Thursday, November 5, 2020

The View from the Ground

By Jon Heinen, CLAC Representative

I’m sitting in northern Alberta, looking outside at the beautiful snowy morning. The sun is shining and it’s bright, with a large open sky and a beautiful horizon. Wow! Things look so serene and peaceful.

Then I step onto my back deck and a sudden shock of cold hits me. Whoa! Where did that come from? It’s actually miserably cold and I want to race back inside to huddle under blankets to warm up.

Sound familiar? It might be an Albertan thing, but I’ve grown to love it and even to expect it, so it’s not quite as large a shock.

This story presents itself in other situations, too. When I’m talking to our stewards and members on the phone, things can often seem like they’re going well. From my outside perspective, it sounds calm and there appears to be little concern from our membership.

Then I go to a site and a shock hits me. Our members are dealing with a lot more than I realize. It all comes at me in a wave and I’m left listening to a lot of deep, untapped emotion that has been released by my presence.

On one hand, I want to run back to my office and cling to my previous notion that all was well. On the other hand, I’m grateful that I can be there for our members. If I didn’t come to site, who would they see that could elicit this kind of reaction? Who is there to physically stand up and listen to their deep concerns about how things are going these days? I’m grateful to be there, to be present, and to connect in real time with these ever-important people who are doing good work every day.

We can all feel disconnected from what’s really going on, especially today. Throughout my time as a representative, I’ve always loved going to sites and spending time with our members because it bridges my “sense” of reality with what’s “actually” happening.

It’s not always easy. I can leave a highly emotional meeting feeling shaken, sad, despairing for things that I cannot change. But I also love it. I love looking our members in the eyes and holding their fears and worries, even for a short while. I feel it’s my calling to be the neutral presence in their life to support them, to care for them, and to experience reality.

I have always thought that CLAC’s model of representation is different because we put more effort into being present in the workplace and interacting with our members. During times like these, when we have a harder time getting into workplaces, I feel it’s a good reminder for us all to do the best we can to look each other in the eyes, let each other feel deeply, and share the burden of the “on the ground” experience.

The View from the Ground

You might be interested in