It’s time to remind our favorite brands that workers have rights too
If you’re a fan of a particular brand, product or service, always try to check out how they treat their employees.
If someone would ask me for my favorite Spongebob Squarepants episode, I’d probably tell without a blink that it’s “Squid on Strike.” I would never forget that episode where Spongebob and Squidward stood up against the greed of Mr. Krabs by staging a strike outside the Krusty Krab. It left me confused as a kid, especially on the scene where Squidward raises his left fist while holding a megaphone as he cries that “the gentle laborer shall no longer suffer.”
I could only guess how fucked up that episode must have been for other kids who watched it: after all, it was total dose of reality. While it might be a stretch to call that episode a critique of late capitalism, watching it now turns it into a disturbing take on labor issues especially in light of the numerous strikes and hashtags on Twitter calling for the boycott of popular brands and companies, from fast food chains to softdrinks to condiments to the services of a telephone company. After all, it’s no secret that a lot of the things we consume on a daily basis come from the sweat and tears of millions of workers who suffer from low wages, long working hours and contractual labor.
The issue of contractualization or “endo” has been one of the most prominent issues hounding the country recently: after all, it was the president himself who promised to end “endo” and that promise has given hope to millions of Filipino workers who have long called for the government to address their concerns. I have been to two strikes from two different companies, and the workers I talked to have held on to that promise, which they believe would give them fair wages, employment benefits and ultimately, regularization – only to be met by layoffs and for the protesting workers in the Bulacan factory of NutriAsia, a local condiments company, stones, truncheons and violent dispersals.
You might have seen the reports on TV or the tweets about it on your timeline. You might have seen the photos and videos of bloodied protesters being hit by police or that one photo of an old woman with blood gushing from her mouth. To say it’s outrageous is probably an understatement: this is the second violentdispersal they faced from the police in the past two months, and last Monday’s dispersal has been the most violent -- more than 20 workers and protesters were left wounded and injured, some of whom were rushed to nearby hospitals in critical condition. Workers, youth leaders and even journalists covering the dispersal were arrested, and the police have accused them of carrying drugs and illegal firearms.
The government doesn’t shy away in its hatred of the poor: from killing small-time drug pushers to killing the work of jeepney drivers to higher taxes and prices, this violent dispersal is, perhaps, one of the state’s most egregious display of brutality against the poor and the working class. Our workers, the backbone of our economy and the backbone of every company, deserve better. Their rights are also human rights, and their lives are not disposable commodities. But with the government’s various attacks on the poor, the plight of workers is perhaps the least of their concerns unless it means answering them with violence.
It then leaves us to do the work. If you’re a fan of a particular brand, product or service, always try to check how they treat their employees: there might be blood in your takeout or in the ketchup your family likes to use. While the socialist catchphrase “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism” might be simple meme that’s often the butt of jokes of alt-right trolls, it’s a reminder of how fucked up we are as a society that we often overlook the plights of workers because of our own comfort. We need to call out companies who treat their workers like shit and quit their products and services and look for better alternatives until such time that companies and brands listen and heed the demands of their workers.
But more than our hashtags and donations and boycotts, the struggle for workers’ rights needs more warm bodies more than ever: people who will join workers in picket lines to listen to their stories and sufferings, people who will go out of their privileged bubbles to join them in marching in the streets to assert their rights. They need people who will join them in their struggle, for the gentle laborer shall no longer suffer.
This essay appeared as “Just a reminder: give a damn about workers’ rights” at Scout Magazine.
