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}Persuaded by a colleague to go “undercover” as a low wage worker, Barbara Ehrenreich, author of 21 books, discovers what it truly takes to survive on minimum wage. The award-winning columnist and essayist finds that even those who work full time can not escape poverty. Ehrenreich tells her story of her experience in Florida, Maine, and Minnesota working as a waitress, maid, nursing home aide, and a sales associate at Wal-Mart. She opens the eyes of Americans to the problem that the truly poor face every day.

Nickel and Dimed: May 13, 2011. Journal 4

This section begins when the author continues searching for affordable housing and a possible second job for the weekends.  She gets some responses, but like earlier in the book, nothing works out in her favor.  She eventually moves into the Comfort Inn where she hopes to move out of after a couple of nights.  When the author is working in the lady’s department at Wal-Mart she notices the moms that come through with their children in the carts.  She becomes aware that these are the same moms who have to pick up after their kids who leave things laying all over at home.  Now the roles are reversed.  When moms come to shop at Wal-Mart, they are the ones who can pull things off the rack and leave them lying wherever.  Later in this section, while working at Wal-Mart, Ehrenreich starts to wonder “why anyone puts up with the wages they’re paid” (178).  She realizes that so many of the people working at Wal-Mart truly are poor and doing everything they can to make a living.  It’s not long after that that she begins the initial planning for starting a union.  She feels strongly about this so that the Wal-Mart employees might someday have better working conditions. 

As a group, we all agreed that the evaluation was very useful.  It had very helpful statistics that put things into perspective.  We thought that it was important to include how much the wages have increased in the evaluation.  We all felt that minimum wage hasn’t increased enough to compensate for the increases in our daily necessities, the biggest being gasoline. 

We felt it was interesting that companies will easily give their employees “free” meals, discounts, or special treats, but at the same time, they have a hard time giving their employees a raise.  It seems that they will do whatever it takes to avoid paying higher wages because they can’t be taken away unlike some of these perks.  One of our group members can directly relate to this.  She and her co-workers were given free lunches as a perk instead of getting a raise.  Now their free lunches have been taken away.

Our group ran across a book that is very similar to Nickel and Dimed.  Scratch Beginnings, written by Adam Shepard, tells of his experience attempting to live on minimum wage.  Nickel and Dimed was his inspiration for his book so readers interested in Ehrenreich’s book may enjoy Shepard’s as well.  Another similar experience is Morgan Spurlock’s making of 30 Days.  He and his fiancé attempt to live on minimum wage for 30 Days.  They end up getting in several arguments and deal with many misfortunes.  Similar to Ehrenreich in Nickel and Dimed, Spurlock and his fiancé struggle to succeed living on minimum wage. 
For more information on Scratch Beginnings and 30 Days, check out the links below.
http://www.scratchbeginnings.com/
http://www.bargaineering.com/articles/morgan-spurlocks-30-days-living-on-minimum-wage.html

10 Additional Sources on Poverty & Minimum Wage

Works Cited

“About Poverty.” Poverty. U.S. Census Bureau, 16 Sept. 2010. Web. 13 May 2011. The U.S. Census Bureau demonstrates how they measure poverty.  There are several statistics to show increases in the number of people in poverty.

Hough, Andy. “How to Get Ahead on Minimum Wage.” Money. U.S.News & World Report LP, 25 June 2010. Web. 13 May 2011. This article considers what it takes to live on minimum wage.  They specifically discuss how to cut back on housing, transportation, food, and entertainment.  In the end this article suggests that getting by and even getting ahead while living on minimum wage can be done.

“Living Wage Calculation for Wisconsin.” http://www.livingwage.geog.psu.edu/‌states/‌55. The Pennsylvania State University, 2011. Web. 6 May 2011. This website calculates both the living wages for a certain county and the poverty levels in the county.  It looks at separate expenses like food, childcare and housing.  It also looks at typical hourly wages for various jobs.

“Minimum Wage.”  30 Days. FX. 15 June 2005. Television. This video is the story of Morgan Spurlock’s journey through living on minimum wage.  Him and his girl friend decided to try this experiment to see if it was possible to support themselves while only earning minimum wages.

“Minimum Wage Laws in the States - January 1, 2011.” United States Department of Labor. Division of Communications Wage and Hour Division, 2011. Web. 13 May 2011. The United States Department of Labor has an incredible amount of information on labor and wages.  This specific page has the minimum wages for each state, and includes a map of the U.S. to illustrate which states pay higher, lower, or the same as the Federal minimum wages, and which states do not have a minimum wage law.

Pete. “Overcoming Poverty Consciousness.” My Financial Awareness. My Financial Awareness, L.L.C., 2008. Web. 9 May 2011. This website is about defining poverty and how it happens. It gives advice how how it can be prevented and overcome.  It is very informative for those that are in this kind of situation.

“Poverty in the United States-FAQ.” National Poverty Center. University of Michigan, 2006. Web. 9 May 2011. This website addresses some common questions regarding poverty in the United States.  It discusses how the U.S. measures poverty, how many people are born into poverty, how poverty changes over time and how poverty is different throughout the country, among other topics.

