Solo and micro businesses should stand in solidarity with labour

On Monday, April 28th, Canadians found out a lot about where we're at right now as a country, such as:

• whether the polls we'd been bombarded with for the past four months were at all accurate in showing what people are thinking.
• how the current authoritarian regime in the US is influencing our fellow citizens in light of the recent tariffs and rhetoric about Canada becoming the 51st state.
• what we'll need to do to press our representatives to make better decisions for the good of all of us.

I have so very many thoughts on this, but I want to focus in on a subset of small businesses and labour.

Before we go there, I think it's important you know that I fall into the bucket of "leftist" when it comes to my personal political leanings. I believe in unions and the power of labour. I believe we are criminally undersupporting disabled people. I also believe conservative (note the small "c") policies are for the benefit of 1-10% of people, and they will hurt the rest of us.

Much of my thinking about small business and our role in influencing the world is inspired by questioning the status quo, along with the community and care that underpin different facets of political ideologies that are considered "left."

I recently saw or heard some interesting historical commentary about the role of small business owners in 1930s Germany that piqued my interest. There's a lot of information about the complicity of larger businesses in the rise of the Nazism. However, small businesses were also, in a general sense, supportive of the Nazi regime.

As this article shows, it's a mistake to forget the nuance that not all small business owners allied themselves with the Nazi party. However, there was a combination of economic conditions, government policies, an environment where small business owners didn't feel a sense of solidarity with workers or big business. So, they looked to the government as their ally.

I'm not a historian, and my knowledge of this particular aspect of Nazi Germany is limited at best, but the parallels to our current reality are interesting and informative.

The importance of small business solidarity

One of the inspirations for this post is the Canada Post strike in November and December of 2024. I was personally vocal about my support for the workers, knowing that this was an important labour action that was designed to put pressure on Canada Post leadership through public pressure at a critical time.

Here's an excellent overview of the situation from Steve Boots (you should go follow him, too - he's doing excellent work):

The reaction from Canadians awaiting their Christmas packages was mixed and largely unsupportive. The lack of support was in stark contrast to how the public supported Ontario education workers just a couple of years earlier.

It was easy for me to get behind the Canada Post workers. I think unions are doing important work in the most altruistic sense, but I'm also not dependent on mail services. I don't have to ship things out to customers, and I don't have a problem with personal packages being delayed. Obviously, the concern is greater for businesses that heavily rely on Canada Post in their operations.

Of course, I can understand that businesses struggling to survive would not want any disruption to their service. Making a sacrifice in solidarity for many small businesses that run on thin margins can be devastating, especially during the busy shopping season. I'm a bit perplexed by the strong reactions in every other group.

For the record, I saw several businesses in that situation supporting the workers, and I have so much respect for their principled stance.

Ultimately, the lack of public support allowed the government to break the strike, which undermines the strength of workers across the board. As reported in The Maple, the Liberal Party under Justin Trudeau broke up four significant labour actions in 2024:

The biggest story when it came to governments’ responses to labour this year was the troubling use of coercive measures to end work stoppages. No provincial government outdid the federal Liberals on this front. Aircraft mechanics, rail workers, port workers and postal workers were all on the receiving end of state coercion, having their strikes ended or pre-empted or watching their employers receive special government treatment. Rather than table and debate back-to-work legislation as in the past, the federal government has taken to using a provision of the Canada Labour Code to punt work stoppages and either request that the Canada Industrial Relations Board impose binding arbitration or delay strikes until they are less disruptive and thus less effective, as was the case with Canada Post.

So, why should small businesses care?

Why should someone like me, who runs a micro business, be interested in what's going on with unionized labour?

The connection between small businesses and the working class

I'm not an expert in politics, sociology, or economics, but I find it fascinating, and I love learning from academics in these areas who discuss these aspects of our society. I was a music education major in university, but the class that had the most impact on me was sociology. (Probably should have clued in after taking it that music wasn't the career for me! 🤷🏼‍♀️)

What I want to share here is based on a few years of reflection and exploration, as I have sought to find people who discuss where individuals like me fit into the broader picture of addressing the inequality our world perpetuates.

I may be wrong on certain points, but this is what makes sense to me at this moment in my learning and thinking.

