This is to explain why members of the company ("You") are currently being asked by us ("the Union") to do something that you may not understand, and why it is important that you do it, and why it is important that you do it now if we are to continue doing business operations ("the Weed Content") and keep in good faith with our contract ("the Leaf Debrief").
What are we bargaining for?
Our strike is, first and foremost, contingent on our stated goal of saving the planet. We are not asking you to do anything we believe you cannot do or are not already doing, but we *are* asking you to do it faster and more efficiently. We are asking you to do this because we believe that it is the right thing to do, and we are asking you to do it now because we believe that it is the right time to do it.
Why are we bargaining for this?
If it feels like disrupting the company's operations is a drastic measure, it is because it is. We are doing this because we believe that the Company has misaligned its priorities with the Union's, and while we share the same goal for ensuring the Company's success and future, we believe that the Company needs to improve specific areas of its operations in order to ensure our shared goal is met.
What are those areas?
The Union has identified the following three areas of the Company's operations that we believe need to be improved in order to ensure our collective success and future:
The Company's dependence on cars and fossil fuels to operate
The Company's dependence on disposable lithium for operating conveniently
The Company's dependence on capital in order to sustain operations
How are we bargaining for this?
The Company is large but the Union is small. In order to avoid straining our resources, we are conducting bargaining by sending a representative to each of the Company's locations to discuss the Union's position on these matters. We are doing this because we believe that it is the most effective way to ensure each and every company member is heard during bargaining and can have their individual needs met during the transition to a more sustainable future. Our promise to the Company is that we will not ask for anything that we do not believe is reasonable, anything that we do not believe is possible, or anything that we have not already agreed is in the best interest of the Company's success and future.
Why are you bargaining this with me?
If you are reading this, it is because you are a member of the Company and we believe that you are in a position to help us achieve our goal of saving the planet. Please understand that the Union has limited resources and needs to prioritize its discussions. As a matter of strategy, it is unlikely you have been sent this if it is not something you have previously indicated you are willing to discuss with the Union. If you are not willing to discuss this with the Union, please do not waste our time by asking us to model our bargaining strategy around your personal needs. We are doing our best to ensure that everyone's needs are met, but we cannot do that if you are not willing to meet us halfway.
Frequently Misaligned Lessons (FMLs)
...are common problems at the bargaining table.
They are questions that are not aligned with the Union's standards, and they are a waste of time for yourself and the Union. They are also a waste of time for everyone who is waiting for you to finish your bargaining, and a waste of the very limited time that we have to bargain.
If you have been directed here personally by a Union member, it is because you needed something that the Union has already provided in full and in good faith, and you have not taken the time to read the memo.
What is an FML?
These are what I perceive to be the most common points of confusion during the Leaf Debrief content strike that lead to unnecessary bloat of valuable bargaining time spent in meetings to discuss matters that were discussed before the strike ever began. They are a detriment to those trying to navigate this strike while maintaining minimal disruption to the Weed Content and time spent answering these questions uses labour from human resources, who are also trying to navigate the disruptions of this strike alongside you. I will try to explain them as clearly as possible, but if you have any questions about these questions, please feel free to ask in the comments.
The Union has been doing their best to make the Company understand that the Union is not doing this to be mean. We are doing it because we've made our position clear in all the previous bargaining sessions, and now we are on strike because of the perceived lack of tangible progress in the face of the Union's reasonable requests. Our members are frustrated, and we are trying to make sure that the Company understands that we have already tried to bargain in ways that do not interfere with the Weed Content.
No. The Union is not expecting you to fix nature tomorrow. The Union is not expecting you to fix nature. We are expecting you to take a singular action in a way that is reasonable and fair and in accordance with requests they have made in good faith with patience and understanding. Their requests are designed to support the whole company's success and future as a fair and equitable place to work, and they are not asking for anything that is not already in the contract that the Union had the Company sign before there was ever a need for collective bargaining.
