Labour Pains (5) - Our Own

They were appropriately called the “drifters” – scores of primarily men crisscrossing the land in search of some way to feed their families. It got so bad at certain points during the Great Depression that towns put up signs encouraging such individuals to just keep passing through. There weren’t enough jobs as it was and any added pressure for relief would only bring about more collective pain.A unique combination of devastating events saw employment numbers drop like a stone. A stock market that had lost its mind created millions who lost their jobs. Cyclical drought kept rural areas and city markets in devastation. And those who survived the difficult years with their millions of dollars intact spent a great deal of their time fighting any government effort to implement more equitable tax laws or to create systemic relief programs.Today we are witnessing the rise of the descendants of the drifters. They are the tens of thousands of virtual wanderers who only survive by surfing online in search of any opportunity that can put some money in their pockets to feed themselves or their children. Most are unsuccessful but remain in their respective communities scouring the Net for fleeting opportunities. They are less inclined to leave their families to travel far afield in search of work because they feel the responsibility to be with their children during troubled times.I was introduced to this reality by certain workers shut out of jobs they had held for years by a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. in London, Ontario. Interviewing one eleven-year veteran of the firm, he told me his wife was at home looking for job opportunities for both of them online while he stood with his co-workers in the cold. “We know that in a year’s time we’ll be seeing you at the food bank Glen, and it’s something we dread. We’ll both need to work but we don’t know if we can afford daycare for our little one and make enough to pay the bills.” After a moment he looked up and said, “Can’t you do something with the folks in Ottawa? They should be here. They should be listening. I know Parliament got you a nice pension but it’s not that easy for us.”How could I inform him that I wasn’t in Parliament long enough to get any pension and that at 61 I’m struggling myself (I volunteer as the food bank director), attempting to find some way to raise funds for my three young kids and their university education? But I’ve been around long enough to know that the chief challenge belongs to that troubled worker and his family - their troubles eclipse my own. They are yet in the prime of their lives, scouring the digital domain for some kind of hope.It shows how much times have changed. There was no talk of hopping a bus, or ironically a rail car, and heading cross-country for work. He had commitments not only to his aging parents but also to his community, his church and the numerous charities he supports.There are no signs in London urging people to move on, and the reason for that is clear: these people are our own – our neighbours, co-workers, fellow volunteers, hockey and baseball coaches, and citizens. They have worked hard, raised their game, fulfilled their commitments, but some people far away have determined that such things just aren’t relevant anymore. In truth they are the dispensable. It’s all about efficiency and earnings these days, not communities, moral responsibility, or linking contented workers with good products. And in adopting that attitude the 1% reminds us again and again that the hardest work in the world is being out of work. We keep being reminded by economists that we have suffered through a recession. That’s the way it looks to us, but to the unemployed these days it looks like a depression.As a community, if we can’t be there for citizens like this then we are hardly worth the name. I watched at the line as average folks dropped by with coffee. There were city councillors and a federal MP. The provincial health minister mixed among the workers, discussing their plight. But who they really wanted to see were the government MPs to simply hear their case. It wasn’t to be. Instead they heard how these government representatives felt about it all in the media. To make matter worse, these same people were informing the community that this had nothing to do with the feds. Even if that were true (it isn't), it couldn’t have sounded more hard-hearted. They are leaders, and wherever they think the responsibility lies for action, their place is with their people - it's what leadership does. There is pain in our midst and they must stand with those who suffer. This isn’t some election where they think they can avoid debates and still say they're accountable. This is, in fact, a corporate tragedy on a significant scale for London. Their place is with them.  Instead there is this poignant sense of absence and silence.To my fellow citizens, it’s crunch time. Leaders are afraid to face those suffering from their policies. We are better than that. Show up. Give of your spirit. Speak with your voice. Feel with your heart. When politics fails, we must step in.Because of the strong responses to these posts, they will be continued through all next week. Thanks everyone for the interest. Let's all be there for these folks in any way we can.