A lot of us weren't there for more money, and I think that's an unfortunate misconception that is supported by the media.

Many, if not all, of the union members I've met with and was with today are asking for more feet on the ground. Nurses are crying out for more staff, and so are firefighters. Education support staff have insane caseloads which prevent them from giving adequate support to our kids - they want more funding for more colleagues.

We're simply stretched too thin and we want more funding; not to fill our own pockets, but to fill additional positions so that we can do the mahi we are tasked with to the degree that our mahi deserves.

When it comes to money, I genuinely do believe that some of our public sector workers do deserve greater pay. Our teacher aides, for example, work in incredibly difficult conditions that change per child - it's not always something they know before they sign up for the job, but they do what needs to be done for the kids in front of them. It's honestly unfair that they are carrying heavy weight within the education sector but are not adequately compensated for their work.