Shepard, Adam. Scratch Beginnings. N.p.: Harper Paperbacks, 2010. Print. This book is about Adam Shepard’s journey to start with nothing and make a life of himself on low wages.  He was inspired by “Nickel and Dimed” by Barbara Ehrenreich to write this book.  If you were intrigued by Ehrenreich’s story, this would be a great read for you.

“The Story of Stuff.” The Story of Stuff Project. Creative Commons, 2011. Web. 13 May 2011. The Story of Stuff Project addresses environmental, social, and economic concerns.  The Story of Stuff Project includes a book, videos, and a website with additional sources and an ongoing blog.

Walmart Workers Speak Out About Abusive Working Conditions. YouTube. N.p., 27 Feb. 2011. Web. 13 May 2011. This YouTube video hears from two former Wal-Mart employees.  They are both very much opposed to opening Wal-Mart stores throughout New York City because of the awful working conditions.

Discusion Leader. Section 8. Pages 199-221. Alex Webster

According to Ehrenreich the poverty system needs to be overhauled. If it were up to you how would you determine what the poverty level would be?

a.    I would actually have numbers compiled for what is needed to live at the bare minimum of human decency. Anything under that would be poverty. This is a better way than 3 times the cost of food. This is an outdated method. Food has actually gone down, while rent has gone way up.

The author brings up the topic that employers will often give perks over wage increases. Have you ever had a job that employed that same strategy?

b.    Yes, my job pays very low, but I get a 5% discount for me and my family. This is there way of trying to give a perk. But if they want to they could take it away. They know that it will cost much less than if they were to give people raises.

Ehrenrecich brings up the issue of wage secrets. Have you ever experienced how people refuse to discuss wages?

c.    Yes, when I was first hired at my job, my mother told me not to tell anyone how much I was making. It was none of their business and it could get me in trouble. But eventually I found out what people were making. When I came to Eau Claire I found out that people were all making more than me for the same job.

The author discusses how mangers believe without them the workplace would halt to a stop. Do you agree with her claim that managers are not as useful as they think?

d.    Yes I believe that mangers rarely get me to work any harder. I think that there seem to be many bosses. Some are useful but there doesn’t need to be as many as there are. The more managers there are the less that actually gets done. Managers are paid to do supervise and not actually do work.

Graphic Organizer. Section 8. Pages 199-221. Kassi Bierman

    

     As the rich buy out all of the housing they leave the lower standards housing options.  These low quality housing options are usually not in the main part of the city but instead are farther away.  This causes even more expenses for the poor people, including gas and the extra time spent driving and commuting.  This cheaper housing is not inexpensive though; it is still nearly unaffordable for minimum wage workers.

Summarizer. Section 8. Pages 199-221. Brittney Nehring

This is the Evaluation section of the book, and she does exactly that.  Barbara reflects on what keeps these wages low.  She talks about how the labor shortage in many cities could be because of the unwillingness of people to work these low wages.  It was interesting how she says employers will often do anything except raise wages, instead they will offer free meals and discounts because these things can easily be taken away if needed.  One thing that restricts people in the low wage jobs from leaving is the fact that many of them don’t have their own transportation and rely on someone else.  This prevents them because they would have no way of getting to work if the distance was greater.  People also stay at these low wage jobs because the employers make them feel unworthy, therefore they think they are getting paid all that they are worth, and couldn’t get higher pay.  Ehrenreich writes this section in a way that shows she has done the research and knows what she is talking about.  She explains reasons for why things are the way they are with low wages and also is very confident in what she believes when saying poverty should be treated as an emergency.  This section is written to put some additional meaning to her experience.  It is also written very casual as the rest of the book was.

Vocabulary Builder. Section 8. Pages 199-221. Kallie Thoreson

TENEMENTS pg. 199 – a run-down and often overcrowded apartment house, especially in a poor section of a large city

ARCHAIC pg. 200 – marked by the characteristics of an earlier period

UBIQUITOUS pg. 201 – existing or being everywhere at the same time

 CARPING pg. 203 – to find fault or complain

AVOWED pg. 203 – to declare openly, bluntly, and without shame

RECALCITRANT pg. 205 – hard to deal with; not responsive to treatment

EUPHEMISMS pg. 208 – the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant

OBEISANCE pg. 212 – expressing deep respect before a superior

AUSTERE pg. 214 – giving little or no scope for pleasure

NOUVEAUX pg. 216 – having recently become rich

Graphic Organizer. Section 7. Pages 169-199. Alex Webster

Barbara is working at Wal-Mart and living at the Clear View Inn. The inn charges more then she expected so she has to get food aid. Clear View becomes even more expensive so she moves into the Comfort Inn. But in the end even this is too expensive. She eventually quits her job and ends her experiment.

Discussion Leader. Section 7. Pages 169-199. Brittney Nehring

·         Do you feel that Barbara gave up too easy or do you think she had to? Why?

I think that she gave up really easily, but I think that she knows that too.  Like she said, she could have moved somewhere else to where she could find affordable rent, but instead blew most of her money.  I think that another reason she gave up this easily was because she had achieved what she wanted and was satisfied.  She proved that rent is way too high, and jobs pay way too little.

·         Barbara talks about a man named Stan who dropped out of college because working and going to school was too much to handle, how do you feel about this?

