30/08/2025
Hey, fellow workers.
Some of you may already know this, but my spouse is a PhD student. She does that while also working. What you may not know is that her work for the last 4 years has been short-term contract after short-term contract, sometimes multiple contracts all at once.
Well, her latest contract came to an end this past June. Luckily, she has a new contract starting up next week.
But for the last two months, we have had to make ends meet without her income, which was nearly $3000 a month. And her new paycheque really will not kick in until the end of next month, although we got a bit of it today.
That means, we will have lost out on over $7000 in July and August and the first few weeks of September.
It also means that we have had to live off my income during this time, which is a little over $2000 a month. And it has not helped that my journalism income has basically dropped in half over the last 4 years.
I have tried so hard to get a job working for someone else for the past couple of years, but nothing has worked. I have applied for dozens of jobs—maybe even over 100—but I have never had even one interview. In fact, I never hear anything back. Not even a “thank you for your application”. Nothing. And for some of them, I even personally knew the people who were hiring.
Despite all this, we managed to survive July and August, but September is another story. There is a slim chance we will make it through the first week of September, but definitely no chance we can make through the entire month in our current situation.
Which is where you come in.
If you value my journalism, please consider becoming a paid supporter.
I strongly believe in making my journalism as accessible as possible. Unfortunately, no annoying ads, no persistent paywalls, no government grants, and no billionaire backing means I get less money.
It also means that I rely heavily on my readers to support my work. And hundreds of you have given more than $130,000 over years. A handful have been supporting my work for almost 6 years, before I was even doing this full time.
I know times are tough for a lot of people right now, but if you can support The Alberta Worker, please become a paid subscriber (monthly or yearly) or send a one-time payment.
Of course, I welcome support from individual readers, but support from the unions and labour organizations who benefit from the work I do would also be greatly appreciated.
Just visit albertaworker.ca/support and choose your preferred method of support.
Before I started working as a journalist full-time in March 2020, I was running a marketing outfit called Hot Pepper Communications, which specialized in writing, editing, and social media management. If you or your employer needs writing or editing work done or need someone to manage your social media accounts for you, I can do that, too. I still have a couple of HPC clients.
Visit hotpepper.ca for more information.
Another way I have tried to increase my income is through Rainbow House Cookies, where I sell fresh homemade baked goods (made to order), such as breads, cookies, and brownies. In fact, I catered a wedding this past spring.
That has brought in less than $1000 over the last 2 years, but if you are in the Lethbridge area and want to buy baked goods instead of making them yourself, let me know at RHC.
For those of you are struggling to make ends meet, too, you can help by engaging in my posts. A like is nice, but my posts could use a lot more comments and shares, especially my news stories. Comments and shares are the best way for content to get more views. The more views my news stories get on here, the more people visit my website, which means potentially more people becoming paid supporters, so I can continue providing the labour news that you have come to depend on.
Thank you for the support you have all provided in the past, all the support you provide now, and I hope your lives are blessed with prosperity and good fortune, for your sakes and for mine.
Solidarity.
