Fat Cats
by Leslie Kish

Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to Mr. LJ Joy's letter of November 15th. He refers to union members as "fat cats" with large pay increases and juicy fringe benefits. I guess I am one of Mr. Joy's "fat cats", but I certainly am not in any position to "sit back and purr contentedly". I am a longshoreman, and I would like to tell you a little about my job and life.

In the morning I get up at 6 o'clock and arrive at the dispatch office at 6:45. I am dispatched to a job by 7:20, and sometimes I must drive 20 to 40 kilometers to get to the job site. Once there, I work from 8 a m to 5 p m with an hour for lunch and two ten minute coffee breaks. Most weeks I must go to the dispatch office seven mornings a week to ensure I get five days work.

Because I can never be sure of getting work five days in a row, my life is very chaotic. I cannot enjoy a normal family life because I can never plan ahead when I am unsure what days I will be working.

As a longshoreman, if I want to have a good living, I really have to hustle. When my day job finishes, instead of taking a chance on getting a job the next day, I will try to get on the graveyard shift which is dispatched as the next day's work.

If I am "lucky", I will be at work again at 1 a m for another shift which finishes at 8 a m. Then I will go home to sleep until 2 p m when I must go to the dispatch again and attempt to get another graveyard shift. If a longshoreman chooses to do this, his life becomes a revolving door of eating, sleeping, and working.

Hopefully, this will give Mr. Joy and those who support his point of view a better idea of what life is like for some of us "fat cats". I am not complaining about my job, I am only trying to point out that, like all jobs, mine too has its negative aspects.

Almost daily, I read something negative in the papers about this or that union or unions in general. Like any organization, there will be problems, but I am happy to be a union member. Too many people have forgotten or never learned just how much the unions have done for workers in this country, both union and non union workers.

Background Information
This letter is about unions. Talk about what you know about unions. What do they do? Do you think unions are good or bad? Why? Also, talk about the work of a longshoreman. What do you think you would have to do to do this job?

Questions

1. What is a "fat cat"?

2. What kind of letter did Leslie write?

3. What is a dispatch?

4. Why do you think the life of a longshoreman is hard?

5. Use the word chaotic in a sentence.

6. Why can't he enjoy a normal family life?

7. What is a "graveyard shift"?

8. Why do you think he works as hard as he does?

9. What's the opposite of negative?

10. What do you think the unions have done for working people?