Our thoughts, coherently laid out, on why we are tired of politicians targeting people who use CERB & other aid through the pandemic & how we think things could be improved: a thread. 1/x

So yesterday we got a bit ornery and made a broad tweet about the culture of workplaces disincentivizing workers to return while social programs like CERB and EI are available for pandemic relief. We don't often get ornery, but we are human, it happens. 2/x

The reason we got a bit ornery was because we are forced, yet again, to listen to political rhetoric calling workers lazy and entitled, boldly claiming that CERB support money was spent irresponsibly on cheezies and drugs while people lay about and refuse to work. 3/x

This is irritating for several reasons which we will now discuss.
1. We have had conversations with various folks coming through our taproom lately, and a lot of those conversations turn negative when we talk about CERB/programs that are helping people through the pandemic. 4/x

It's bizarre to us that folks who were lucky enough to keep their job would take aim at those who weren't. Like, that's absolutely wild you break it down. We are witnessing folks disparaging other folks for losing their employment due to a global pandemic. Wow. 5/x

The other part of this conversation comes from business owners themselves whom we have heard bemoan the fact that some of their employees are refusing to return to work, and this often has to do with the employees ability to collect CERB. 5/x

Now, we want to be very clear and open here: when we closed for 75 days in the spring we had to temporarily lay off all our people. Everyone collected CERB or EI depending on which program was best suited to them. We kept in touch. 6/x

When we started to move toward reopening we did so by first consulting our people on what actions we could rake to help them feel safe coming back to work. We are hospitality, after all, with many people flowing through our space, all potential vectors of COVID. 7/x

When we asked, our people returned. They did so because they felt safe and supported. Friends of ours who work in other fields (medical and retail) also recieved word to go back to work: no conversations about safety, no mention of precautions, just "come now". 8/x

These friends experienced an incredible amount of anxiety about returning to their place of employ. They stressed about it for days, often trying to reach out to their respective managers to get more information about protections in place. 9/x

Some were met with reasonable solutions. Others were told "if you don't feel safe fine, we will hire someone else."
How the heck is that a reasonable response from managers/employers when one of their people is asking for information about safety!? 10/x

So when we come across dipshits playing politics with the concept of CERB and being critical of workers refusing to return to work, our first question is always "what are those workers expected to return to?" What were the working conditions before CERB? 11/x

What is the pay structure at that place like? Are they compensated fairly for their labour? What benefits do they get for their work? How will that employer cover sick leave if they get ill in a time of COVID? Is their job protected if they have to isolate? 12/x

If you are an employer and you are expecting your people tonreturn without answering these questions then the fault of them not wanting to return lies with you, not with a social program that, in most cities, barely covers the bills. 13/x

If the culture of your workplace is such that your people don't want to return: that's on you. If your safety measures or precautions are inadequate to help your people feel safe: that's on you. If your people are making more money reliably staying at home: that's on you. 14/15

We are so tired of people blaming the workers, many of whom are considered the working poor, for not wanting to catch a highly contagious disease that could potentially kill, or cause lasting damage, because they don't want to return to work. Hope that makes sense.
Fin.