Franklin wife and mother goes on strike

FRANKLIN, Ind. (WISH) - A Franklin woman is demanding respect from her children and husband.

Nicole Porter is on strike. She posted a sign in the front yard of her home along CR 100 asking supporters to honk or text.

This is a different type of labor dispute. Her strike means no cooking, cleaning or preparing meals for her husband and children.

The strike started Thursday without notice.

Porter says she got fed up after her children and husband stopped picking after themselves, expecting her to do it. Her daughter is 10 and her son is 15.

“They don't respect what I do as a full time mom and housewife,” Porter said. “I got fed up with them undoing everything I do on a daily basis.”

The mother of two wants to teach her family a lesson. She says she explained that as a stay at home mother she is not just sitting on the couch watching television. She is home doing things for the family.

“I think they are starting to see that I do a lot for them. Without me the don't have clean laundry, they don’t have clean dishes or food on the table,” Porter said.

Porter’s children, who show cattle, often come home with dirty clothes. Tuesday afternoon the hamper in the Porter’s laundry overflowed. Porter says she plans to see how long it will take for someone else to wash the clothes.

Porter showed us several texts she received from friends and strangers encouraging her actions. Her husband, a full time firefighter, had a much different opinion.

“He was not very happy. He took (the sign) out of the yard in between jobs,” Porter said, adding he also owns his own side business. “I came home and put it back out in the yard. I told him if he touched it I would get something more permanent.”

Since then, Porter says her husband has had a change of heart.  

“He started putting stuff in the dishwasher. He decided he would do laundry because we were on the last towel and he didn't have a way to take a shower.”

At the end of the day, the sign posted in her front yard is a call to arms. She said she doesn’t want her 10-year-old daughter growing up thinking  her role as a woman is limited to domestic work.

“My husband works hard everyday to pay for the house and everything,” Porter said. “I want it to look nice all the time and I wanted to show my family that I am working hard here too while my husband is working hard outside the home.”

Porter has been a stay at home mother for two years. Prior, she worked at the Johnson County Hospital.