Labour Day: Imagining a New Kind of Economy

As Labour Day rolls around once again, there’s a different feeling in the air. For many workers, wages haven’t kept up with inflation. There’s a growing sense that workers have been pushed to the brink and they’re ready to stand together for a fair deal. For some that has meant strikes; for others, tough negotiating. Slowly, progress is being made.   

But a recent article, by a former grocery-store worker, puts this progress in context. The article makes the point that there was a time when a person could build a solid career out of a full-time job at a grocery store. There were benefits, a pension, and a wage that would be about $46/hr in today’s dollars. Cashiers and clerks started at a wage that was triple the minimum wage. 

Today, we can’t imagine such a thing. That’s how far removed from decent work our economy has become.  It’s not that grocery stores are making less profit. In the quarter  that ended July 1, Metro announced that net earnings increased 26 per cent to $346.7 million from $275 million during the same quarter a year earlier. That’s profit.  Yes, their costs went up, but their revenues increased at the same time, ensuring these huge profits.

And, of course, it’s not just Metro. And it’s not just grocery stores. Profits don’t trickle down to workers; they flow to shareholders through increased dividends and buybacks.  It’s how the system works.

“Profits don’t trickle down to workers; they flow to shareholders through increased dividends and buybacks.  It’s how the system works.”

As we celebrate Labour Day, let’s also begin to imagine a new kind of economy. What about an Economy of Solidarity?  An economy grounded in human rights and care for the earth and all earth’s inhabitants. 

If we learn to stand together, we could make it happen.

-Sister Sue Wilson, CSJ

Sourcing a Good Read

One of my friends, who jokingly has labelled me a reading addict, passed me a link to join the U of T Alumni Virtual Book Club. Knowing her advice to be sound, I clicked on the link she provided to check it out.

I learned how it works on the website. It is a private forum powered by PBC Guru where registered participants vote on which of two recommended books the group will read and discuss over the upcoming several months.

To get started you sign up by creating an account by filling in a few fields such as name, email, a password, and graduation year/ affiliation. When I saw graduation year, I thought I had hit a snag, but fortunately the choice of affiliation was the loophole I needed to find. I was given several options such as faculty, staff, current student, or friend of the university. I didn’t see any reason why I couldn’t be a friend of the university!  I clicked the box beside the line, friend of the university, to complete my sign up. Almost immediately I received an email in response. I now was a member of the virtual Book Club!

Though I must admit I haven’t taken part in the online virtual chat feature yet, I have read three very good books. I also have had the opportunity to better understand the personal backdrop for the Violin Conspiracy, by listening to a talk by its author, Brendan Solcumb. Author talks are regularly offered to registered members with the option to join live or to access the link for the recording of it at your leisure.

You might want to pursue U of T virtual Book Club yourself. Don’t let summer days pass by without enjoying a few good summer reads.

https://alumni.utoronto.ca/events-and-programs/upcoming-events)

-Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ

Header Image: Unsplash/Tom Hermans

Sustainable Development Goals

In July this summer the United Nations held what they call their High-Level Political Forum in which governments report on their efforts to implement within their countries what they are doing to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).  There are 17 different goals and those countries whose turn it is to report, reports on a few that the UN has chosen for this Forum.  It was Canada’s turn to report on certain goals.

Sisters Sue Wilson and Joan Atkinson at the UN in New York, as part of a delegation from Canada representing NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) from Religious Communities. Pictured left to right: Brentella Williams, Sarah Rudolph' IBVM, Sue Wilson, Joan Atkinson, Varka Kalydzhieva.   

A small delegation representing some Canadian Religious Congregations attended. 

In preparation for this meeting, some of the religious Congregations that have NGO offices at the UN agreed to submit a report alongside the official Canadian Governments report.  The bottom-line conclusion of all the countries that reported was that none of us are doing as well as we had hoped.  Part of this slow progress was due to the impact of the Covid pandemic, and the world economy to recover.  However, what is uplifting about the sessions we attended was the very positive aspiration of countries to do better.  I always come away from the meetings at the UN feeling we remain very hopeful with a commitment to keep trying to do better.

The below video link from the UN website is worth the time to watch and despite all the problems we see and hear about around the globe there is also a very dedicated group of people who are committed to keep working to improve our world.  

-Sister Joan Atkinson, CSJ  

I Have a Dream

“So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.” - MLK

Today, August 28th, we join our neighbours to the south in celebrating the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s celebrated speech, "I Have a Dream”. This speech was delivered on Aug. 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

Watching the nightly news, 60 years after delivery of this inspiring speech are we not puzzled by the diverse dreams Americans envision for their country?

Do we experience that the local, global, and personal realities we ourselves face in the present and perceived future challenge us? Must we avoid what is happening around us and within us to dampen our spirits. Must we band together to bolster our own ability to utter with confidence a positive dream of better times to come. Must we not follow our common dreams  and allow them to urge us to work interdependently to take steps to turning once only dreams into concrete realities which better the common good?

How might we finish the phrase, “I have a dream”… for ourselves, our locale, the world?

-Sister Nancy Wales, CSJ


Header Image, Unsplash: Stephen Walker