Posted by TDOTemp First of all, I for one know dozens of university GRADUATES that continue to work as part timers at the beer store. That is, they are not ALL university students; many in fact have degrees. And not all of them are just biding their time waiting for something better to come by. Most, if not all of them have rent to pay, clothing to buy and need food to live. Second, why does their being a university student preclude them from getting a decent contract? As I mentioned before, not all temps are just passing through. And even if they were, most of them are leaving university debt laden and therefore unable to look for decent work (outside the brewer's retail) and the cycle of being a temp goes on. Third, just a critique on that oft used counterargument that since temps are short term, haven't held the line etc they lack any understanding of what "we" went through to make the gains we did and therefore don’t deserve the benefits of our effort. This is the same kind of short-sighted paternalistic shit that is leading the entire labour movement down a one-way road to extinction. It makes the current generation feel like they owe nothing in return for all the hard work of their former brothers and sisters. It completely destroys any sense of common struggle for a common goal among all workers. It divides us unnecessarily and to the detriment of this union’s solidarity. When you go into bargaining, as in the past you must ask yourself: how do you want future Beer Store Workers (if any) to remember us?
on 1/24/2005, 12:43 am
70.26.129.14
Yeah I just wanted to vent some anger about a stupid post I saw a while back that claimed temps are just university students and therefore don't deserve a respectable wage.
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