I think that this happens to a lot of people actually, and I can relate to the feeling of doing both.  Most of the time I feel so overwhelmed because I work a very stressful job 16-24 hours a week.  I don’t get to enjoy every weekend like other students who don’t work.  Work cuts out time that I should be doing homework and tires me out.  I also know that I need to work this job so that I can pay for gas, food, and other things I need.  But I couldn’t imagine having to pay rent on top of that, I would probably have to drop out or go part time like many students do.

·         She talks about a co-worker at Wal-Mart who might leave the $7/hr. job for a $9/hr. job do you think that this would be enough for a minimum wage?

I think that this would definitely make a difference because in a 40 hour week that would be an extra $80 so in a month about $320 extra.  This extra money each month would help so many people out who are living on minimum wage.  However, I still feel that even $9/hr. is not a livable wage.  I earn nearly $12/hr. and still wonder how people at my job pay bills and rent, and support families off of this income.

·         Do you agree when she says that “no job, no matter how lowly, is truly unskilled?”

I do agree with this for the most part, and I don’t think that most people recognize this.  For example, I don’t think that people realize even a gas station attendant has to acquire some skills.  They memorize codes for items in the store if there isn’t a scanning system, count money all day, and have much patience for unhappy customers.  I think that every job requires skills even if it is just being able to handle the stress or doing that job when other people wouldn’t want to do it.

Vocabulary. Section 7. Pages 169-199. Kassi Bierman

1. exorbitantly, page 170: beyond a normal or acceptable limit
2. unprecedented, page 172: not known or experienced before
3. cursory, page 172: acting or done with excessive or careless speed
4. bemoaning, page 172: expressing or suggesting mourning
5. revel, page 175: to take pleasure in
6. guffaw, page 178: an explosive sound that is a sign of amusement
7. servile, page 178: showing, expressing, or offered in a spirit of humility or unseemly submissiveness
8. abasement, page 178: behave in a way that belittles or degrades
9. denature, page 178:  To change the nature or natural qualities of
10. terra incognita, page 180: Unknown or unexplored territory

Summarizer. Section 7. Pages 169-199. Kallie Thoreson

In this section of the book, Ehrenreich is still searching for a new place to live.  She finds some possibilities but always ends up ruling them out because they are too expensive or too far away from her job.  While working at Wal-Mart, she comes to the conclusion that the majority of Wal-Mart associates are poor.  She can tell this by a few particular characteristics:  crooked yellow teeth, inadequate footwear, hairstyle, and a hopeless look.  When the author cannot find affordable housing, she makes reservations at the Comfort Inn for close to $50/night hoping it will only last a couple of nights.  Later in this section, Ehrenreich starts to seriously consider “why anyone puts up with the wages paid at Wal-Mart” (178).  She gets talking to several of the other Wal-Mart associates and brings up the idea of starting a union; however, this idea never gets put into motion because it isn’t long before the author is through with her experiment and through working at Wal-Mart.  Ehrenreich begins the evaluation by saying that during her experiment she was a person of “average ability”.  She said that she was capable of learning the jobs she worked and also capable of making mistakes.  Ehrenreich ends this section by saying that something is wrong “when a single person in good health, a person who in addition possesses a working car, can barely support herself by the sweat of her brow.  You don’t need a degree in economics to see that wages are too low and rents too high” (199).

Up until the point in this section where Ehrenreich starts brainstorming about a union, she writes with personality.  Most of the book has been written this way – a way that shows her motivation and excitement for this experiment.  When she starts tossing the idea of a union around, that is when the tone of the writing shifts.  It gradually becomes more dull and depressing up until the end of the Minnesota chapter.  Then, as the evaluation starts, the tone changes again.  Because she is now writing for a different purpose, the writing is more informative and less story-like.   

Nickel and Dimed: May 4th, 2011. Journal 3

In this section of the book, Ehrenreich leaves Maine after quitting both of her jobs.  She moves to Minnesota and lives in her friend's apartment for a few days.  She then begins her search for jobs and places to live.  She is offered a job at Menards and Wal-Mart.  She finds out that most jobs require a drug test, which she has some doubts on whether she will pass.  She ends up declining the job offer at Menards, despite the higher pay, because of the long shifts and discrepancy in pay.  After completing the long orientation process at Wal-mart, she begins work there. 

We were shocked that she included in her writing her use of marijuana.  She described how she was worried about not passing her drug test because she had used the drug prior to applying for these jobs.  For this reason, she kept job searching just in case she failed the test; she was making sure she had a backup plan.  She did Internet research to find ways to pass a drug test after using the drug.  She also spent extra money on detoxification materials and drank excessive amounts of water to try and cleanse her system.  We were surprised that she would include this and admit to using an illegal drug.  Up until this point, we would have been surprised that she even used drugs.

In one of our classroom discussions we talked about power and how people take advantage of it.  This related to our book in a few ways.  First off, we could easily notice how all of Ehrenreich’s bosses had power over all of the other employees.  These bosses abused their power because they controlled the rest of the company.  The employees felt like they had no power; they felt threatened by their bosses if they were to do something wrong.  One example of this is how the workers at Wal-Mart are not allowed to sit or even use the bathroom while they are clocked in.  This is considered ‘time theft’ and the employees are subject to punishment.  The employees are not allowed to do anything that is not work related on company time; the bosses control everything the workers do.  Employees have very little power, if any, in their workplace.  They do not have opportunities to make decisions within the company and they have to follow every rule that the bosses give them. 

