The Right to a Fair Deal

The labour movement has ignited and for the first time in a long time the balance of power has shifted. It’s the great reset and one that I support. Years ago, companies and workers were cooperative alliances. The almighty dollar wasn’t the most important thing. Now it’s dog-eat-dog and every man for himself.  Most working-class people are just trying to put food on the table for their families and sock some away for the future.  Can I do better is not a bad question to ask and in a tight labour market now is the time.  

There is burn-out among healthcare and frontline workers, essential workers, and food services and retail.   The pandemic has created a whole host of issues; supply chain disruptions, backs logs and labour shortages to name a few.   Corporations are demanding extra time and effort, something people aren’t necessarily heartened to give. Companies need to sweeten the pie if they wish to keep their employees.

The game is stilled rigged in favour of the corporation, but a unionized environment keeps the power and control freaks in check.  John Deere reported record profits in 2021 of 4.7 billion in the first 3 quarters of the year.  The CEO, John May was paid nearly $16 million in 2020, a 160% increase from 2019.  John Deere is offering the workers $1.84 raise over 5 years.  That’s why 10,000 of them are on strike.  John Deere must come to the table and negotiate a fair contract.

I support hard-working men and women.  I support the right to strike.  I support fair wages and compensation.  Now is the time an amazon employee working in an anti-union environment might cut loose and shop around for a better job. Ordering your stuff on Amazon may be an advantage to you.  For the amazon employee however, working long hours and mandatory overtime doing a physically demanding job in unsavoury working conditions with high pressure expectations, it is far from ideal. 

For people that don’t want to work no pie will be sweet enough for them.  It’s not lazy as much as it is lack of confidence.  The government will always grapple with the issue of how to get people off the dole and into businesses where they are needed.  People need to be introduced to opportunities and opportunities need to be introduced to people and for some reason our government can’t figure out how to do that.  Am I the only one?