Why form a union even if you have a dream job ?

I have a good job, Really ! She would make a lot of people jealous and I know it. I make a very good salary there., I have a schedule that suits me and very human bosses who care about respecting their employees and that the employees respect each other. Without pranks, this is not a bullshit parade ! My days pass quickly; I feel stimulated, I have challenges to face, opportunities for advancement, “relaxed” moments that mean I’m not too stressed either, I have no work to take home and, the icing on the cake, I am neither boss nor executive ! All this with a DEP.

I have a really good job, and I'm not the only one.

Indeed, the trend in recent years to make work cool and well paid to get our hands on employees because of the labor shortage has paid off big for many of us, of which me, and this whether we are in a unionized environment or not. However, I am still convinced that my colleagues and I must unionize with the IWW. I am also convinced that capitalism brings nothing good to my life, even if I am one of the people who are “relatively” privileged within it. Finally, I am convinced of a third thing : it’s that too few people think like me and it’s a time bomb. Why ? Well let me explain it to you in a few points. !

1. My colleagues

If my job is a dream job, this is unfortunately not the case for all of my colleagues. Obviously I can't just tell myself that if things are going well for me, too bad for the others and they just have to manage to improve their lot. They have the same needs as me, regardless of their studies, their skills and job performance. Everyone must therefore have enough at the end of the month to live adequately..

2. The “surplus value” that is stolen from us

The capital gain", to explain it roughly, corresponds to the part of the value of the work we accomplish that our bosses and the company keep for themselves. Very simply, it’s the company’s profit and a good part of the bosses’ salary, and this money comes from OUR work; not theirs !

that being said, we learned a few months ago that the company I work for made profits equivalent to almost 25% of the average salary of its employees this year, and this despite very large investments. It doesn't matter that we are already well paid., we know that we are still being robbed legally for almost 25% of the value of our work ! So we still suffer a huge injustice based solely on the fact that my boss was his father's son and thus inherited the family business.. This legal theft and the system that allows it (capitalism) must stop.

Transforming my workplace into a cooperative would allow us to get our hands on this money and use it either for ourselves, either to help our community (who, in the neighborhood where I work, would really need it, believe me !)

3. The “good days” will not last forever

If things are going well for me and most of my colleagues at the moment (and this without even having to form a union, I remind him), it’s not because we are better than others : It's just a question of context !

Indeed, periods of labor shortage AND economic prosperity are not the norm and do not last forever. The company I work for is currently in a very specific niche that allows it to do great business today.; but what will it be in five or ten years? ? If the labor shortage ends and unemployment soars, what interest will our employer have in bringing out all the drums and trumpets to attract and retain us? ? No. And if we haven't formed a union by then, how are we going to defend our achievements ? We simply won't be able to.

And if solidarity unionism taught me anything, it’s when everything is going well that you have to prepare for the storm, not when you're right in it. It is therefore imperative that people who are in a situation similar to mine understand this. : We have nothing special; we are only lucky and this luck will not last forever. Let's be ants; not cicadas !

4. Damn infinite growth

I became an anti-capitalist about ten years ago when I understood that :

a) Infinite growth on a planet with finite resources = inevitable resource depletion and self-extinction.

b) Capitalism has no choice but to grow to survive.

So, no matter how much we reform capitalism to make it more “just” and “green”, this problem will persist since it is at the heart of its operation. Without going into the details of why (because that is not the purpose of this text), the main thing to remember is that the revolutionary unionism of the IWW is not, for me, not just a matter of social and economic justice; it is a necessary act to end capitalism and ensure the survival of our species and many others !

Strangely, this point is perhaps paradoxically the most neglected and the most important of all. I can understand why though., since “saving the planet” is not an immediate need, unlike earning enough money to pay our rent or eliminating sexism and racism in the workplace. So we say to ourselves that we will take care of it later. Yes, more… however, we must not forget it either, because the longer it takes us to get out of capitalism, the more we have to rebuild on landfills, cultivate dead and arid soils, and the more animal and plant species essential to our survival we will have lost forever. It’s great that me and my colleagues are doing 70 000 $/an, but if we go to bed at night telling ourselves that our children will have nothing left to eat in 40 years, Are we really happy? ? Of course not.

That’s why we need to kick out my bosses and all the bosses in the world., to create a reasonable economy, resource-based and environmentally friendly. It's a question of survival !

In summary

Even if we have excellent jobs, form unions (especially if they are revolutionary) and fighting is a necessity. It is a necessity, because our colleagues need us, because our bosses still steal a lot of money from us, because the unions prepare us for the difficult days and because they will perhaps allow us to avoid our self-extinction.

So, if like me, you have a good job, form a union anyway ! Because contrary to what Pierre-Yves McSween would tell you : You really need it !

To contact us :
Email from SITT-IWW Montreal
Facebook

Anonymous author