Coffee on the picket line

Patsy George (fired BC government social worker & staff for Solidarity Coalition) [00:00:00] But one of the positive things I remember, Ken, during that strike period, is that I was in charge of Downtown Eastside at that time and, and there were a handful of of us standing outside the welfare office with our pickets and whatnot. And you know, four, one woman and three men, who are our clients. These were folks who are, who have nothing really. They just survive on little bits of money that we give, the government gives to them and welfare. They brought us coffee.

 [00:00:39] They brought us coffee to say that they are with us. You know, it’s something that I could never, never forget, because we always thought that because we are government workers, we are controlling the lives of those people by turning them down, giving them not very much. Because we represent it, this, this very powerful government, and yet when we are out on strike, there they are telling us you’re doing the right thing.

 [00:01:14] And I tell you, I’m getting emotional again. But to me, that’s something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life, that it showed that we had a connection. We had a relationship with these people that we were serving, and that they in turn want to let us know that they appreciated us as human beings, as professional people.