We found one section of the book exceptionally well written.  She explains how she feels that the ‘Barb’ that she is known as at Wal-Mart is different than the ‘Barbara’ that she is in real life.  She says that ‘Barb’ is “meaner and slyer” than her real self as well as “not quite as smart” as herself (169).  She explains that she begins to resent some of the customers, like if they mess up her clothing displays for example.  She also describes how she dislikes when a newer employee tells her what to do, or questions whether Ehrenreich has done her job correctly.  She finds herself acting like this ‘Barb’ only when she is working at Wal-Mart, as if the place changes her personality.  We feel that this section was written really well; we noticed that she starts writing more aggressively during this part of the book compared to the earlier sections. 

We can relate to this section when she plans out her breaks during her shifts.  She explains that she only has two fifteen minute breaks and she has to use them wisely.  She mentions how she will try to use the restroom before her break starts to give her more time to rest during her break.  We also do this when working at our jobs. 

Graphic Organizer. Section 6. Pages 143-169. Brittney Nehring

Barbara learns all the rules of a Wal-Mart associate and the history of Wal-Mart.  She decides to call Menards to ask what time she is supposed to come and finds out it is an eleven hour shift and the man says he doesn’t think she will make $10/hr. She says she will send her knife, vest, and tape-measure back and doesn’t want the job.  She moves to Clearview Inn where the rate is $245/week.  These rooms stink of mold, fresh paint, and mouse droppings.  After a few days here, she comes home from work (at Wal-Mart) to the owner telling her the sewage backed up and she moves to a different room.  She works in the ladies wear at Wal-Mart and seems to like it, but doesn’t like the person she is becoming.  Barbara empties carts and puts things away constantly, ordering things by style, color, and size.  She finds herself getting distressed when someone is in her area.  She begins to feel that this area is hers to rule over and control.  Ehrenreich finds that Wal-Mart, as well as Menards, refers to their customers as “guests.”  At the very end of this section she was planning to move to Hopkins Park Plaza, but her room was either taken or not ready until the following week.

Vocabulary. Section 6. Pages 143-169. Alex Webster

143 Grandeur - the quality or state of being grand
143 Anthropological - Humanistic studier
146 Dexedrine - Drug used to control symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
149 Prettifying - To make pretty
150 Neurotic - Crazy
151 Rankles - Cause annoyance
155 Uninitiated - Not told to do something
156 Depredations - Stealing
156 Gentility - Refined
160 Daunting - Seeming difficult to deal with

Summarizer. Section 6. Pages 143-169. Kassi Bierman.

  In this section of the reading, Barbara attends her Wal-mart orientation after passing her drug test.  She though she wouldn't need this job, since she was supposed to make ten dollars an hour at Mendard's, but after hearing of the pay rate and lack of overtime pay at Menard's she turns down the job and relies on Wal-mart.  She then goes to move into her motel room when her finds that her room has been given away.  She instead gets a room at the Clearview Inn, which is much closer to her Wal-mart job.  She has to bargain for a room that doesn't smell like mold and this results in a room with a broken window screen and no deadbolt lock on the door.  There is a lack of privacy here and she admits that she feels unsafe for herself and her belongings.  There are minimal places to get food around her room; after complaining about this a coworker surprises her with a sandwich one day because she felt sorry for Barbara.  She later begins her first day at Wal-mart, amazed at how simply the daily tasks are,  varying from hanging up clothes to separating items by style.  She end up having a shift change and begins working the night shift where she will receive an extra half hour of pay and a dinner break.  Here she works a new coworker who she dislikes.  Barbara begins to realize that working here is making her turn 'mean.'  She notices she is not always polite and peppy as she used to be on the first day.
     The author writes the section much like the rest of the book: very casually.  She uses good word choices that serve to describe and illustrate each paragraph very well.  She seems to portray herself as a bit above the rest of her coworkers.  She describes how the jobs she is given to do at Wal-mart require a very little IQ; this downgrades any of the employees that have any difficulty doing their tasks.  She makes herself seem smarter than the rest of the people there. 

Discussion Leader. Section 6. Pages 143-169. Kallie Thoreson

1.     In this section of the book, another Wal-Mart associate brings the author a sandwich because she knows Ehrenreich is having a hard time making ends meet financially (163).  How do you think Ehrenreich felt when she accepted the sandwich?

As this book progresses, the author is realizing more and more what it means to be poor.  Earlier in the book, Ehrenreich bought a can of pop for another maid because she knew the other maid couldn’t afford to buy it.  Now the author is on the receiving end.  At this point in the book, several things have made the author realize what it means to be poor, but having a co-worker bring her food really emphasizes it.  When Ehrenreich was working with The Maids, she was poor, but she seemed to stay ahead of the other maids.  It almost seemed like she didn’t want to become quite as poor as they were.  The author is now in her last location and trying hard to make it through the last few weeks.  The further along Ehrenreich gets into her experiment, the more she learns about what it means to be poor. 

