This year, the comedy Superstore once again canvassed a bunch of labour-related issues. At the end of the fourth season, Cloud9 was being unionized and the corporate offices collaborated with ICE to raid the store for undocumented workers and, thereby putting a chill the organizing drive.
The fifth season opened with the introduction of a cleaning robot, which raised (ultimately unfounded) fears about job loss due to automation. The employer also introduces a game-based app that allows the corporation to track the location of its workers.
The use of ICE to intimidate the union drive forms the basis for getting an undocumented worker out of jail. The worker then gets re-hired but, when his new employer finds out about his status, the worker is blackmailed into doing a bunch of extra work. Some of the workers use a gig-economy app to subcontract out some of their work to a very vulnerable worker.
The store’s union drive is successful. Bargaining goes well, but only because the store has been secretly sold and the agreement becomes null and void. The key organizer then becomes involved with the Raise the Wage movement.
An employee with a mental health issue returns to the store and stalks another employer. She is suspended. Upon return, no one wants to work with her. She’s eventually injured by the cleaning machine and rushed to the hospital.
For a light-weight comedy, Superstore does a reasonable job of staying topical and addressing real world dynamics in workplaces.
-- Bob Barnetson
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