THE ORIGINAL SITUATION:
This group represented a single woman with one small child (a girl), age 2, who had to go to daycare full-time while her mother worked the 39 hours. Both mother and daughter were in good health, but the daughter needed immunization shots before she would be eligible for daycare.
This young woman had no car because she couldn't afford the payment, insurance, and gas on her monthly income, so she had to take public transportation to and from work. Her daughter’s daycare provided a shuttle service that would pick her up no earlier than 7:30 AM and would drop her off no later than 6:00 PM.
She had a high school diploma and one year of college where she was a work-study student in a position that allowed her to gain the skills necessary to do the work required of the new job. She dropped out of college when she found out she was pregnant with her daughter and left where she was living previously to get away from the baby's father. He was of no help with child support, and he was abusive to her while she was pregnant.
She left her boyfriend rather abruptly, so she brought with her only the barest of essentials (some clothes, some toiletries, and a few personal items). She had only $1000 to get heself set up before she got paid for her first month’s work.
She had to begin work within in 2 weeks of arriving in town, so time was essential. She had to figure things out pretty quickly.
This young woman had no car because she couldn't afford the payment, insurance, and gas on her monthly income, so she had to take public transportation to and from work. Her daughter’s daycare provided a shuttle service that would pick her up no earlier than 7:30 AM and would drop her off no later than 6:00 PM.
She had a high school diploma and one year of college where she was a work-study student in a position that allowed her to gain the skills necessary to do the work required of the new job. She dropped out of college when she found out she was pregnant with her daughter and left where she was living previously to get away from the baby's father. He was of no help with child support, and he was abusive to her while she was pregnant.
She left her boyfriend rather abruptly, so she brought with her only the barest of essentials (some clothes, some toiletries, and a few personal items). She had only $1000 to get heself set up before she got paid for her first month’s work.
She had to begin work within in 2 weeks of arriving in town, so time was essential. She had to figure things out pretty quickly.
THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET & NOTES:
- RENT
- UTILITIES
- GROCERIES
- PHONE
- TRANSPORTATION
- CHILDCARE
- HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
- TOTAL
- $431.00
- $110.00
- $FNS Aid
- $45.00
- $68.00
- $117.00
- $50.00
- $821.00
| Group 1 Preliminary Budget & Notes |
LIFE'S CURVEBALL:
The young woman is doing a great job at work, and her boss needs someone he can trust in the office while he is away, so he unexpectedly changed her work schedule.
Her new work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM and Saturday 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
Her daughter’s daycare doesn’t offer care on Saturdays, but she is extremely happy with her daughter's care during the week, sos he deosn't want to give up her spot. However, one of her daugher's teachers has offered to babysit for on Saturdays for $10 an hour. She's checked around, and $10 an hour is reasonable for childcare, espeically given that her daugher knows the teacher and feels comfortable with her. She has no choice, so she takes the teacher up on her offer.
Now the young woman has to spend an additional $120 per month for childcare.
Her new work schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM and Saturday 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
Her daughter’s daycare doesn’t offer care on Saturdays, but she is extremely happy with her daughter's care during the week, sos he deosn't want to give up her spot. However, one of her daugher's teachers has offered to babysit for on Saturdays for $10 an hour. She's checked around, and $10 an hour is reasonable for childcare, espeically given that her daugher knows the teacher and feels comfortable with her. She has no choice, so she takes the teacher up on her offer.
Now the young woman has to spend an additional $120 per month for childcare.
THE REVISED BUDGET & NOTES:
- RENT
- UTILITIES
- GROCERIES
- PHONE
- TRANSPORTATION
- CHILDCARE
- HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
- TOTAL
- $431.00
- $110.00
- $FNS
- $10.00
- $68.00
- $237.00
- $30.00
- $886.00 (Leaving only $54.00 after all bills are paid)
| Group 1 Revised Budget & Notes |
FINAL EVALUATIONS:
Wal-Mart is known for its “flexible scheduling” policy where employees are at the mercy of management for scheduling, and Ehrenreich speaks to this kind of policy in her book when she describes bosses who change schedules abruptly either because they give no thought to the workers themselves or as a means of punishment for insubordination. Ehrenreich, in fact, speaks at length in the “Serving in Florida” chapter of Nickel and Dimed about bosses “wielding power” over employees as a means to better control them. She speculates that this problem is common for many of the low-skilled because they have very little recourse when it comes to demanding fairer treatment.
In its evaluation of the state of minimum wage in our country and the poverty many who live on that wage, this group had to address this issue by commenting on the following statements:
As your experience with this project suggests, changes to a schedule can cause major scheduling and financial problems for the low-skilled worker, yet many accept these changes with little or no argument, sometimes completely revising their lives to accommodate the change (moving to a different location, rearranging child care, sacrificing time with family, etc.). Explain why so many low-skilled workers are willing to accept such injustices so easily.
Their comments follow:
In its evaluation of the state of minimum wage in our country and the poverty many who live on that wage, this group had to address this issue by commenting on the following statements:
As your experience with this project suggests, changes to a schedule can cause major scheduling and financial problems for the low-skilled worker, yet many accept these changes with little or no argument, sometimes completely revising their lives to accommodate the change (moving to a different location, rearranging child care, sacrificing time with family, etc.). Explain why so many low-skilled workers are willing to accept such injustices so easily.
Their comments follow:
The reason why low skilled workers accept so many injustices is because they don’t want to get fired, and they are often at the mercy of bosses who know they can ask low-wage workers to work longer hours, offer them no time off, and make schedule changes without their consent. When low-wage employees are subjected to these kinds of injustices, all they can think about is whether or not they will get fired and be unable to pay bills or provide for their families. Putting up with these injustices is often better than the alternative: being unemployed, hungry, and even homeless.