2.     Throughout the book Ehrenreich has dealt with unpleasant supervisors.  She is currently annoyed by Rhoda at Wal-Mart.  How can we use this in our everyday lives?

The author has had to work for some not-so-great employers.  The reason for these bad experiences may be because 1) they have personalities that don’t mix well together, and 2) her supervisors/employers might simply just be rude.  This shows readers that sometimes we have to do things we don’t necessarily want to do.  There will always be people out there who have clashing ideas or personalities from our own.  It could be a classmate, a co-worker, a boss, or just an acquaintance.  In her book, Ehrenreich shows her readers how to work around it and not let it get to you. 

3.    One thing that has changed for Ehrenreich because she is living on near minimum wage jobs is her living conditions.  She is now living with screenless windows and without air or a fan (158).  How would your living conditions and anything else change for you if you tried this experiment?

I can’t say that I currently have great living conditions.  Living in a dorm room definitely has its challenges, but I know it is far better than how the author is living.  There are also a number of things that I maybe take for granted that I would have to give up:  shopping, going out for lunch or an ice cream cone, driving, entertainment, and my cell phone plan are just a few.  My physical health would probably become very poor.  In this book Ehrenreich has held jobs that are physically demanding on her body and are very tiresome.  Plus working two jobs would be draining and could very possibly limit sleep.

4.     Ehrenreich performed this experiment more than ten years ago.  How do you think her experiment would differ in today’s economy?

Ehrenreich’s experiment would be vastly different if she repeated the experiment in today’s economy.  I don’t think it has become easier for people to live on minimum wage over the last ten years.  If anything, I think it has become much more challenging.  I think finding a job would be next to impossible.  Even if the author did find work, she knows that having one job paying minimum wage isn’t enough for her to pay enough rent to live inside.  Finding a job that pays more than minimum wage with the skills and experience she lists on her resume would be incredibly difficult. 

Vocabulary. Section 5. Pages 114-142. Brittney Nehring

Pg. 117 Baguette: long narrow loaf of French bread

Pg. 117 Pariah: outcast

Pg. 127 Evince: to show clearly

Pg. 127 Rankles: to cause irritation or bitter resentment within the mind

Pg. 128 Contrition: sincere remorse

Pg. 130 Diuretic: increases the volume of urine excreted

Pg. 133 Tribulations: severe sufferings

Pg. 134 Baleful: miserable

Pg. 137 Unctuous: characterized by excessive moralistic dedication

Pg. 142 Aphasic: disorder of central nervous system (not able to speak or write)

Graphic Organizer. Section 5. Pages 114-142. Kallie Thoreson

Things Looking Up in Minnesota:



In this section, things begin to look up for Ehrenreich.  She makes her move from Maine to Minnesota where she starts by living in an apartment belonging to friends of a friend.  She is able to stay there for a few days at no cost to her in exchange for her taking care of the apartment owners’ bird.  Later when searching for a job, the author passes the personality tests at both Wal-Mart and Menards; however, she is told she must pass a drug test before she will be hired.  Ehrenreich is concerned about the drug test and is worried she will not be able to pass.  Not long after, the author finds housing.  She is not overly pleased with the housing, but after all, it is a place where she can stay.  She later is told to show up for orientation at Menards where she learns she is hired and assumes she passed the drug test.  An even bigger surprise for Ehrenreich is that finds out she will be making $10 an hour instead of the $8.50 she was promised earlier.  After hearing this news, she decides she won’t necessarily need two jobs, but she keeps the possibility of working at Wal-Mart open when she attends the orientation there.  Overall, this section was quite positive for Ehrenreich.

Nickel and Dimed: April 29th, 2011. Journal 2

This section starts with the author job searching. Ehrenreich finally got two jobs after she moved to Maine. One job was as a maid and the other was as a dietary aide at a nursing home.  As a maid, Ehrenreich makes $6.65 an hour. Although the author is doing the same work for the same pay, she feels sympathetic towards her fellow co-workers. An example of her worry for a co-maid is when she observes another maid frequently not eating a sufficient meal for lunch.   As a dietary aide, she also is responsible for the serving and cleaning up of meals at the nursing home. One of the cooks at the nursing home invited Ehrenreich to a smoke date in the parking lot. He seems to be interested in her but she blows him off. In this section, the author ends up living in a motel week to week because she could not afford to live in a traditional apartment.

            As a group we all agree that we wouldn’t want to work any of Ehrenreich’s jobs. They are physically demanding, often leaving the author in physical pain. In addition to the physical nature of her work, she is also poorly compensated. We can’t believe that people can manage to support families on so little.  We were also surprised about the cramped quarters she kept at the Blue Haven. She writes that when she takes a shower there is not enough room for her and her clothes on the floor: “the bathroom being too small for both a person and her discarded clothes” (85).

            The author describes how when she waited at Jerry’s her uniform was a conversation starter. When she was out in public in her maid uniform, she was continually looked down upon, especially when buying beer. We related to this situation because we too have judged people by their appearance. One of our group members can directly relate to this experience. When at work, this group member frequently would see workers from fast food restaurants and feel superior to them because they were middle aged and working a job typically held by a teenager.

