[FRIAM] ethical dilemma

[Marcus Daniels]

Unemployment benefits are only a disincentive to work if the work available sucks.   If one does harm to colleagues or  employer, and they represent a valuable relationship, then it is just a bad call.   If it isn’t a valuable relationship, then take the time and regroup to find a safe place to work.  A few hundred dollars a week is not a huge incentive or disincentive in the context of damaging a professional reputation, but if the job has a good chance of risking death, then it is different.

From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> On Behalf Of Prof David West
Sent: Friday, February 5, 2021 9:10 AM
To: friam at redfish.com
Subject: Re: [FRIAM] ethical dilemma

One should be precise when asking a question, and I find I was not.

The first ethical dilemma is that I would have to knowingly lie about my "fear" of contracting COVID at work. I know I am at greater risk but that has not and likely will not translate into "fear."

The second ethical dilemma arises from the fact that I would be, almost, literally irreplaceable — unemployment benefits are a huge disincentive to workiong. So those I left behind will suffer some serious negative impacts, assuming my hours and increasing their own exposure to disease. Ethics of loyalty, friendship, compassion for others????

A third issue: if I inspired even one other colleague to follow my example, the store likely would have to close with negative impacts on the community as well as the other employees.

One might make a case that the only ethical thing for me to do would be to leave and take as many as my colleagues with me in hopes that the Canadian company that owns the story would raise their wages scale to $15+ an hour. This would harm nothing except their corporate profits and would benefit both the community and all the employees. Unlikely to happen, but the ethical argument could be made.

PS Nick: yes, I would be lonely, but that is a pandemic condition during the pandemic.

PPS poets: Richard Gabriel, Ph.D. Computer Science, MFA Poetry, creator of a poetry writing AI — told me that Haiku cannot be written in English, or any non-ideographic language, because meter provides only syntax, and misses the semantic point.

davew


On Fri, Feb 5, 2021, at 9:03 AM, thompnickson2 at gmail.com<mailto:thompnickson2 at gmail.com> wrote:

Dave,



Wouldn’t you be lonely?



N



Nick Thompson

ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com<mailto:ThompNickSon2 at gmail.com>

https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/


From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com<mailto:friam-bounces at redfish.com>> On Behalf Of Prof David West
Sent: Thursday, February 4, 2021 9:15 PM
To: friam at redfish.com<mailto:friam at redfish.com>
Subject: [FRIAM] ethical dilemma



Biden's COVID relief bill includes $400/week unemployment benefits until September.



Normally, if you voluntarily quit a job, you are not eligible for unemployment benefits. However, a person can qualify for these benefits if they quit because they "fear' contracting COVID at their job.



I know that my job has an enhanced risk for contracting COVID.



So should I quit and earn 400/wk for the next six months — tax free.



Or continue earning 300/week that is taxed.



No one but myself would ever know if I "feared" contracting COVID at that job



davew
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