By Trevor McNally
It’s difficult to know where to begin. The world has undergone a sea change in a matter of months, and the uncertainty of the future has created a vast collective anxiety among its people.
As of this writing, more than 600,000 cases of the Covid-19 virus have been confirmed across the globe, and almost 29,000 people have died from it, according to figures collated by Johns Hopkins University.
It’s hard to process these numbers, and to understand them in human terms. I recently read an article in the Harvard Business Review that pinpointed what I agree to be exactly what we’re all feeling right now: grief. And when you think about it, that makes a lot of sense. Imagine what any number of your friends or family are feeling right now and you’ll realize that they’re probably in one of the five stages of loss: denial, anger, bargaining, depression or acceptance.
A major part of the grief we’re all feeling right now is the fact that a whole lot of us have lost our jobs. The spirit of the American worker is strong, and for the majority it can be difficult to accept being out of work. A few days ago it was reported by the Washington Post that a record number of people- more than 3.3 million- had filed unemployment insurance claims (a new record), which brought the U.S. unemployment rate up to 5.5 percent.
In an article published yesterday by the BBC titled Unemployment during coronavirus: The psychology of job loss, they go into even more detail.
“To put it in context, this [3.3 million] figure shatters the Great Recession crest of 665,000 of March 2009 and the previous record high of 695,000 in 1982,” they say. “Even so, this number – a rise of 3,001,000 from the previous week’s level of 282,000 – understates the extent of the problem; it doesn’t’ include gig workers, the self employed and other freelancers, who aren’t eligible for unemployment insurance in many states.”
So it seems prudent, now more than ever, to reflect on the ideology of the union. The values set forth by these organizations- like the United Association, for example- will need to be studied and used as a model for how to treat all of our Nation’s workers moving forward.
As part of their core values, the United Association website says the following:
“We believe that every worker has a right to go home from the job in the same shape as when he or she arrived at the workplace. We are committed to protecting the safety and health of our members, our contractors, project owners and the communities in which we work.
Our members are highly motivated and productive in part because they enjoy fair wages and benefits. Fair wages along with self-funded health care and retirement plans are the best guarantee that our members and their families get the quality of life they deserve.”
If this pandemic has proven anything it’s that the lifeblood of America is the worker, not corporations or big business. It’s the small business owner. The independent contractor. The journeyman. The truck driver. The medical professional.
It has also shifted our ideas of what we might consider “essential employees”. We now know that that conversation must include grocery store workers. Gas station attendants. Convenience store clerks. Fast food workers. And so on and so forth.
The point is this: a vast majority of the workforce in this country are “essential” in some way. And each and every working person in this country deserves the kind of respect and fair treatment that unions have been fighting for since the late 1800s.
These are scary times. With news coming in on a day to day basis, it can be hard not to panic about what the future holds. But we have to hold out hope that we can emerge on the other side stronger than we were before.
I think we can.
Because even more so than I believe in the indomitable human spirit, I believe in the indomitable spirit of the American worker.
It is with regret that I must inform you that, until the economic impacts of this pandemic can be fully assessed, we are suspending publication indefinitely. We hope to be back as soon as possible to continue to bring you all the latest news from around the mechanical contracting industry.
Until then, to quote renowned journalist Edward R. Murrow: “Good night, and good luck.”
In the meantime, to keep up with UA Local 716, visit their brand new website by clicking here.
To catch up on past articles from the Maine Mechanical Contractors Directory, click here.