            After reading this section, we feel that we can use this information shared by Ehrenreich in real life.  As a group, we too feel more sympathetic towards low-wage workers.  We now realize the amount of effort they put into their jobs and realize that it requires a lot of physical and emotional effort.  They do not get paid enough for the amount of work they put into their jobs.  We all feel that we will now give these people more respect for their jobs because they may not have a choice for what they do.  Ehrenreich’s comments made it seem that these minimum wage workers do not receive this kind of respect.  She explains that when these workers get complimented for their efforts, they feel proud and it makes them very excited.

            Ehrenreich made an interesting point in this section.  She was describing her efforts to obtain government food aid.  She makes the point that those people that are in the most need of this free food are the people who are already working multiple jobs trying to support themselves as much as they can.  They do not have the available time because they use up all of their time working.  On the other hand, those people that are able to obtain this free food are the ones who are not working as much.  This opinion is especially expressed in her quote: “What is this assumption that the hungry are free all day to drive around visiting ‘community action centers’ and charitable agencies?” (102). We found this idea contradicting and surprising.

Summarizer. Section 5. Pages 114-142. Alex Webster

Barbara moves from Maine to Minnesota. She ends up in the apartment of a friend of a friend. She starts looking for a job but learns most of them require drug tests. She has to detox because she smoked marijuana. She passes both her Wal-Mart and Menards tests. She finds out that she will be making ten dollars an hour at Menards and only seven at Wal-Mart.  She has a tough time looking for apartments and for the short term moves into the Hill View motel.

I found it interesting that she revealed to the reader that she had done drugs. Up until that point I never thought that she would use drugs, but after reading it, it’s not too unbelievable. She could have left it out to make herself look more superior. But she left it in, making her seem more like the people who apply for low wage jobs. She came off as more of realistic person for the job.

Discussion Leader. Section 5. Pages 114-142. Kassi Bierman

1.  The author addresses this question herself in her story.  Why do you think these low-wage workers keep working as a cleaning maid when there are so many other minimum wage, or higher, jobs available that could be easier?
     These people may stick with the job because they know it; it is familiar to them.  They may feel that they are lucky to have a job at all and work with what they have.  They may also just accept the fact that in order for them to survive on minimum wage they will have to work very hard with little reward no matter what their job is.  They may also not have the time to waste searching for another job; they took the first opportunity that they had.


2.  Why do you think the author takes the time to go into detail explaining the entire application and orientation processes of job searching?
     I think she does this to show the extra work that goes into job search and how hard it actually is for some people.  She shows that it's not simply turning in a sheet of paper; you have to call and in her case make personal appearances to her potential employers.  I think this also shows the additional chances of failure a job searcher may face.  She has to pass personality tests, drug tests, and interviews.  She goes into detail to show every aspect of difficulties these workers face.


3.  What are some specific details the author writes about that makes this experiment show some real struggles for a person trying to live on minimum wage?
     One example would be how well she explains the drug test process. This is a step many applicants must go through and some may have problems with it just as the author did.  She also discusses the problems with finding a reasonable apartment.  Not every city has cheap apartments available like they may advertise; some may have to resort in living in a motel on a week to week basis.  She also talks about the gas money she has to spend to do all of her applying and commuting to interviews; people may not consider this but it is an area of spending as well.

4. Why do you think Barbara briefs a few of her coworkers of her experiment near the end of her time with them?
     I think she informs them why she is actually working there mainly to record their reactions.  She incorporates their responses into her book, providing a different aspect to the story.  She may also do this in pure curiosity; she wants to see what they will say or if he coworkers even care.  She also briefs them so she can ask them additional questions, including why they continue to work at such insufficient jobs.

Graphic Organizer. Section 4. Pages 87-114. Kassi Bierman

     These are four events that pose as setbacks for Babara during this section.  She has an accident and breask something at work and also confronts Ted, her boss, about a problem she has regarding Holly working on her hurt ankle.  These are issues because she is scared both times that she could possible be fired for these actions.  She also finds out rent is higher than expected which shorts her on cash.  When she has to work by herself at the nursing home for a day she is worried that she will mess up; a mistake here could threaten a patient's life.  All of these problems put her jobs and finances at risk.

Discussion Leader. Section 4. Pages 87-114. Alex Webster

Given that you were in Barbara’s situation, what would you have done when Holly injured her ankle and why?

I would have gone to see if she was okay and try to help her out as much as possible. I would have helped her with her work and told her to go to the hospital. But I wouldn’t have gone and yelled at her and yelled at Ted. It is not my life so I would have left the decision to her. She is an adult and can make her own decisions.

In this section Ted says, “Well, I’m a parent too, and that doesn’t make me less of a person.” To which Barbara responds with “It’s supposed to make you more of a person.” Do you agree with Barbara and why?

                In some ways she is right and in other ways not. Parents seem to be more of a person in general to their kids. They stick up for them do things for them and forgive them. But that doesn’t seem to translate to the general public. Most adults are parents yet they don’t act motherly or fatherly towards the general public. If they did people would be more forgiving and want better things for each other.

                In your opinion is someone lazy who has their house cleaned by professional cleaners?

