By Lorenzo Fiorito

If you’re reading this website, chances are you’re not rich, and neither are your parents. Maybe you’re on a student loan; maybe you work a minimum-wage job and have a credit card that’s maxed out. You’re not alone. People from working-class families across the country are in the same boat.

But no matter what you do for a living, you at least deserve a wage that allows you to pay the bills and buy the groceries - and maybe go see a movie or have a drink once in a while. This basic lifestyle is impossible if you make the minimum wage, unless you sell yourself to debt slavery with a credit card. And those are getting harder to get.

While you sweat it out mopping floors or dealing with annoying customers, the boss breathes down your neck all day - and all the while he or she is trying to figure out a way to make even more money off your back. You deserve better.

There’s no shame in being poor. As our country’s economy declines, there are more and more minimum-wage workers in the workforce. And we’re not just talking about teenagers earning pocket money: in most cases, we’re talking about factory workers or service sector workers who have families to support and bills to pay. There are also thousands of students who are working low-paying jobs just to afford rent, food and the rising costs of education. There are millions of people in exactly the same situation as you - across Montreal, across Québec, across the world.

As long as you try to solve your problems as an individual, nothing will change. The problem of poverty is social: it’s the product of the division between workers and employers. If you, a young worker, don’t want to live in poverty all your life, you’ll have to fight for a decent living wage alongside the people who work with you. Get organized, and face the boss down as a group of unified workers. What’s he going to do? He needs your labour to make profits for him.

The Canadian labour movement is demanding a national minimum wage of $10 an hour. At Common Front, we think that’s a good first step toward a real living wage which is tied to the cost of living. We also think the best way to fight for your rights at work is to be part of a union. If these ideas interest you, join Common Front, and find people exactly like you who are organizing to fight for their rights. You won’t be alone any longer - and together, we’ll be stronger.

info@commonfront.org