Unions

The Soviet Union. The union of marriage. Trade unions, teacher’s unions, student unions, the Nova Scotia Union of Public and Private Employees. Credit unions. The UA Local 56 Piperfitters and Plumbers Union (that one is my dad’s union).
The Union of Nova Scotian Indians.
AUFA, the Acadia University Faculty Association. A union. One that has been vilified by an ignorant student populace daily for the last four weeks.
What is it with this word on Acadia campus as of late? Why are unions being vilified for one of their central tenet rights?
The words “staunchly anti-union” make me gag. Paid maternity leave. Pension plans. Vacation and sick days. Moderated hours, moderated wages, moderated working conditions. Unions outlawed sweatshops, child labour, and industrial cronyism.
They instituted the right to strike against unfair workplace policies.
Unionized mailmen and mailwomen deliver your mail. To quote Newman, a unionized mail worker from Seinfeld, “when you control the mail, you control … information.”
Without unionized mail workers you wouldn’t have the luxury of on-demand consumerism from outlets like Amazon, Best Buy, etc.
UPS, DHL, Canada Post, Fed Ex. You rely on unionized mail every day of your life.
Unions paid for my education.
And if you want to go around spouting “staunchly anti-union” rhetoric, talk to a unionized worker first. The men and women who made your car. Your laptop. The fridge in your kitchen, and the walls of your home.
And if that’s too difficult, too uncomfortable, then shut up and hone your opinions. Unions, in one way or another, made you. And they made me too.