HAMILTON – The Precarious Worker’s float was pulled out of Hamilton’s Labour Day Parade an hour before festivities were to begin after all of the participants, including the flatbed truck they were on, was called in to cover a shift.
“Okay, everyone off!” yelled the truck driver to his fellow revellers who had just received an urgent request to pick up heavy equipment in Montreal that could not wait. “Pull off all those ‘workers in solidarity’ signs!”
Dozens of employees of coffee shops, mills, call centers, custodians, and restaurants said that they regret bailing on an ornate display of their financial insecurity, dangers, anxiety, and lack of time, but had to rush into work or else they might lose hours or be fired.
“I was up all night securing the tinsel siding,” said farmhand Tim Sharbot, who will not be paid time-and-a-half for working on a holiday since he works in agriculture. “I had it perfectly arranged until I got a text from my boss that we had to harvest now.”
“Sorry, I’m on call!” said parade band member and disaster recovery labourer who was running to catch a bus. “I’ve got a flooded basement to clean. Maybe next year!”
This is the ninth time the float has been cancelled last minute in as many years.