                Yes, I would find it extremely weird to have other people in my house cleaning it especially if I was there while they were doing it. If you are there to supervise them that makes you look like you so against work that you will stand and watch someone else do it. I have never had anyone outside my family clean our house and I would never want someone to do it. Unless you live in a huge mansion where you would never be able to clean the whole thing then I do not see a reason to have someone clean for you.

If you were forced to permanetly work a low paying job, what kind of job would you want to work and why?

I would continue to work at my job as a grocery clerk. It pays a decent amount and is not to hard. I get to talk and nothing is to strict. I would also be in charge so i would be able to do more of what I want. Finally I get along well with my co-workers and boss.

Summarizer. Section 4. Pages 87-114. Brittney Nehring

Barbara continues working for Ted at The Maid’s.  Her entire body breaks down with a rash, in which she applies anti-itch cream.  She explains that Ted doesn’t have much sympathy for illnesses, and he always tells his workers to “work through it,” so that’s what she does.  Barbara describes the three different types of toilet stains and disgusting pubic hairs she constantly finds.  Barbara then describes how the people who hire maids are rich and some of the house owners do little checks to make sure they are cleaning well.  Some will leave mounds of dirt in a hard to get spot and check if they are there after the cleaning is done.  She is told that she needs to work as if she is under surveillance at all times, and sometimes money is even left out (for which she believes is a “test” of honesty).  Barbara is cleaning one woman’s house and she drops a pot which comes crashing down on the lady’s fishbowl which breaks and everything gets soaked with water, even her cookbooks.  Barbara is having a difficult time with money, because they hold her first check and she was unpleasantly surprised to find out that rent for that first week was $200 instead of $120.  Her next day at the nursing home she struggles a lot because they are short staff and the upstairs dishwasher is broken so she is required to do extra work.  When she works at The Maid’s again, Holly (coworker) trips in a hole in the ground and hurts her ankle really bad.  She is in a lot of pain but won’t go to the doctor and when they call Ted he doesn’t seem to care so Barbara blows.  She is extremely mad and is unsure if Ted will fire her when they get back to the office that afternoon.

Throughout this section the author seems to be continually disappointed; she has to work by herself as a dietary aide, has to pay more for rent, is upset when she can’t get any financial help, gets a rash over her entire body, and she gets upset with Ted when he doesn’t care about Holly hurting herself.  The tone seems to be very negative because of all these undesirable events.  She also presents herself as if everyone is as smart as her when she says there are tons of jobs and that anyone can pass that “Accutrac test.”  She feels bad then because she realizes taking that test might have been difficult for the other girls.

Vocabulary Builder. Section 4. Pages 87-114. Kallie Thoreson

BLUDGEON pg. 88 – to force into something

SEDENTARY pg. 91 – not physically active

CURTAIL pg. 94 – to make less by or as if by cutting off or away some part

BEREAVEMENT pg. 95 – the state of fact of being deprived of something or someone

WANLY pg. 97 – showing or suggesting ill health, fatigue, unhappiness, etc.

BOURGEOISIE pg. 97 – a class that is primarily concerned with property values

HAUGHTINESS pg. 99 – blatantly and disdainfully proud

WIZENED pg. 103 – to become dry, shrunken, and wrinkled

ENCOMIUM pg. 109 – a formal expression of praise

ABJECT pg. 112 – cast off, rejected

Graphic Organizer. Section 3. Pages 60-86. Alex Webster

Alex Webster

Barbara moves from Key West to Maine. She rents a room by the week at the Blue Harbor Hotel. She lives in a shed of sorts, but she has her own bathroom and bed. She gets two jobs after applying for many. She works at Woodcrest serving food. She also does maid work for the Maids.

Discussion Leader. Section 3. Pages 60-86. Brittney Nehring

1.       What was your favorite part in this section, and why?

For me, the most interesting was when she talked about her job at the nursing home.  Although she is a dietary aide, and I am a nurse aide, she still describes instances with the residents.  These people seem so relatable to what I go through every day at work.  We too have the diabetic resident who tries snatching food from other residents’ trays.  She tells about the resident who pours orange juice over her French toast, this reminded me of a resident who put her banana in her soup and ate it.  We have such similar residents, who will reject what was cooked for the main meal and request other things.  I really like this part because it makes me laugh inside because I know exactly what she is experiencing and it sounds identical to the nursing home I work at.

2.       When Barbara’s coworker talks about their place of work, he says it “feeds” on gossip, can anyone relate to this?

I think that this goes for many jobs.  I know I can really relate to this, my workplace seems like it operates the same way.  Whenever anyone says anything, everyone else hears about it in a short period of time.  Whether it is something that person did over the weekend or something a resident said to them, people always talk about it. I do think that this helps people stay energized and relieve some of their stress talking about other people’s problems.   I agree that you need to watch out who you say things in front of, because there are always the people that are good workers, but they will stab you in the back.

3.       How did you react when Barbara was working with the other maids and she sees how poor they are (when one of the girls can’t even afford a soda)?

I felt bad because these women are working for such little money.  When the company is actually getting $25.00 an hour and some of their employees have to work a whole shift on only a bag of chips, that’s sad.  But I also wonder where all of her money is going and if she spends it very wisely. 

