Life of the Low Waged
How does an individual live on a wage of six to eight dollars an hour? Can this actually be done? Barbara Enrenreich, author and journalist, was determined to find answers to these very questions. Her mission was to attain a low waged job or jobs, and pay rent for housing at the end of the month. Enrenreich acquired employment as a waitress, a maid, a dietary aid, a hotel cleaner, and a Wal-Mart employee. She lived in dingy apartments, motels, and trailers. In the end, she was never able to successfully pay the rent. "...[N]o job, no mater how lowly, is truly 'unskilled,'" states Enrenreich in her evaluation. These jobs call for indelibly physical and metal labor. Low-wage jobs demand low-skilled duties. In Key West, Florida, Enrenreich worked as a waitress. She was on her feet every minute of her shift. There were too many tables assigned to each waitress. If there weren't too many customers, she would often have the entire restaurant to herself. If she was not waiting on tables, she was in the back cleaning or preparing utensils for the customers. The manager always made sure every employee was doing something, anything. When the manager observes an employee just sitting around or talking to another employer, he
and still be able to buy groceries the next day. They undergo mental manipulation and authoritarian management. There is always someone to replace an employee if the manager is not happy with their performance. The first thing to consider is that the intention of this research project was to show that people couldn't live on low-wage employed salaries. They failed to warn or protect employers from bacterial occurrences that often lead to infection and disease. If there is an injury, the worker must often "work through it. Low-wage jobs have their employers do everything they can with the least expensive method. If they cannot afford a place that had a stove, they will not get it. This is the reality of the lives of low-waged workers; this is what Enrenreich wanted to share with the world.
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