Post by phoebeross on Aug 5, 2011 14:01:21 GMT -5
The hardest part to read of Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed was the touching plight of the maids which Ehrenreich joined. I had always thought being a cleaning lady was a decent job, despite the work, because of the pay. In fact, cleaning ladies easily make above unemployment, and manage their own hours and decisions. However, this industry and livelihood is compromised by companies like The Maids and Merry Maids. When Ehrenreich joins The Maids, she is surprised at the benefits, like free food and "pleasant sort of bustle as people get their breakfasts and fill plastic buckets with rags."
Barbara soon finds the labor process not only to be poor pay(6.45 an hour) and long hours, but also degrading. Mrs. W., the owner of a “big-as house”, demonstrates the class difference Barbara Ehrenreich begins to feel. When she is assigned to clean the kitchen floor, she finds herself, “on my hands and knees practically at her(Mrs. W.) feet.” Ehrenreich continues to speculate wether this is one of the selling points of the cleaning services, the almost servile aspect. The Maids motto, “We clean floors the old-fashioned way-on our hands and knees.” Because of the cleaning supplies limitations, this method is actually less effectively than mopping or swiffering. However, this is the preferred, marketed method. Here is the sick appeal of the class difference, having someone lesser than you to do your bidding. Not only does the mechanic efficiency of large corporations like the maids dehumanize the workers, but can also put them in danger.
Barbara’s story also narrates the ones of her teammates, the people she works with on cleaning houses. These plights of not getting by plague the chapter in Maine. One of them, a teenaged Rosalie, can barely feed herself. The women get a thirty minute lunch break, however this is really just a five minute pit stop. Rosalie eats just a bag of potato chips, unable to afford a more nutritious lunch. More than that, Rosalie has a shoulder injury, yet still has to do the harsh work of cleaning and scrubbing. However, her youth is not the only victim. Most of the maids have some sort of problem, from arthritis to a bum foot, or bad back. While Ehrenreich manages her with painkillers, booze, and cigarettes, other maids do not have the same resources, leaving them without solutions. One of the most ill is Holly, a team leader and very apparently ill woman. Holly, a hard worker, refuses to leave her work but is eventually forced to when the pain becomes too much. Holly is scared of the management, and needs the job. This enforces the harsh reality of what it is like for low wage workers. Through sickness, they have to continue to work because they had no other choice. The future held hope of escape through marriage, promotion, or miracle. Though Barbara had an escape, these other woman had nothing.
Barbara soon finds the labor process not only to be poor pay(6.45 an hour) and long hours, but also degrading. Mrs. W., the owner of a “big-as house”, demonstrates the class difference Barbara Ehrenreich begins to feel. When she is assigned to clean the kitchen floor, she finds herself, “on my hands and knees practically at her(Mrs. W.) feet.” Ehrenreich continues to speculate wether this is one of the selling points of the cleaning services, the almost servile aspect. The Maids motto, “We clean floors the old-fashioned way-on our hands and knees.” Because of the cleaning supplies limitations, this method is actually less effectively than mopping or swiffering. However, this is the preferred, marketed method. Here is the sick appeal of the class difference, having someone lesser than you to do your bidding. Not only does the mechanic efficiency of large corporations like the maids dehumanize the workers, but can also put them in danger.
Barbara’s story also narrates the ones of her teammates, the people she works with on cleaning houses. These plights of not getting by plague the chapter in Maine. One of them, a teenaged Rosalie, can barely feed herself. The women get a thirty minute lunch break, however this is really just a five minute pit stop. Rosalie eats just a bag of potato chips, unable to afford a more nutritious lunch. More than that, Rosalie has a shoulder injury, yet still has to do the harsh work of cleaning and scrubbing. However, her youth is not the only victim. Most of the maids have some sort of problem, from arthritis to a bum foot, or bad back. While Ehrenreich manages her with painkillers, booze, and cigarettes, other maids do not have the same resources, leaving them without solutions. One of the most ill is Holly, a team leader and very apparently ill woman. Holly, a hard worker, refuses to leave her work but is eventually forced to when the pain becomes too much. Holly is scared of the management, and needs the job. This enforces the harsh reality of what it is like for low wage workers. Through sickness, they have to continue to work because they had no other choice. The future held hope of escape through marriage, promotion, or miracle. Though Barbara had an escape, these other woman had nothing.