Thread by @CroftonSteers

I am on strike from work.

It is my first time being on strike and my second day. I am one of over 100k public servants in Canada currently on the picket lines. Like seemingly everything in today's society, people have polarized opinions about this. /1

On one hand, you have the socially-minded labour supporting crowd. There is a "rally around workers" effect, often from other workers who realize they could be next or simply recognizing a big labour negotiation like this one will set the benchmark for them in the future. /2

On the other hand, there are the more individualist type or people who are frustrated by the interruption to their lives. Some may have lower salaries and benefits than me and my colleagues and wonder why we should get more. /3

As a unionized employee, while I have enjoyed hard won benefits, there are other needy people struggling in this world. These folks see a "rich getting richer" situation that frustrates them. /4

This is the usual binary in labour negotiations but there is an added wrinkle: my salary is entirely paid by Canadian taxpayers, be they supporting me or not. Labour negotiations are a battle of public opinion but in the public sector that takes on an entirely new dimension. /5

Working for an infinitely large employer like Canada's Public Service is hard to wrap your brain around. The term "public servant" alone, the fact you are perceived as a "servant to the public" means that you are perceived differently than other employees. /6

You are viewed as privileged - privileged to have a good job, privileged to be paid by tax money.

But you are ironically also perceived as being in servitude.

The combination of both sometimes breeds resentment. /7

For a Canadian taxpayer that makes minimum wage, a public servant making 80k could be a figure of frustration, no matter what they might be doing for Canada.

This is the context that any labour negotiation takes place in and it is good to understand it. /8

The current labour negotiation is mostly about pay - as they usually are. I have been working without a contract for two years. What does that mean? It means my salary has been frozen over the past two years. Meanwhile the cost of living has gone up substantially. /9

That means two of the years being negotiated are actually in the past. It also means that we know how much interest climbed those years. So if we don't get a raise to match that interest climb, we are essentially getting a pay cut. /10

The past two years were obviously tough on everyone. Did it suck that my pay didn't increase to match it? Yes. But that was offset by being able to work from home and not paying an "office tax" - the money and time you spend on the things like parking and commuting and such. /11

So mostly we are fighting for our salary and buying power to stay the same, instead of decreasing. /12

Now, depending on where you stand on the binary above, you may want my salary to go down. Canadians who think that public servants are overpaid and lucky and should just suck it up, they may not care and honestly it is a values thing. We are unlikely to win them over. /13

That said, here is my pitch: I am part of the biggest union of workers in Canada. That union movement helped us secure the rights, compensation and benefits we enjoy today. Many more of Canada's workers are unionized but few have the power in numbers that we have. /14

This is a historic moment, coming out of a pandemic with cost of living increasing and the ultra rich controlling more wealth than ever. We are making a modest request: keep up with the cost of living. If we are successful it will set the standard for Canadian workers. /15

Asking for stable pay and buying power is not unreasonable. It is close to the bare minimum. The strike has been interesting, exciting, and a bit scary. Speaking for myself - I just want a good deal. I hope we get there.

Thanks for reading.
#PSAC #strike