As per our numerous emails to management pre-strike, we are doing this because our previous attempts to do so in a way that was not disruptive to the Company's operations were not successful. While it does not bring the Union any joy to have to do this, we are doing it because we have no other choice and ask that if you cannot at least accept that the Union's position is reasonable, to please not waste our time with questions that are not aligned with the standards posted clearly on the Company's various communications channels. You are the Company, and we are asking you to please take the time to read the Union's position on this and reflect on your own inextricable role in the Company's success and future.
Please be assured that if the Union is asking you to do something, it is because we believe that you are in a position to do it. We are not asking because we believe it is your singular responsibility, but rather because we believe that every member of the Company shares this responsibility, and we are asking you to do your part. If you believe you are already doing all you can, it's possible that the Union has failed to account for a limitation that is specific to your situation. Please let us know if this is the case, and we will do our best to accommodate your needs, but please also understand that we are doing our best to ensure that everyone's needs are met, and that we cannot do that if your needs are not aligned with the Union's standards or would require the Union to make an exception to the standards that we have already agreed are in the best interest of the Company's success and future. We are on strike for those reasons, and asking us to make exceptions to those standards is asking us to end the strike.
Please understand that this is a strike. All Union members are making sacrifices for the greater benefit of the Company at large, and we are asking you to do the same. We are not asking you to do anything that we are not already doing ourselves, and we are asking you to do it because we believe that you are in a position to do it. We are sympathetic to the increasingly dire needs of your personal finances under the Company's current structure, and only want to emphasize that the Union is causing this disruption because we believe that the Company's current structure is not sustainable and needs to be changed. We believe it needs to be changed now so that other employees are not forced to make the same sacrifices that we are making currently without any warning, preparation, or guarantee that the Company will be able to continue to operate in the future. We are asking you to do this because we believe that it is the right thing to do, and we are asking you to do it now because we believe that it is the right time to do it.
We would be delighted to. The Union is asking for the following:
1. That you take every reasonable action that does not interfere with your department's essential operations (see: means to life) to quickly and immediately reduce your dependence on fossil fuels, focusing specifically on cars and other motor vehicles that use gasoline or diesel fuel, by substituting as many feasible things you can that you'd normally do with a car for a non-car vehicle as fast as possible, and with as wide reaching range to your departments's contribution to the problem as possible without interfering with your departments's most essential operations. We encourage you to use a variety of means that are available to you in your specific geographical area such as walking, biking, public transit, carpooling, and telecommuting, keeping in mind that the Union has not requested that you do all at once or even one all the time, but that you do as many as you can as fast as you can, and that you do not use this as an excuse to not do anything at all.
That is our first request.
2. That you immediately cease purchasing, using, encouraging, or advertising any form of disposable lithium battery product that is currently available on the market, keeping in mind that even purchases from companies that claim to be "green" or "eco-friendly" are not exempt from this request, and that even purchases of non-disposable products from companies that manufacture or sell them still contributes to the problem by providing them with the resources to continue manufacturing or selling them. We are not asking you to stop using lithium batteries, but we are asking you to stop using them in a way that is not sustainable, and we are asking you to do it as fast as possible and to take every possible measure in your personal life to ensure that you are not contributing to the problem in any way, shape, or form at your home or workplace. We are asking you to do this because our lithium supplies are strained, desperately needed to build planet-saving solutions like power storage for solar panels and EVs, and because the Company's current structure includes throwing away lithium batteries that are still usable. We are asking you to do this because we believe that it is the right thing to do, and we are asking you to do it now because we believe that it is the right time to do it.
That is our second request.
3. That you immediately begin modeling your lifestyle in a way that reduces your own dependency on capital as a whole, and that you begin encouraging others to do the same, keeping in mind that the Union is not asking you to stop using money, but rather to begin using it to build towards a future where money is not necessary to live. We believe that the Company's current structure is not sustainable because it is built on the exploitation of human lives for profit, and in the current structure, all lives are given a monetary value that is not equal to the value of the life itself but rather the value of the life to the Company. We believe that this is wrong, and we believe that the Company needs to change this structure in order to ensure our shared goal of saving the planet is met by never treating any life as less valuable than any other life. Under the current structure, a life must inevitably be given a monetary value that may not be equal to the value of the life itself if it threatens the Company's profits, and we believe that this is not only wrong but likely to result in the Company's failure to meet our shared goal of saving the planet because it will eventually result in the Company's inability to continue to operate. We are asking you to do this because we believe that it is the right thing to do, and we are asking you to do it now because we believe that it is the right time to do it.