4.       Do you think or wonder if any of the conditions of her apartment (cottage) she explains are an exaggeration?

I really wonder about these conditions, although I know these places aren’t very good quality and are very small.  She says that she can’t even change her clothes in the bathroom because it is too small for a person and her discarded clothes.  This makes me really wonder because from the cover of the book she looks like a very slim person, therefore a bigger woman shouldn’t be able to fit in the bathroom then.  She also says the toilet is less than four feet from the kitchen table, wow this place is small!

Summarizer. Section 3. Pages 60-86. Kallie Thoreson

The author begins this section of the book still job searching in Maine.  She is still living at the Motel 6, and after some time gets two phone calls.  One is from a nursing home that says she can start working there the next morning.  She will work there on weekends making $7 an hour.  The other phone call is from The Maids.  They tell her that she can start working Monday morning and that she will make $6.65 an hour.  Overall, the first day at the nursing home goes well.  Ehrenreich serves meals to residents and cleans up after them.  She gets to know Pete, one of the cooks, who tells her a little bit about the nursing home and what she should know about it.  Later that night she went to a "tent revival" advertised by a local church.  She was looking for some entertainment, but didn't end up getting much out of the night.  On Sunday the author moved into her cottage at The Blue Heron.  It turns out that the cottage is a lot smaller than she remembers.  Ehrenreich started working for The Maids that Monday morning.  She found the work to be challenging and hard on her body.  Ehrenreich ends this section of the book with her first Friday with The Maids.  This particular September afternoon in Maine was unusually hot - 95 degrees!  The team that Ehrenreich was a part of that day ended up working in a mansion-like house.  She realized how strenuous working as a maid can be when she was assigned to scrub floors on her hands and knees.

Despite the hard work Ehrenreich comes across, this section was written rather positively.  She is hopeful when she moves to Maine and sees that she will have an easy time finding employment.  It seems as though she is also encouraged that she won't necessarily have to be a server, but can do something new.  However, at the end of this section the author seems somewhat discouraged by the last day she has worked for The Maids.

Vocabulary. Section 3. Pages 60-86. Kassi Bierman

1.       Page 60-maroon: to leave somebody or something somewhere with no means of getting away

2.       Page 61-congenial: pleasant and suited to somebody's character or tastes

3.       Page 63-protestation: the act of expressing strong disapproval of or disagreement with something

4.       Page 63-postprandial: occurring after a meal, especially an evening meal

5.       Page 65-carousing: to drink and become noisy, especially in a group

6.       Page 65-sentient: capable of feeling and perception

7.       Page 66-accolade: a sign or expression of high praise and esteem for somebody

8.        Page 78-Prima facie: on initial examination or consideration

9.       Page 78-comportment: the way in which somebody behaves

10.   Page 82-tchotchke: a trinket or piece of bric-a-brac

Nickel and Dimed: April 22, 2011. Journal 1

          Nickel and Dimed: Journal Number 1 (1-60)

This far in the book, the author has spent one month in Florida and is starting her next month in Maine.  Her time in Florida was primarily spent as a server and at this point in the book she is still job searching in Maine.  Before reading there were some assumptions that our group made.  We assumed the author would begin her work without as much as she did.  She decided to always have a car with her and she started with extra money in an “emergency fund”.  Trying to make ends meet with a car and extra cash makes it seem less risky for her and possibly not truly living like the poor.  As the book progresses, we are finding out that this book is written for anyone who is making more than minimum wage to show readers more of what it is like to live on minimum wage.  After reading this much, we have found that the author’s tone is casual.  She tells of experiences that are relatable.  She is very descriptive and gives characters to follow.  Some of the things the author does throughout this section of the book are surprising to the readers.  We were all surprised that she took time to go home and take breaks every now and then.  During her breaks at home she did still take money for food out of her minimum wage earnings which was surprising to us.  We all agreed that it would be very easy for her to “cheat” during her time at home.  Another thing we found surprising was that she found several help-wanted ads, but had such a hard time finding a job.  She looked through several papers and visited many hotels and restaurants, but still found it challenging to be offered a job.  This book is very relatable to the topics we have covered in class.  She is discouraged from taking jobs traditionally held by minorities in the Key West area.  An example of this is when she applies for a housekeeping position, but is instead steered towards waitressing in the attached restaurant because she is white and is a native English speaker.  Minorities were also discussed in class and brought up in this book.  Several of the workers making minimum wage that the author runs into in this book were of a minority.  The most recently discussed in class was the issue of poverty which directly relates to this book.  The whole purpose of this book is for the author to determine if it is feasible to live on minimum wage jobs. An important passage is on page 59. “What these tests tell employers about potential employees is hard to imagine, since the “right” answers should be obvious to anyone who has ever encountered the principle of hierarchy and subordination. The real function of these tests, I decide, is to convey information not to the employer but to the potential employee, and the information being conveyed is always: You will have no secrets from us. We don’t just want your muscles and that portion of your brain that is directly connected to them, we want your innermost self.” This is an important passage because it shows how the corporate world really sees its’ employees. It’s like the company owns the worker in and out of work. There really not treating them like people, but more like property. You will do this and do that.