Here's to another great April of writing poems!
I can't pass up writing without mentioning that 160 countries celebrate May Day as global Labor Day or International Labor Day. The US is one of the few exceptions, where we have Labor Day on the first Monday of September.
I work in supply chain as my day job, and my suppliers in Malaysia, India, China, Thailand, and Mexico are off today, leaving me some time in the evening to write poems. I often think about how little people understand supply chain. What they wear, eat, use, sleep in, etc. each component of a component of a component is often supplied by somewhere other than here. This chain is functional and dysfunctional, requiring workers like myself and my counterparts in 5 different time zones, to come together and meet to figure out how to deliver those components of a component of a component.
I live in many different time zones. My phone homepage looks like this:
I always know when China is awake, and when they're sleeping. I know when India is awake, and when they're sleeping. I know their national holidays because I know I won't get any parts from them during Diwali or Lunar New Year or Ramadan. I know what risks there are in each supplier, in each location. Geopolitically, logistically, etc.
I know a lot of things. But I know that there is only so much time left until this is no longer sustainable. I say this in a 'save the Earth' sense, but also people cannot work 24/7. I had to host a call with people from four very different time zones: Europe, the US, India, and China. In this kind of situation, someone is in a meeting at 3 am their time. Someone is sacrificing their sleep for the gadget you just bought on Amazon, IKEA, Target, Costco, Walmart.....
We are burned out.
And I could keep justifying, saying I help build lifesaving medical devices. Which is true. Ultrasounds can help diagnose people and save their lives. But what about all of the things that are not necessary? What about this laptop I'm typing on, or my cell phone, or the IKEA table and chair set, or the glue stick for your kid's art project? Wide rule notebooks, quartz countertops, roof tiles? Your car's hub caps? Your kitchen faucet?
Today is International Labor Day. I write this in solidarity with all the people who I work with every single day across the globe. We deserve better. We deserve a world where we do not have to be burned out until we have nothing left to give.
Poetry keeps me sane, but it doesn't take away the stress and the loss of sleep from my day job. I ask anyone who isn't familiar with the supply chain to observe, ask questions, and push back. Don't just demand supply chain visibility, also be aware of what you purchase and if you need it. Because if it isn't something sourced locally, then it has been touched by many different people and different countries. Like me, these people have lost sleep and years of their life to deliver it into your hands.
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