Union schmunion Jessica Berget Editor-in-Chief here’s a lot of talk about strikes right now, and it has got me thinking about unions. I’ve worked a union job before, and as much as I appreciate job security, good pay, benefits, and some of the other perks that come with those jobs, there are some downsides to them. Unions have done a lot of great things for working conditions. They are the reason we don’t work 12-hour days seven days a week. They helped create the working class fighting for better pay and work conditions, so they're super Room 1020 - 700 Royal Ave. Douglas College New Westminster, BC, V3L 5B2 604-525-3542 Jessica Berget Editor-in-Chief M editor@theotherpress.ca Position Open News Editor © news@theotherpress.ca Morgan Hannah Life & Style Editor M lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca Position Open Entertainment Editor WM humour@theotherpress.ca Layout Manager M layout@theotherpress.ca Lauren Kelly Graphics Manager © graphics@theotherpress.ca a A gS important to have. But J think it’s also important to look at some of the problems with unions. For instance, that extreme job security may sound like a pretty sweet deal, but it is something that can and will be exploited. A nurse by the name of Elizabeth Wettlaufer killed seven people over two decades in an Ontario nursing home. She was fired from the homes that she worked at, but she was still able to work as a nurse because the Ontario Nurses Association intervened. According to a previous article from the Other Press, they defended Wettlaufer twice, changing her firing to a voluntary resignation and even giving her $2000 and a letter of recommendation in 2014 as part @ theotherpress.ca © editor@theotherpress.ca ¥ © /theotherpress f/douglasotherpress Janis McMath Assistant Editor M assistant@theotherpress.ca Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor M arts@theotherpress.ca Position Open Opinions Editor M opinions@theotherpress.ca Caroline Ho Web Editor © webeditor@theotherpress.ca Nhi Jenny' Vo Production Assistant Jacey Gibb gS Distribution Manager of a union settlement. Talk about taking job security too far. I’m not saying unions are the blame for this, or that this is proof that they are all like this, but it is a good argument for why we need to modify unions since certain aspects can be detrimental. In my experience working a union gig for a year, I have also seen my fair share of negative side effects. Because it is fairly difficult to get fired from a union job—albeit in cases of stealing or other extreme examples—there is a problem with employees taking advantage of this and putting no effort into the job besides showing up on time everyday, or even being difficult or aggressive with the other Brittney MacDonald Business Manager Cover layout by Lauren Kelly Cover photo by Cara Seccafien Michelle Lim Illustrator Atiba Nelson Staff Reporter Feature layout by James Moore Seyitan Olaifa Craig Allan The Gateway (CUP) Tania Arora EG Manilag Michele Provenzano Staff Writers Billy Bui Staff Photographer Emily Devereux The Nugget (CUP) Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist Evelynn Sutton Contributor uy 4 o £ ou & 9 x e = wn employees. In my time working there, an employee threw a chair at another worker and they only got suspended for a week. Any other non-union job—they definitely would have been fired. Of course, not all union employees are like this, but this is just my experience in my one year as a union worker. Unions serve an incredibly important purpose, but sometimes the benefits they provide can be taken advantage of. Limes, Jessica Berget Jessica Berget The Other Press has been Douglas College’s student newspaper since 1976. Since 1978 we have been an autonomous publication, independent of the student union. We are a registered society under the Society Act of British Columbia, governed by an eight-person board of directors appointed by our staff. Our head office is located in the New Westminster campus. The Other Press is published weekly during the fall and winter semesters, and monthly during the summer. We receive our funding from a student levy collected through tuition fees every semester at registration, and from local and national advertising revenue. The Other Press is a member of the Canadian University Press (CUP), a syndicate of student newspapers that includes papers from all across Canada. The Other Press reserves the right to choose what we will publish, and we will not publish material that is hateful, obscene, or condones or promotes illegal activities. Submissions may be edited for clarity and brevity if necessary. All images used are copyright to their respective owners.