Hiding the Poor

In the US we've gotten quite good at keeping the poor out of sight.  Also, disguised.  They are not merely segregated into parts of town we tend not to visit.  These days they wear the Wal-Mart frock, serve us french fries, and clean our hotel rooms.

And we are pretty out of touch about how poor our working poor are.  I recently was talking to some family members about tipping hotel housekeepers.  I had read a book that shocked me by saying that a reasonable tip per night was $2-$3.  All these years, I had been overtipping with $5 tips, assuming that the woman who cleans my tub and toilet deserves at least that.

My son-in-law contested that they actually make a good salary.  I did quite the double-take.  He's a fairly recent college grad making a nice living in computers.  I told him that I was pretty sure these women made salaries not much above minimum wage.  Since this was a friendly, happily inebriated last-day-of-my-visit, we soon went on to other subjects.

Since I've been home, though, I've been mulling this over.  Today, I found some statistics.

Indeed, with the exception of a few states like New York, the wages hover around $20,000.  And I would guess that the big city in those states tip the scale a bit.

So this career path, which involves doing the kind of job that I don't even like to do in my own home, and for hotel guests that are probably often not as neat and considerate as I am, also likely involves not being able to pay one's bills, and not being able to afford extras, like buying a pizza to take home to the kids at the end of a long shift.  I would imagine the benefits do not include sick pay and paid vacation either.

And invisible?  How often do we actually know who is doing this scut work for us?  Unlike a waiter, you can skimp on the housekeeper's tip and never have to look her in the eye.

My point being that this is shameful.  And that maybe the worst thing about this situation is that we are able to not know that it exists.  And this is how we successfully hide our poor.

The Good Employer Award

You've probably heard of some of the awards they give out on the other side.  Our own SC legislators are always getting awards, including pictures all over the local papers and on their websites, for some noble cause or another.  Just last year Tim Scott got the Standing Up for Seniors Award.  Why they even remember to honor the little guy -- Peter McCoy proudly touted his Peas & Carrots Award during his debate for state representative last year.

You and I both know that behind all those fine sounding names lurk groups of fat cats whose real purpose is to continue to push for things like repealing social security and the right to continue to decimate the environment.

But it works.  Voters think Tim Scott is up there at the capitol working hard for seniors, and not just the seniors who run the big corporations.  Here in Charleston, the folks at that debate were impressed that an "environmental group" would give Peter McCoy an award for his work on saving our beautiful lowcountry.

I think we need to recognize -- and I mean loudly, publicly, recognize -- those who truly do fight for us.

A group that comes to mind is made of up the small business owners who are not currently whining about the Affordable Care Act.  There actually are employers who feel strongly about providing a living wage with decent benefits for those who work to make their company grow.  There are employers who understand that, even though these are tough economic times and the cost of just about everything is going up, the place to cut corners is not by hurting the people working for you.

There are employers who respect their employees, and I believe that if you respect your employees, you respect your customers.

And so, I propose that you out there who have the know-how, create some awards, and then give them to those good employers.  Maybe a Good Citizen Award, but with a fancier title.  And then use all your contacts to get those employers' names out to the public, so we can continue the good by giving our business to those that deserve it.

I for one would rather pay a few cents more to Costco, whose management thinks it's important that their employees have health care than to the criminals who run Wal-Mart.  Money talks, and I'm thinking that once the word begins to spread, the Wal-marts will start to see their employees as humans and not just commodities.

Thankful to Have... Fair Pay?

Spurred on by Wal-Mart employees, which I'm sure were energized by the wave begun by the Occupy Movement, employees of fast food restaurants in New York City have begun a protest movement.

Fast Food Forward is the name of the movement in NYC that has organized protests against the big fast food chains.  They are demanding a living wage, better working conditions, and better benefits.

As should we all.

Here in Charleston, library workers get paid little more than minimum wage.  In the right-to-work-cheap state, we know what it is like to have to struggle to be able to afford Wal-Mart and McDonald's prices.

Go to the Fast Food Forward Facebook page and show your support.  We may not have heard a lot from the Occupy Movement these days, but it appears they have sown seeds that will, with all our involvement, lead to a resurgent labor movement, and that will include those of us who were left behind the first time.

Targeting Target

Wal-Mart is not the only big, bad bully trying to kill Thanksgiving.  Target is one of several retailers who just cannot bear the thought of a dollar bill slipping past their grubby little fingers.

Meanwhile, employees will be forced to leave their families on one of the truly family holidays remaining.

So what can you do?  You can boycott.  Stay away on Thursday, and prove your compassion by staying away on Friday too.  When you do your holiday shopping, shop small.  There's been a lot of hot air about our reverence for small businesses, but until we actually walk into our local stores and pay a little more to support local merchants (and their employees), it is just talk.

Here's something you can do right now.  Sign the petition started by Target employees at:

http://www.change.org/petitions/target-take-the-high-road-and-save-thanksgiving#

Thankful for Wal-Mart?

I think not.

Whenever you think Wal-Mart has squeezed every possible drop of blood out of its employees, it twists the screw just a bit tighter.

The news this year is that Wal-Mart (and other jackasses) will be opening on Thanksgiving night so that you folks can take advantage of their great deals, while stomping on other bargain-hunters in the process.

Now, having been on the "customer service" side of the counter up to very recently, I have made it a policy not to ever shop on Sundays and holidays (like Memorial Day and Labor Day), and never, ever shop at Wal-Mart.  You may say, "But gee, they are providing jobs for people."  When you don't shop, you are depriving people like yourself the opportunity to earn a living.  Thanks, Wal-Mart PR Department, but I beg to disagree.

That bag of chips and bottle of soda?  You could have bought it on a day that would not have required someone who is not even making a living wage to leave their families on a Sunday or holiday.

And those great bargains you are going to pick up on Thanksgiving mean that Wal-Mart "associates" will have to leave the meal, the football game, or even just the post-turkey nap, to make sure you get your Christmas bargains just that much earlier.

You know what?  If they were giving away five big-screen TV's for $5 apiece, it's really not worth what you have given up, and forced others to give up, to be one of those five.

I'm talking morals, not dollars and sense.  I understand that that is a foreign concept here in the US of Assets.  But think about it.  Will you really be glad on Christmas day that you grabbed that Blu-Ray player out of that guy's hands so you could save $25 bucks?

You will?

Then I have one more question.  Why on earth are you reading this blog?  Shouldn't you be checking out Fox News?

And for the rest of my readers, consider boycotting and ending this nonsense.