When I first read Barbara’s proposal to go “undercover,” I figured she would have no problem finding a job, considering her competence and educational background. But what made her story so powerful is that even starting with so many advantages, she still struggled desperately to find a job, and found out that “unskilled” labor actually requires tons of physical labor, not to mention emotional stress. If it was that hard for Barbara, who knew she could go back to her “real” life, imagine how awful it must be for the millions of Americans who are completely stuck. What is really annoying to me is that the people in the lowest wage jobs are doing so much more than their employees, who get to make a lot of money by sitting around and barking orders, and treating people as if they’re scum— not promoting someone because they have an work related injury and can’t perform a certain task? That is really ridiculous. Also, I’m wondering what it takes to get a manager level job at a company like McDonalds. Do you have to work your way up through all the lower level jobs first, or can you just step right in having no personal experience with what it’s actually like to be a waitress or a food “assembler?”
Another thing that was really impacting about Barbara’s story is that it gives a really personal touch to the plight of the working poor. Instead of just giving a bunch of facts and statistics, Barbara’s account of daily life really hits the reader emotionally. How can people be so cruel to others? Why do the managers seem to think they are “above” their employees?
Also, I think this may reveal some of my own prejudices, but I thought that because Barbara was educated and upper class, she wouldn’t have a hard time in her low wage jobs; I was so wrong… I wonder now, why do people assume that low wage work is easy? I’ve heard a lot of people say that those who are poor are poor because they are incompetent or lazy— this makes me really mad, and I think Barbara does an excellent job of showing how ridiculous that notion is. If you can’t get a job without having a residence, and can’t get a residence without proof of employment, no wonder it is so hard for people who are homeless and jobless to change their life and get off the streets. One more note— why is the minimum wage so low?! I don’t understand the logic behind not increasing the minimum wage to a salary on which people can actually live. To have to work two full time jobs just to earn enough to pay for the essentials is ridiculous and cruel. The fact that restaurants can pay even less than minimum wage, having the tips make up the difference is also really bothersome; that seems really deceitful to me. I always thought that when I tipped, it would be additional money, not just enough to give them minimum wage. This entire system is really messed up!
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