Long-time Cowichan Lake residents saw the benefit of unions, in the life-saving safety measures they brought into the forestry industry.
Today’s generation sees strike action brought on not through safety concerns and fairness, but by selfishness.
Look at the latest two strikes that have affected Cowichan Valley residents; the Vancouver Island University and the Canadian Postal Workers.
Vancouver Island University: They went on strike in order to secure better job security for themselves. But, it was for the students, right? The same 20,000 or so students they put out of the classroom for a month, all while waving the threat that they may not be able to graduate on time.
Postal strike: Canadian postal workers want wage increases, sick leaves and pensions. All while their industry is crumbling, due to the internet. According to the CBC, Canadian postal workers have a $23/hour average starting wage. In what world is that not a decent starting wage? Hell, that’s a decent 20-years on-the-job wage.
Although strike action has yielded some excellent results in the past, most current strikes are done due to selfishness. People aren’t working harder than they used to, they just complain more, and expect more money and benefits to come along with an increasingly minimalist effort.
Before throwing support toward strike action, as the NDP tends to do, look at why people are going on strike. The reason is almost always buried within news reports, but it’s there.
editor@lakecowichangazette.com
