“I work as a booking clerk in an immunization clinic, and I’ve been working in health care for about 10 years.
Around October is when our flu season begins, and literally, I would say the workload probably triples. It's been really challenging to balance providing good quality service to the patients, and taking care of my mental health when the workload gets really intense. But the rewarding part is seeing kids being successfully immunized and overcoming their fears. It’s rewarding to know that I was part of helping the family get on board and helping everyone feel comfortable.
There is such strong leadership coming from a lot of the women that I work with. I see a lot in action from people like my local chairperson and chief steward. I know the extra hours that they put in, and I think it's really selfless of them to do that. I would feel so much more depressed and demoralized if I didn't have them. You know, when you're being overworked or you're struggling in other ways in life, it’s a big boost to know that we’ve got each others backs.
I think there's a lot of misinformation going around about unions. I think that it's important to keep in mind that fighting for worker rights kind of necessitates some sort of tension. I really strongly believe that if workers aren't vocal, and we don't take action for our rights, than we'll constantly get our rights trampled. We have the privileges we have right now because of so many workers who made sacrifices and continued to fight.
But I think people are starting to see the current economic reality where people can't afford housing, people are in tons of student debt, and some people can’t even access healthcare. So I think it's important that if you're a worker that you support other workers too. It's not just about health care. It's about all workers trying to support each other because we all have very similar struggles. It means everything - people's jobs and working conditions impact their entire life. Everyone has the right to make a decent living in a safe environment, and to work with dignity.”
Daisy, Clerk, part of the health care team