Nickled and Dimed... I dunno
"Reading away in Margaritaville" may sound a bit boring, but indeed that's what Ms. Underpants has been up to. Ok, it's in the sun, and allegedly there was a beer or three involved, but you understand. Back to the book.
In the words of Lisa Simpson, "Meh." In the words of the late, great, now Hall of Famer Ron Santo, "Swing and a miss." It felt a little like mid-life crisis version of Paris and Nicole's "Simple Life."
N&D was written from the perspective of someone who had not truly lived "that life" at any time in her "real life." I have - and I bet a lot of you have, too. Further, in 2011 low wage jobs - any damn jobs - are harder to find.
Like many of you, I've waited tables, walked dogs, washed dishes, answered phones, worked as a line cook, stocked shelves at K-mart (aka "Kame-apart) tended bar, made beds, played Pharmacy Technician, checked people in at hotels, and a lot of other jobs I'm probably repressing :-) I was a student, a single college grad, a newly-married 20-something and an in-between jobs 30-something.
Like you, too, I've had good supervisors, supervisors who would give "He-who-must-not-be-named" a run for the great evil, and some truly amazing ones. I've worked with normal folks, druggies, boozers, on-the-lammers, un-documenteds, PhD's and everything in between.
On the flip side, but for my "substantial" experience in HR, a certain national pharmacy chain that's not Walgreens, (yeah, the other one you know...) would have continued to break the law by refusing breaks, insisting employees work off the clock, adjusting time sheets, and failing to pay for new hire training and orientation. "Mistakes" and "Losing Paperwork" my ASS - it was willful and they knew it. That's a whole 'nother story.' But back to the book...
Here's where the author is right:
- Wages are ridiculously low and are in comparison worse than at other times
- Anti-Union corporate-speak is worse now
- Willful disregard for fair labor practices, breaks, lunches, working "off the clock," "lost" overtime, and 'time theft' are shameful.
- The pre-employment drug testing is a burden to people - not just an invasion of privacy but often takes much needed resources (gas money!) away from employees and often takes an hour or more
- Requiring an employee uniform to be paid for out of personal funds stinks as does taking a uniform and equipment out of a check without disclosing dollar amounts of these items before hand
- Withholding an employee's first check is most often illegal
- Lack of employee benefits - especially health benefits - is reprehensible
- New Employee Orientation can reach the sublimely silly and pointless
- Companies who "lose" employee benefits applications...not that uncommon
- Rent for the working poor - and working middle-class is scarce at best
- Many "extended stay" unbranded hotels exploit people - the Health Department isn't doing a good job condemning these places
- Public assistance groups do NOT do a good job of keeping "hours" that actually benefit the working poor.
- Worrying about bills and money poisons your soul
Here are some things I wonder about: Why Key West? Why Minneapolis? Why rent a car vs. taking public transportation? Why drag around a laptop and not use it to your advantage? Perhaps she wanted to prove that for many, on-line access daily is not in their reality. Why no mention of a cell phone/cell phone bill?
I did giggle a bit at her "blissfully unaware" status - her lack of knowledge that those of us who have lived "hand to mouth" know. Her upwardly mobile underpants were showing...a lot. Hey Barb!
1) Discount grocery stores - aka Aldi; the "day old" rack at supermarkets
2) Rent a room in a house with room mates
3) Goodwill/Second Hand shops
4) Use public transportation
5) If you don't have a fridge - buy a cooler for 99 cents and get ice!
6) Whether its Menards or Wal-Mart or the corner diner, you have to ask a lot of questions about hours and wages.
7) Set schedule? Who are you kidding! Shameful on the part of employers, but a sad, true reality that often prevents folks from getting a 2nd or 3rd job...
8) Two words: Crock Pot!
Here's what I didn't like. Rarely did she consider herself just "one of the team" - she tried to play savior, detached observer or one-week Wal-mart militant. Why on earth did she look down on having a beer with people after work? If you want to walk in those shoes, sister, walk. In writing about her coworkers, the tone was at times disturbing and demeaning. Perhaps really interacting with people after work would have given her more insight and would have made her view co-workers as each having a story as unique as her own.
Further, Ms. Barbara was one phone call or "walk out" away from her own life and she knew it. She had a cash reserve and a credit card that wasn't "maxed out." Few if any of the "working poor" have those. To truly "immerse" - get rid of those things and attempt to walk the wire without a net like "real people" are forced to.
Perhaps N&D is an "eye-opener" for people who have only fond memories of "entry level jobs" when they were young or for those who have lived a charmed existence. For many of us who actually lived that life - or are living it now - her book felt more like "Undercover Boss" or a botched sociology experiment. As my mother in law would say, "Bless her heart, she tried."
Ms. Underpants isn't that nice. I would say bless the real working poor. Maybe it is time they got mad and stood up for themselves. Maybe it is time for those of us who remember what it was like to work a double and get stiffed on a $50 check, to stand up on their behalf. We understand because we remember what it was like to be just too damn tired to care.
Some would assert this is what "Occupy" is about. My cynical self is starting to believe "Occupy" has turned into everyone's everything. It is the "Mirror of Erised" - where we all see what we want to see most in it.
I'm more of a "direct action" cynic. Let's DO something other than camp out and march. Let's help organize the unions; let's call out cheap ass employers. We can volunteer at a food pantry or a charity - and insist they establish hours that actually serve the people.
Before you get all riled up, please know that overall, I do support "Occupy." That being said, I want the "bad guys" to be put on notice with specific demands. Further, if demonstrators employ the tactics of a "general strike" with our ports, then perhaps demonstrators could employ additional tactics of a general strike and make some demands.
The poor, the working poor, the homeless are waiting for your voice - it's the only one they have right now, save a few good people in the public and private sectors...and that former junior Senator from the State of Illinois who seems to be advocating for them quite a bit, too. He knows a thing or two about being poor, and about the plight of the working poor. Don't ever doubt HIS commitment to ensure Change positively affects everyone.
So, despite Newt's admonition to take a bath and get a job, it's time employers were cleansed from their anti-employee, anti-fairness, anti-union, anti-compassionate policies and walked a mile in employees' shoes. Get a job indeed.
Hey Newt - you first - Mop up - Aisle 9 - and make sure you're not on the clock, Mister.
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