nickel and dimed on not getting by in america

I was particularly touched when she gave her living quarters to Gail.

Ehrenreich definitely knew that she was replaceable, but she also wrote about that which is not replaceable: the relationships that she formed with the workers. When they didn’t, I truly felt how replaceable I Was. I felt this same way when I quit Burger King: surely, without me, they would need to close down for a couple of hours or even a day. Pretty soon, like when she worked at Wal-Mart, you feel like the store or place of employment depends on so much that if you were to quit, the store would be chaos without you. I should organize a strike among all fast food workers.” At first, she said, “a strike like that would destroy the economy.” Then, she paused, and said, “Except that everyone who strikes will be replaced in five minutes.” Ehrenreich highlights this aspect of the job. One day, after cleaning an especially disgusting bathroom at Burger King, I said to my shift leader, “I simply do not get paid enough to do THAT. They feel no compulsion to treat their employees with dignity, because if they go, there is always going to be someone new to hire. What was possibly the most fascinating aspect of her book were the details on her encounters with the working class.

With my own experience, I found that she described the work most accurately. She really drew me in with her experiences: as gross as it was, I was right there with her scrubbing disgusting toilets and dealing with horrible bosses and cranky customers. I can only imagine how timely must be for an older metabolism.

Nickel and dimed on not getting by in america