By A. PAUL GILL In the 1960s and early 1970s the econ- omy was strong enough to employ many young men and women without post-secon- dary training. They had no trouble finding well-paid unionized jobs right out of high school. Since that time, real wages and the standard of living among young adults have been declining steadily. As a new generation of workers trudges out of the depleted school’ system trying to create a life for themselves, they’re finding it difficult to make ends meet, let alone get ahead. The current economic situation is not only hurting young workers directly, it is also hampering the union movement’s rep- resentation of youth. In Canada, one of the Labour Forum tactics Safeway has used to compete with the Canadian Superstore chain was to demand concessions from its union. A new employee receives about half the wage of a veteran, resulting in bad feelings towards the union by new employees. In the end, the company gains two advantages: a new workforce that it has to pay only half as much and a new workforce that is anti- union. Superstore itself employs many young people through a sweetheart agree- ment at approximately $8 an hour part-time to undercut Safeway. In the end, it is the workers who lose. More and more, young workers are being victimized by a society that is beginning to thrive on junk food, cheap entertainment and cheap labour. This society is not only filling the planet with garbage, but is also filling their minds and bodies with garbage. This new economic phenomenon created by a society in the fast lane has been aptly named the Junk Food Economy. Youth, women and immigrants are the fuel that drives this abomination that stretches from farmworkers to secretaries. Worst of all, this type of exploitation is growing. Most of these young workers are not finding careers in the junk food economy, nor do they want them. The materialistic trends of the 1980s have encouraged youth to take jobs at a younger age to earn enough money to keep up with life in the fast lane. They are being trained to accept that they are worthless to society. That is why McDonald’s is able to acquire an incredible amount of youth labour for relatively little cost. After moving out to attend university or eam a living, this generation is finding it very difficult to achieve the standard of living of their parents because there are few good jobs waiting for them. At this point in their lives young people begin to question the system because for the first time it looks as if it won’t fulfill their dreams. They are open to new ideas based on collectivism after finding the “me” decade has done nothing but exploit youth. The union movement has the ability to com- bine the social need to be a part of society with the economic need to earn a living. The urban environment may take away the com- munity aspects of society but unions can revive those aspects. However, the union movement is cur- rently too busy representing union members to attempt to organize youth that have not yet understood why they need unions. Youth are willing to undersell their labour just to get a foothold in the workforce. The collec- tive awareness of their position in the world must start forming in their consciousness as they attempt to hurdle all the brick walls between high school and a good standard of living before unions can help these youth. Unions are based on two fundamental pillars: empowerment and individuals ac- 12 « Pacific Tribune, November 12, 1990 Health unions protest bed closures Chris Allnutt of the Hospital Employees Union address demonstration outside constituency office of Kamloops MLAs Claude Richmond and Bud Smith on Nov. 5. HEU, the B.C. Nurses Union and the Health Sciences Association protested bed closures and layoffs at Royal Inland Hospital and met briefly with the Socred MLAs. Richmond and Smith reportedly said they supported the demand for an independent inquiry into health care funding. ting as a collective and democratic decision making. Unions were created to protect the individual worker’s rights. The Charter of Rights is only half of what is important to people. The right to work for a decent, living wage, the right to have a safe workplace and the right to discuss issues in a collective bargaining process are just as important. These rights are the backbone of our econ- More and more, young workers [ i i : i Se ce ae SEER EE EN The labour movement can build self-es- teem because unionists understand that hard work is the same no matter where the worker is employed. Youth in this country need to look at the world from the worker’s point of view. Everyone contributes to our society and this work is beneficial to the worker and to the economy. A society with a highly organized working force is a successful SSS Fg ceo ESE are being victimized by a society that is beginning to thrive on junk food, cheap entertainment and cheap labour. omy. A healthy economy means an economy that has respect for its working people. In- vesting in the workforce will stimulate the economy because each worker eaming a good wage will be able to afford the products which will, in turn, create more jobs. Unions need to focus on organizing and training youth to help unionize the junk food economy. Youth will discover that there are not enough well-paid jobs for everyone. They will have to stop underselling their labour because only then will they escape the sweat shop — by escaping the sweatshop mentality. That is the beginning of a union. The system uses dreams of grandeur to avert youth from real, current issues such as working conditions and pay. They hope to succeed one day and leave the hamburger stand behind. Unfortunately, the fear of authority fig- ures hinders this generation. Starting work at an early age and having to take orders from an older manager can rob a young person of their self-respect. That leaves them to accept the ’manager’s opinion’ of how they perform their duties. Once that is estab- lished, youth are pushed to their limits be- cause profits are reaped from their extra effort. Therfore, the more they work, the more profits their employers gain and the greater their exploitation. society. Sweden has always been the ex- ample of a good workers’ society; 1.1% unemployment, self-sufficient economy and the highest standard of living in the world. Even the McDonald’s in Sweden are unionized. In North America, unions have played a large part in creating the relatively good work atmosphere we enjoy today. Our wages, whether they are minimum wage or a union salary, were fought for and won by the union movement on the picket lines of the 1930s and that fight is still alive at the bargaining tables today. Our standard of living is not the result of market forces, it is a result of decades of struggle by unionist who suffered and died at the hands of the TFHIBONE __ Published weekly at 2681 East Hastings Street Vancouver, B.C. V5K 1Z5. Phone: 251-1186 Namie! . ..c: eee Address." 3. Se ea Postal Code: lam enclosing: 1 year: $20 C1 2 years: $35 C23 years $50 C0Foreign 1 year $32 SP RAR SG TT EE Te police during events such as the On To Ot- tawa Trek in 1935. Those union pioneers believed that in order to create a better world powers must be in the hands of the workers so that workers would be able to protect themselves from exploitation. That struggle is reflected today in the government institutions such as the Work- er’s Compensation Board (WCB), un- employment insurance and medicare. As well, other victories such as minimum wage legislation, collective bargaining rights and the standard eight-hour day/40-hour week have become no more than ghosts in the machine. Is this generation of workers going to throw those sacrifices out the window through disorganization and despair? One would hope not, but with each new, cheap restaurant advertising for young, energetic waiters and offices advertising for “bright” junior secretaries, the possibility exists. There is not a lack of profit in the world today but there is an unfair distribution of wealth derived from labour. This generation will be facing the grim reality ofa ’90’s recession. Only when youth begin to see their problems as something — beyond their individual control will the union movement have an opportunity to help these youth organize themselves. Young people will learn the lessons union ists have learned in the past, of that there is no doubt, but will youth learn from history or repeat it? One would think that there is not enough time to repeat 50 years of hard work. A. Paul Gill is an activist and member of the Young New Democrats.