The Awful Truth about the Movers and Shakers and those they Move Aside and Shakedown

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	• Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Barbara Ehrenreich Holt Paperbacks, 2002 - 240 pages average customer review:based on 1080 reviews view larger image
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An Important Read

For anyone who did not have to struggle through a minimum wage job as an adult, this book is for you. Way too many Americans think people can survive on minimum wage. This will humble that opinion and identify your misconceptions.

Absolutely honest and real

As I read this book, I found myself nodding my head repeatedly. Barbara Ehrenreich's words are true. I know because I LIVED THEM. Her experiences were my own over the past five years when I found myself unable to continue the professional career I had chosen and moved to a new city to start over. Big mistake. Although interviewers were thrilled to hear that I had a college degree, I couldn't find a job that would pay me more than $9.00 an hour--and don't think I didn't try.

Basically, I thought it wouldn't be too bad, because like she says repeatedly, poor people find a way to get by, don't they? I must also admit that I had a bit of snobbishness going in, thinking that with my skills I would rise to a manager's rank in no time. Boy, was I mistaken. I wound up working next to people who had worked in the same jobs for five years before they got a promotion (and whose wage was within a dollar of where it had been when they started). I also found that there was a sort of layer of management, that a promotion may only be in name only, like shift manager, but that those are the first jobs cut in lean times because that pay rate is slightly higher than others.

I too learned from my coworkers not to work too hard, not just because management will expect more from me but that they'll expect more from everybody; that good behavior is so rarely rewarded; and that employers will outright put your health in jeapordy without a thought to consequences. Insisting on something like a breathing mask when working with noxious fumes or kneepads when doing lots of floorwork will label you a troublemaker and an outcast.

Most surprising of all, however--and something BE does not discover--is that people quit these jobs because THERE ARE A MILLION OTHER JOBS OUT THERE THAT WILL DO THE SAME THING. That was probably the biggest surprise. There is no reason to stay at one job when another will give you the same money and treat you just as badly. These are not employers who care about resumes and work history (indeed, resumes are considered superfluous and if you bring one, it will be shifted off to the side in favor of applications which often say DO NOT WRITE SEE RESUME). In fact, sometimes it works better for people to shift from job to job as life circumstances change. A woman might quit her day shift at CVS in favor of the graveyard shift at the supermarket during the summer while her kids are out of school because the babysitting arrangements work better, then at summer's end go to work for Arby's during the day again. Of course, that only happens with the flexibility of transportation. If you are counting on public transit or someone else to give you a ride, there's little recourse but to make do with what you've got.

While a few of Ehrenreich's conclusions seem farfetched--I did the pee test several times and think it's wise, especially for those who use machinery, handle kitchen knives, and are driving company vehicles--she hit the nail on the head when she explained that companies OWN their employees for the time that they're there. Things like scheduled breaks, limits on conversation even if the work is getting done, and video orientations are demeaning and dehumanizing. And that doesn't even mention things like hour cuts or schedule changes. Imagine what it's like to travel an hour by bus to find out that your schedule was changed, and that you're now working TOMORROW--even though the bus fare you just used and the fare to get back is the last money you have until your paycheck comes in four days. That happened to me twice--I borrowed money from my boss to manage it.

The wage itself is a problem. I was okay on the basics, but only bought two pairs of shoes each year (about $25.00 each) and bought discount everything--soap, shampoo, toothpaste. You don't really know it until you're there, but a little piece of you cries inside when you have to say no to a pack of gum or a cup of diner coffee because all the money you have is exactly enough to pay the gas bill.

I won't get into great detail about my housing situations, except to say that I ended up staying in an abusive relationship for a while because I had nowhere to go, then lived with a guy who spent four months on the Internet after he lost his job because his name was on the lease too and I couldn't take him off without his permission. Are there ways around these situations? Sure...and in fact lived in a shelter for a little while. However, in the first situation I was obligated to three months of the rent, and in the second could not afford court fees to evict him, which is what my building manager said I would have to do. When I was insensitive enough to mention offhandedly to other women at the shelter that I didn't really want to live in substandard housing, they all gave me a look of stiff disbelief and resentment. Substandard housing was a way of life for them, even WITH abusive spouses. So housing is absolutely is a concern, especially where there are children involved.

At any rate, this is a book to buy that conservative you love dearly and wish would understand how the rest of the world lives. Take it from me--it's the God's honest truth.

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Thank you

I got it in time for class, actually ahead of time. Fast delivery, great price, item was exact.

The Awful Truth about the Movers and Shakers and those they Move Aside and Shakedown

At times I could not put NICKEL AND DIMED down. Although Barbara Ehrenreich has a sense of humor (and anger), she can't hide the sadness she witnesses. I am certainly going to look upon waitresses, maids, and hotel and house cleaners differently from now on--they'll get that tip or the full 20 percent, even if the service is not great (because I know why).

Here are some examples of her graphic and to-the-point style:

"Let's talk about s..t, for example. It happens, as the bumper sticker says, and it happens to a cleaning person every day. The first time I ecountered the s..t-stained toilet as a maid, I was shocked by the sense of unwanted intimacy. A few hours ago, some well-fed [...] was straining away on this toilet seat, and now here I am wiping up after it. ... I should explain that there are three kinds of s..t stains. There are remnants of landslides running down the inside.... (p. 92).

"...A coworker once advised me that, although I had a lot to learn, it was also important not to 'know too much,' or at least never reveal one's full abilities to management, because 'the more they think you can do, the more they'll use you and abuse you.' (p. 195)

"When someone works for less pay than she can live on--when, for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently--then she has made a great sacrifice for you, she has made you a gift of some part of her abilities, her health, and her life. The 'working poor,' as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect. ... To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor, to everyone else." (p. 221)

The only negative I found in NICKEL AND DIMED is Ehrenreich's short ranting (or so it seemed) against unionizing big powerful merchants which pay dirt-poor wages. Yep, to join you have to pay dues, but "united" members can get more of the benefits and pay they deserve than a person alone can. Just imagine shutting down such a national or international chain so the workers can be paid more than $6.00 to $7.00 an hour, and have to work two or three jobs to just get by!

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Good read

I had to read this book for class and i must say it was a good read. extremely easy to read and equally funny.

reviews: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, page 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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