she didn't want to do, but had to do, when her two boys stopped doing their daily chores. Her 7- and 9-year-old stopped making their beds, packing their own baseball gear and taking out the trash.

"I had been threatening and threatening that I was going to go on strike, and I wasn't going to do anything. And I knew if I was sitting in the house they'd still be coming to me," she said.

So she made a sign and hit the sidewalk. With the help of her two-year-old, who was exempt from the strike, she chanted, "Mom on strike!"

"When I was growing up, I had to make my bed and I don't even remember my mom helping me get ready for school at all," Joanna said.

After one day on strike, Joanna thought her boys got the message. Her husband even sat them down for a little talk. It turns out they didn't get it. She had to come out for day two.

She picketed mostly during high traffic hours and especially when the bus came by.

"My older one got off the bus and said, 'This is so embarrassing. What do I have to do to get you to go back inside?'" she recalled. "And I said, 'I told you guys if you don't start helping out, I'm going on strike.'"

That was more than a week ago. Things have gotten better, sort of. She has signs reminding the kids of their chores and is still cleaning up, but she feels she's a few steps closer to raising responsible children.

As for the sign, Joanna's "going to keep it in a hidden place" just in case.

Joanna's sort of a local celebrity now. Strangers come up and congratulate her.

As for her husband, he's trying to help.