Saturday, January 28, 2012

The political isnt very personal

The longer I spend in the workforce, the more unfairness I’ve experienced. I used to be idealistic and I believe in unions (I still do), but I am no longer enthusaitic about unions and the idea of workers solidarity that entails. Even though I am still against conservatism and trickledown economics, the problem with both left wing and right wing ideologies does not accurately account for how people act in a real life setting. We hear a lot about income inequality and workplace exploitation, but I never hear politicians or social activists protest against cronyism, bullying which is the daily reality of today’s workplace. This is not a surprise since bullying starts at the very top; the Harper’s government in Canada is a good example of the effectiveness of bullying at the political level

As someone suffering with depression and doesn’t particularly enjoy social interaction because of my social anxiety, I continue to have a difficult time in the workplace and in other areas of my social life. I made myself a easy target for bullying because I don’t make friends easily with supervisors and managers; I simply can’t wait to find out the treatment I will receive from co workers and managers when/if they found out that I am a pre op transgender woman. That’s a whole can of worms I am not going to open for now.

I see co workers who work less than me, but are treated more leniently because they carry favors with the supervisor, while I am often being harassed for being lazy even though I am always taking initiative to find work where there is none to do. I am being misjudged simply because I like to sit at my own desk and close my eyes when I am on my break so I can reduce my anxiety (which in the long run increase my workplace productivity). I have to say my supervisor is not the most competent person, and I don’t understand why someone with little job knowledge should be given the job of supervising and (bullying) those with less power.

Despite the unions’ rhetoric on fairness, I do believe that seniority in unions can contribute to workplace unfairness and even bullying.

Why is it fair for people to have their jobs protected simply because they have been employed the longest and belong to a union? For those who never had the opportunity to belong to a union (including myself), we are the first to let go whenever there is any layoff; however, we are also asked to extend solidarity to workers by putting ourselves on the chopping block so we can protect those who‘ve been employed the longest, despite the fact that they might not have worked very hard to being with and they had only been employed because of cronyism or family connection, how is that fair to most of us who never had the privilege, social background or luck to join a union?