The Strike

It’s funny how old memories stick with you, isn’t it?  For me, it’s an incident from more than 40 years ago.  I think this incident has influenced every action I’ve taken since.  

It was the fall of 1979.  In our southern Ontario community, students attended elementary school till grade 6, and then a grade 7-8 “senior public” school until moving on to high school in grade 9.  We were a religious, heavily church-influenced family, and my parents did not like the senior public school or the concept of me attending it. 

They decided on a nearby private school which also fit their religious beliefs, and I began grade 7 there.  That fall, however, elementary school teachers went on strike – a full strike – for two weeks, and my younger brother quickly followed me in attending the private school. 

The news around us was full of conversation about this strike, the first I’d heard of one.  And as is typical in media coverage of strikes, much of it spoke of the teachers’ demand for increased pay related to the cost of living.  (Please note, I am not an expert on strikes and this was unlikely the only point of contention in the strike mentioned).  

My take from it as a precocious preteen, though, was a simple one.  My brother and I received the lofty sum of twenty-five cents’ allowance each week.  And up until sometime in 1979, this was just enough to buy a bag of chips at the local convenience store.  Then, the government stepped in, and TAXED said bag of chips, bringing its cost to an unreachable twenty-seven cents.  This isn’t really a big deal unless your allowance is twenty-five cents, of course.  

As ever, I took the initiative, and one Saturday morning that fall, we (well, I – my brother mostly followed my lead on this one) announced to my parents that we required a raise in our allowance to accommodate cost-of-living expenses (read: chips) or we would go on strike.  The parents took this unexpected action fairly well – that is to say, they laughed in our faces. My father then informed us that our labour wasn’t worth the $0.25 we received each week and suggested that we could henceforth work for any funds required. 

To some, this might sound like a slap in the face, but to me, it presented great opportunity for greater earnings!  Within weeks, I was scraping wallpaper, doing household chores, and had acquired a paying job delivering flyers around our neighbourhood.  My earnings probably increased by twenty-five times or more within a month or two.  My brother was a little slower on the uptake but did eventually jump on the bandwagon of success that I’d created. 

More than forty years later, I’ve maintained this mindset in the seeking of opportunity.  I’ve consistently found that earning more, showing my worth, or finding new opportunities that fit my objectives, has given greatly superior results to demanding more because I have needs to be filled. 

The lesson here?  The first and obvious one is that you can learn by listening to what’s around you, and that opportunities abound.  I was able to buy “all that and a bag of chips” instead of just my chips at an increased price with my newfound wealth.  The second lesson is a little more subtle – it’s that life is about give and take.  Although I felt I deserved my allowance, it was a gift from my parents’ perspective.  Creating a more two-sided relationship gave me more control over my earnings, and provided them with value for their investment.  It’s also provided me with a work ethic which inspired my first Toastmasters speech “Continuous Improvement” and has served me well through some difficult times.