A little background on the players

We live in a capitalist society. So, a lot of the discussion about other economic systems is centred on three primary groups:

• the proletariat (labour),
• the petit bourgeoisie (small business owners), and
• the bourgeoisie (elite class - wealthy/business owners).

In today's world, it would almost be easier to shift to actual income rather than descriptive buckets of how people get their income. There's so much variance in pay in different fields. I've seen VP marketing roles posted for $90K with no performance bonus, though in most companies that role would command multiple six figures, a performance bonus structure, stock options or RSUs (restricted stock units), and other incentives.

One of these is most definitely not like the other. You could argue that the first VP is labour, and the second is part of the elite class.

Growing inequality and the small business class

When it comes to today's society, these buckets are more complex than they were back in the 1800s when they were developed. It wouldn't surprise me if that's a stumbling block for some to see themselves in this context.

Let me use myself as an example: I've been middle-class most of my adult life. I grew up in a lower-middle-class family, started adulthood in the same position, and had the good fortune of being born a young Gen Xer, so I was coming of age at a time when it was relatively easy to improve one's circumstances. That, and I had a lot of privilege along the way that helped me lean into my interests and improve skills that were and are highly marketable.

However, I'm aware of my income as a business owner. I also know roughly how much many of my clients have made over the years. Many of the people I work with have far more in common with labour than they do with the wealthy.

The most significant difference is that many of us have partners with steady incomes, which makes it possible for us to do the work we do without needing to achieve big revenue numbers.

But I, for one, do need to earn money. I'm not doing this as a hobby.

My business has slowed down due to the current economy, so I started looking for a job in the summer of 2024. I've never had trouble finding work in my entire life until now. This market is far worse than the 2009 market, and I was one of many who were laid off back then.

This market is exponentially worse, and it deteriorated before FOTUS announced his tariffs, which are already exacerbating the economic situation in Canada. I'm hearing from friends who are extremely talented and can't get interviews, let alone offers, despite submitting hundreds of applications.

While I'm not an economist, I'm looking at this and making my own calculations about the cause and effect, and it's a scary picture that forms in my head.

The domino effect of not supporting labour

The people who buy from me are businesses. But many of those businesses that buy from me are often (though not entirely) businesses that sell to consumers.

So, when consumers are laid off, worried about being laid off, concerned about inflation, worried about a tide of austerity measures from a conservative government, or anything that affects their current standard of living, they reduce or stop buying altogether. The same goes for businesses that sell to other businesses because if they sell to consumers, it's just one or two extra dominos before you topple.

The impact is that businesses stop buying from one another, and the downward turn of the economy spreads to more and more groups.

But let me be clear that business survival should not be on the backs of workers - not in being paid substandard wages or reducing benefits to maintain profit and not in policy decisions by government officials. It is the responsibility of each business owner to attract customers and pay workers well. When that doesn't happen, it's a business problem, not a policy problem.

Every business needs a well-paid and well-supported labour force for all of us to thrive. That's the reality of the capitalist system. Unless and until we advocate for policies that support people at a minimum standard of living (living, not surviving), we small business owners will always need to support labour in getting living wages and generous benefits.

Big business will always put profits over people. But small businesses can and should be different. We have the agility and drive to be creative. So, why not!?

Well, part of the problem is we do have to pay bills, and there's a decent-sized group of businesses that the government just doesn't even seem to see.

How the government fails small businesses

I didn't have a business in 2008 and 2009, when the economic crisis in the US, stemming from the subprime mortgage fallout, hit Canada. Therefore, I don't recall what was available at that time.

Fortunately, we were in a better position before it started and had stronger regulations that prevented the crisis from being as severe here. So, the most relevant situation to our current economic reality is the pandemic. It feels so long ago, but it's only been five years. I'm not convinced there was ever really a recovery so much as some folks bounced back quickly and others have continued to struggle.

(Also, a reminder that COVID isn't gone, even if we're not hearing about it anymore. Get your booster vaccination and stay home if you're sick. Thank you!)

In 2020, I became frustrated with the slow and insufficient response from our government to the COVID-19 pandemic. I had just decided not to look for work after leaving my job to focus full-time on my business. I didn't know there would be a pandemic two months later, or I might have taken one of the offers I received.

