Editor:
From my safe haven, bordering the Town of Gibsons, I watch with dismay the anti-union, anti-worker war that is being waged against the striking unionized employees who maintain the infrastructure of the District of Sechelt.
These individuals are being held ransom by Mayor John Henderson and a majority of councillors who have followed a take-no-prisoners policy when it comes to the B.C. Government Employees Union and its attempts to arrive at a new collective agreement on behalf of its members.
The mayor's actions are shocking, but not surprising to anyone who has monitored or been a victim of the ever-hardening social divisions that have occurred over the last four decades. This pernicious phenomenon has more recently been described as the domination of the 99 per cent by the ever-powerful one per cent in a war of attrition where the winner takes all.
It would appear that Henderson considers himself a specialist within the ranks of the one per cent. He refuses to recognize that real, hard, monotonous work is always done, and that real, hard, brutal wars are always fought by the 99 per cent. Even so, much as he might wish it were otherwise, he also knows he cannot function without these foot soldiers.
So over to you, mayor. Stop warring with your staff and implement a peace agreement. Go back to the table and bargain in good faith. Express appreciation and respect for the work they do.
Acquiring a new and positive vision is really not that difficult, but you'll have to distance yourself from your friends in the one per cent if you are brave enough to take this step.
Ruth Houle, Gibsons
