Walk (the picket line) Like a Man

By the time you read this, the city workers strike – most noticed by the lack of garbage collection – may have ended.

Tony Wanless

But I doubt it.

Why? Simple industrial relations and the laws of human dynamics. Strikes are rarely about money, although that's what gets all the attention because it's most measurable.

Instead they're usually about the basic human needs and desires of faceless people who keep complex systems running.

A long long time ago, in Windsor, Ont., I was talking with a friend who headed a large autoworkers union that was on strike. When I asked what the strike was about – he ignored all the public reasons and instead pointed out that it was always about the same thing.

There was lots of rhetoric spouted by both sides but the truth was, the factory workers didn't lead very exciting lives, he said. Their wives and kids didn't respect them, their employers didn't respect them, and they didn't have much reason to respect themselves. They were well paid and could afford lots of consumer goods like boats and cars, but they didn't have anything to be proud of. In his words, they just didn't “feel like men.” (in those days they were all men).

So at the end of every contract, they voted to strike. For a few weeks, they could feel like they were fighting back and doing something that would give them back their self respect. They could walk the picket line and indulge in endless discussion over beer or coffee when they were done. It was all very exciting, and they felt like they had some control over their lives.

After about a month or two, the economics of being on strike began to wear on them, and they started to come around to thinking that maybe it was time to settle (with honour, of course) and get back to work.

The auto companies who employed them usually understood the situation, and knew the strikes were more about venting then trying to bring down the system. Once the anger had spent, the new contracts were usually settled pretty quickly, unless somebody got bloody-minded about the whole thing.

I think that today, anyone who works for government systems like a city or provincial government, health or education authority, or any other institution, is the factory worker of the 2000s. They're ruled by systems, which always try to automate tasks, make everyone a functional unit, and trim

In BC, with its politicized labour climate, the right-left thing is always a factor. Hence the union focus on the Mayor, as if he personally had something to do with this labour dispute. But, generally, public service strikes involve the same human factors as industrial strikes. Garbage collectors or library workers, they feel helpless, like they're cogs in a huge machine, mere spokes in a great big wheel.

Pretty well everybody involved in the Vancouver city workers strike is agreed on the money. So it must be that they “don't feel like men.” (read, human beings). And they need time to regain their self respect.

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