That wasn't a time of struggle for my family, thanks to the clients I secured very quickly after making the switch. But I saw how my friends struggled.

What the government did for businesses and individuals

Ultimately, the government did institute supports for businesses in the form of the Canadian Emegency Business Account (CEBA) loans, and wage subsidies. These loans were for $40,000 to $60,000 and there was a forgivable amount if repaid within a certain timeline.

For any business that was an unincorporated sole proprietor, there was no relief unless they were eligible to receive the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).

There were also supports from provincial programs, such as Ontario's Small Business Relief Grant and Digital Main Street.

Why the government's response wasn't enough

When I think about the situation we were in, these were all band-aids on a gaping wound. The programs were announced at a time when many still believed the lockdowns wouldn't go beyond a month or two, though they added to them eventually. And while many businesses were permitted to reopen starting in June of 2020, getting customers back in wasn't as straightforward.

Additionally, CERB was a taxable benefit (a ludicrous decision given the amount). If you were deemed ineligible after receiving it, you would be forced to repay the entire amount, at least until CRA backed off after it was challenged. Again, this was a ludicrous decision on the part of Trudeau's government at a time when people needed unconditional support.

Most of us would have qualified for the government-backed mortgage deferral, but banks were allowed to charge interest during the deferral period, a policy decision that benefited the wealthy far more than those who needed the relief the most. To their credit, many smaller institutions didn't charge interest, but all the biggest banks in Canada did, and that says a lot about their humanity in a crisis.

Programs at every level of government failed to account for the variety of circumstances, the level of need, or the time required to recover, particularly in industries with thin margins. Consider all the restaurants you visited before the pandemic that are now closed.

The smaller the business, the more these programs mattered. However, many of us were either ineligible or the consequences of using the support would have outweighed its benefits.

Here we go again—this time with tariffs

I dread the decision voters make today. I'm not worried that the Liberals won't win enough seats to form at least a minority government. But I am worried about the conservative policies in their platform.

Small businesses often join chambers of commerce, boards of trade, and other such organizations that are actively working on influencing policy on behalf of their members. I was a member of one of those organizations until I gave feedback that was very well received, and then I've mostly never heard from their staff again.

All the communications from this organization are geared toward businesses much larger than mine. And their policy advocacy? It is tailor-made for SMEs and larger businesses with zero consideration for the smallest businesses.

Even statistical data for small businesses from the government lumps businesses with 1-99 employees together. This is not a category with common needs. My solo operation is going to be wildly different than one with even five employees, though that operation will probably have little in common with a 99-person business.

What's more, 98% of all Canadian small businesses are that size, which tells me we need some more slicing and dicing of that chunk of data to get a more nuanced picture of the situation and determine the real needs of the different businesses.

All that to say, it's no wonder we're left out. The policies being put forth are being created for a subset of business that "includes" us but doesn't truly see us.

When relief programs are put in place, the Liberals have already made it clear their focus is on large corporations. That's the kind of conservative policy that won't benefit the smallest businesses.

Support your fellow small business owners and workers

This isn't just about shopping local. I don't have much money to spend due to the downturn in my business.

However, there are a lot of free, easy ways you can support small businesses:

• Ask how business is and if there's anything you can do to support them.
• Encourage them to tell you who's a good fit for referrals. Then act on it when and if you can.
• Engage with their social media posts - comments and shares are the best, but you can't go wrong with a simple like.

Just like small businesses need support, we need to stand by labour:

• Find out the full story of why any labour action is happening. And don't accept the corporate media narrative. Go read the news from the union directly (such as CUPW and what they're seeking for postal workers), and start looking for news from local, independent media that empowers journalists who don't shy away from the truth.
• Show your support for striking workers with a quick honk or drop off some refreshments.
• Write to your elected representatives to let them know you support the labour action and want workers to be able to carry out their negotiations without interference.
• If you can, boycott the business where workers are on strike to show your support.
• Don't buy from businesses that bust unions if you can avoid it. And if you're a business owner, don't be one of those businesses.

It's been said over and over for years: Electoral politics aren't going to save us.

However, when we stand in solidarity with one another and align with labour, we will get through this difficult time together and the community we build will help us come out on the other side better off.

Karen