LiterariLeigh

Literarileigh just had a nice vacation. Now I'm back at the library and ready for action. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and think "Gosh I'm tired. But I'll have a nice cup of coffee and take a shower and head off work for eight hours." Is this a hard life or what?

The answer is NO, it's not that hard. I recently read the book Working in the Shadows: A Year of Doing the Jobs Most Americans Won't Do by Gabriel Thompson. Thompson talks about three jobs he takes over a year long period - harvesting lettuce, night shift at a chicken factory, and bicycle delivery boy for a restaurant in New York City. At each job he talks to the other employees who are mostly undocumented workers and getting paid on average $8.00/hour. They have no benefits, no sick time, no vacation. They work 10 hours a day or longer, often 6 days a week. Many work two or three jobs, or have a full time night job and spend their days caring for their children. They perform repetitive motions and monotonous line work - lift, carry, bend, repeat. Thompson is actually turned down by several employers, or offered a higher paying, easier position because as a middle class white man, no one believes he would choose to do this kind of work. Always respectful of his fellow workers and filled with both sympathy and admiration, Thompson brings the world of these hard working people to life. A must read for anyone who liked Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich.