30 Days - Minimum Wage

[dalthauser]

30 Days Season 1 Episode 1
This is about 45 minutes. but if you missed it on FX it's worth watching.  After seeing this I felt less bad about my own situation and very mad that we live in a country that is structured to make it so damn difficult on some of our society.

Comments

[cfchica.livejournal.com]

I presently work three part-time jobs to stay afloat: Office clerk, pet-sitter, and grocery courtesy clerk. I lost my full-time job last year when my boss decided to hire her sister instead. I almost lost everything, and am still recovering financially. I have no health benefits. I'm back in school finishing my degree.

My area has lots of opportunity, but only for a limited few with investors who want to bankroll a small business.

You are right about companies becoming a lot like sweatshops; they like to motivate others through fear and intimidation. In a lot of ways, office folk are no less exploited than some of the immigrant workers who sew our clothes and grow our vegetables. It's a very sad state of affairs, and the level of corporate greed at the expense of the workers is appalling.

Sorry...got a little ranty. What line of work are you in?
Definitely check out Bait and Switch...in fact, I may still have my copy..need to look for it...it's about exploitation at the white collar level.

[eats-veggies.livejournal.com]

It's funny how things come full circle. I expect to see unions rising again soon. I was never anti-union even when unions were out of style. I worked for Hilton in the 80's and was in the union. They made sure we had decent benefits and pay. I just don't get why we can't all just treat each other fairly without someone forcing us to (ie unions, laws, social taboos, etc.) :-)

[cfchica.livejournal.com]

Agreed 100%. It seems as though civility on the part of employers has to be legislated or it will never happen. Fortunately, job #3 is unionized so I do have some protection. I picketed on behalf of that union (UFCW) during the statewide grocer's strike in 2004. I knew what those workers were fighting to hold onto, so I wanted to support them. I am now working alongside them. =)

I'm working on an essay, "Dear Customer" that I hope to post soon. I will link to it when it's done. I live in an area that has been overrun with New Money and the sense of entitlement that goes with it. Scary.

[eats-veggies.livejournal.com]

I'd like to read it.

[cfchica.livejournal.com]

Cool! It's almost finished. Here is the link: http://grocerygirl8-paperorplastic.blogspot.com/

It should be up by tonight. Polishing it as we speak. =)

[eats-veggies.livejournal.com]

Yay - excellent. Are you Chubby Vegan girl? I love that Tooner Noodle recipe!

[cfchica.livejournal.com]

Nope, but she is a friend of mine! =) If I had the energy to cook, I would be using all of her reciepes...she's amazing. She also has a podcast called "I Did Science On It." Discovered iTunes/bought an iPod a year ago, and have been in heaven ever since.

[cfchica.livejournal.com]

The post is up! *dances* Happy reading! =)

[eats-veggies.livejournal.com]

Ha - just recently discovered podcasts and bought an Ipod Thursday as a result. It should be here on July 11th. I'll have to see if I can find that podcast.

I liked the post - very true. Another thing I think customers should refrain from doing is putting something in their cart then dropping it off in another part of the store because they decide not to get it afterall (especially if it's a refrigerated item.

[cfchica.livejournal.com]

That happens all the time...by the time we find the item, it's too late to return it back to the cold section. The store takes the loss on that item. The courtesy clerks are responsible for doing "go backs": re-shelving misplaced items. Many people tend to "graze" while shopping..they'll eat something, and then discard the wrapper. Fortunately, that's harder to do with our new video system.

Here is the link to Chubby Vegan Girl's podcast:
http://blog.ididscienceonit.net/
=)