I live in Philadelphia. For the past four days our city's public transportation union workers have been on strike sending thousands of bus, train and subway riders to the streets on their bikes, in their cars and on their feet. I consider myself lucky being a typical subway rider who also has a car at my disposal. However, the change in routine has certainly shifted my view (as most routine changes tend to do).
Since I've been parking my car more than 10 blocks away from my office, then walking, I've had the chance to absorb Fall more fully than I would have in the subway car. The air is finally more crisp and the leaves in the city are prettier than I remember. I always thought I had to drive to the country to see these colors, but the trees in the city highlight the gray buildings and compliment the vibrant people.
Driving in my car has also given me the option to listen to early morning radio; a treat I don't usually take advantage of. NPR has the power to uplift and also (as typical news stations tend to do), make me sad. A story today reported that the unemployment rate has risen to 11%. The majority of the unemployed are men, due to the nature of their business (construction, auto industry and finance), and women are providing for their families by working jobs in more nurturing industries (nurses, teachers) that have not been as effected by the economy. Knowing this strengthened my gratitude for my job (which I also happen to love), but also brought up feelings of confusion about our city's workers who have been given jobs but are choosing not to work in them. Where did we go wrong?
The union workers have been offered a bonus, raises, and no increase in their health insurance contribution; yet, negotiations are still in the works. Although I'm sure there is more to the strike, it surely sounds like these workers feel under-appreciated for their time and would like to receive the benefits to which they feel they're entitled; maybe not every union worker feels this way. On the commuter's end, we want to have public transportation available to us when we put the token in the slot. Do we really care about who's driving the bus or the train? We may just be more focused on the newspaper we're reading or the smelly person sitting next to us. Could it be that there is an overall jaded attitude? An under-appreciation for the jobs we have but also for what workers provide for us?
It's times like this when I want to urge our community to consider our country's past, how lucky we are that so many helpful programs have been put into place, and evaluate how much is really quite enough. If we can't have more (more benefits, more money, a cheap ride to wherever we want to go), don't many of us still have enough?
Enjoy!
Julie