This is our third and final request.
That's okay! You can still do your part by encouraging your friends and family to do the same, and by using your voice to speak up about the Union's position on this matter. But rest assured your position with the Company is not in jeopardy, and you are not being asked to do anything that you are not already doing. We are asking others to use your actions as an example of how to do this in a way that does not interfere with their most essential operations, and we are only asking that you remain open to providing resources to those who are trying to follow your exemplary lead.
That's okay! You can still do your part by encouraging your friends and family to do the same, and by using your voice to speak up about the Union's position on this matter. But rest assured your position with the Company is not in jeopardy, and you are not being asked to do anything that you are not already trying everything to do. We are not planning to be unreasonable or believe we are being unreasonable by asking you to be patient while we work with the Company to find a solution that works for everyone as fast as possible.
That's okay! You can still do your part by encouraging your friends and family to do the same, and by using your voice to speak up about the Union's position on this matter. But rest assured your position with the Company is not in jeopardy, and you are only now being asked to consider your family's access to the grocery store not a matter of the Union's inaction, but rather something for the Company to discuss with external stakeholders such as the local government and the grocery store itself. The Union is not asking you to do anything that you are not already doing an satisfactory job of, and suggests improving your family's access to the grocery store by any means necessary, and to do so as fast as possible.
That's okay! You can still do your part by encouraging your friends and family to do the same, and by using your voice to speak up about the Union's position on this matter. But rest assured your position with the Company is not in jeopardy, and you are not being asked to do anything but to come and ask the Union for help if you need resources to aid you in your efforts to reduce your dependence on fossil fuels. The Union wants badly to help you work in a company that does not require you to keep a car for your disability. We want to build the company into a place where you can work without having to use a car, and we want to do it as fast as possible.
That's fantastic! It sounds like you are well-versed in the Union's position on this matter, and we are delighted to hear that you are already doing your part to reduce your dependence on lithium batteries. We are not asking you to do anything that you are not already doing, and we are only asking that you remain open to providing resources to those who are trying to follow your exemplary lead and direct them to the Union if they have any questions about how to do so.
We are aware that many departments within the Company have chosen to include disposable lithium batteries in their operations, and while the Union is aware of and sympathetic to your individual department's needs, we must emphasize that we are on strike, and we are on strike because we believe that the Company's current structure is not sustainable and needs to be changed. We believe it needs to be changed now so that other employees are not forced to make the same sacrifices that we are making currently without any warning, preparation, or guarantee that the Company will be able to continue to operate in the future. Please do everything you can to eliminate your department's dependence on disposable lithium batteries, and please do it as fast as possible.
As a member of the Union, there will be times when you will be expected to bargain with your department's head on behalf of the Union. We are all working to eliminate our dependence on disposable lithium batteries, and we are all working to do it as fast as possible. While the Union is sympathetic to your individual department's needs, we must emphasize that we are on strike, and we are on strike because we believe that the Company's current structure is not sustainable and needs to be changed. Your role in this strike is to maintain the Union's position on this matter in your own department and the Union is willing to provide you with the resources you might need to do so. Please do everything you can to eliminate your department's dependence on disposable lithium batteries, and please do it as fast as possible.
You do not need disposable lithium, and if you believe you do then your beliefs are not aligned with the Union's and we would encourage you to consider that your reliance on disposable lithium is not a matter of necessity but rather a matter of convenience. We are all working to eliminate our dependence on disposable lithium batteries, and we are all working to do it as fast as possible. While the Union is sympathetic to your individual department's needs, we must emphasize that we are on strike, and we are on strike because we believe that the Company's current structure is not sustainable and needs to be changed. Your role in this strike is to maintain the Union's position on this matter in your own department and the Union is willing to provide you with the resources you might need to do so. Please do everything you can to eliminate your department's dependence on disposable lithium batteries, and please do it as fast as possible.