Dear Editor,
The recent change of all Canada Bread staff to “associates” would imply a sense of equality.
Union, management and office staff alike are associates.
However, this one title fits all is not a practice, but more an attempt to mask a widening chasm between workers and management.
Management and supervisors are seen to be knowledgeable and trustworthy.
Workers are seen to be lazy and unmotivated, not to be trusted.
It would seem that this a direct importation of Mexican corporate values and procedures. Without going into examples, this is the opposite of what occurs day to day on the production floor.
To my knowledge Mexico is not known for its high standards of living or worker rights.
Rather than export jobs to Mexico, we’ve imported Mexican corporate ethos.
Gary Cardinal,
member BCTGM local 468
