Happy Fall!
Happy Fall!
In this season of thanksgiving, I'd like to give thanks and pay homage to labor movements of the past.
These movements won us:
- the 40-hour work week
- weekends
- overtime pay for hourly employees
- sick days
Most importantly, they secured our right to band together for mutual aid and protection in the workplace.
I also thank you for reading this month's issue!
P.S. We're officially a 501(c)(5) now! We got the letter from the IRS just before this issue went to press.
Table of Contents
- Grind Culture: Not Nearly as Fun as It Sounds
- Thanksgiving Potluck!
- Want Your Own Event?
- What Can Our Small Group Accomplish?
Grind Culture: Not Nearly as Fun as It Sounds
Ever feel like “doing your best” keeps meaning more every month?
Who has not felt that quiet pressure to do more, be more, and produce more? Nobody says it outright. The message comes wrapped in praise for those who go beyond expectations: "We're not asking you; just rewarding those who are really passionate."
On the surface, it sounds harmless or even benevolent. But as teams shrink, workloads grow. Efforts once called extra quietly become expected. Optional slowly becomes essential.
One coworker shared: “I see the value in learning new skills and growing. But sometimes it feels like having a life outside of work is the wrong answer.”
Who to blame? No single person. Not the managers, who are simply doing their job. And not those youthful coworkers who naturally convert long hours and energy drinks into burnout-inducing levels of productivity.
The truth is, grind culture divides us. It pits teammate against teammate in an endless race for approval, promotions, and survival, leaving everyone a little more exhausted day after day.
Our contact with Communication Workers of America explains: “When management compares us to the star performers, it is not to inspire us. It is to keep us competing instead of connecting.”
But it doesn't have to be that way.
We can protect balance and build solidarity at the same time by refusing to measure our worth in unpaid overtime, and by talking openly about what real sustainability looks like.
The first step is recognizing the harm grind culture causes. The next is healing together.
Conversations among our colleagues are how change starts: one honest story, one act of empathy, one coworker at a time.
Do you feel the pressure too? How do you balance growth with rest, dedication with sanity?
Send an email to jpmcworkers@gmail.com to share your perspective, or join our Discord server to take part in the conversation.
Thanksgiving Potluck!
For our friends in the Polaris McCoy Center in Columbus, OH, JWA will host a Thanksgiving potluck!
Join us on Friday, November 21st at noon in the North Cafeteria for food, fun, and fellowship.
All are welcome, but if you want to help, you can volunteer by going to our Discord server and raising your hand in the Friendsgiving thread under the Ohio chat.
Please spread the word! You can share the flyer below:
Want your own event?
If you're tired of only seeing union events in other offices and want one in yours, let's make it happen!
Our Discord server members are willing to help you with coordination, graphics, promotion, and more.
Join us and be the change!
What can our small group accomplish?
A curious onlooker asked that very question in one of our public channels.
One answer: "Small" is relative.
Our effort to unionize the bank is certainly not a sprint. It's often likened to a marathon, but I would compare it to a mass migration out of the land of fear and into the land of plenty: The first scouts must come back and report their findings, and then larger groups begin to make the pilgrimage.
We are building a network that spans the company, and cross-linking that network to stand strong in the face of whatever challenges management may mount.
In time, meaningful divisions will form distinct collective bargaining units able to advocate effectively for their own members.
Every step we take, every conversation, every casual greeting, every invitation to see each other as more than mere cogs but as actual people with motives and feelings and needs, is another step toward winning back worker's rights in America and around the world.
This isn't just about me and my problems; it's about building a movement that sustains itself for another century.
That sounds grandiose: Where do we start?
We start one person at a time, bringing them into solidarity with the rest of us.
REMEMBER
The union is us. We are the union.
Change is coming. Be a part of it.
Excitedly Yours,
The JPMC Workers Alliance
Written with love by Beth, Jesse, BK, and Reggie
P.S. Previous editions are available on our website!