I am now on week 13 of being unemployed, of being one of America's invisible nation of 13 million jobless. My health benefits for myself, my wife and my children run out in about 3 months.
This week I moved up to position #188 on the Carpenters Union out of work list. Jobs coming in are barely a trickle and now there are almost 200 workers behind me on the list, I figure a total of up to 30% of our local is now unemployed. One of my buddies got a job and quit it after 40-hours. He told me the job was only going to last another 3 days and if he takes a job that lasts longer than 40-hours he loses his place on the list. He is #40 on the out of work list and considers his position at #40 very valuable.
At a local coffee shop this morning, I dropped my newspaper and another unemployed buddy laughed, "well at least gravity is still working" he quipped. "Yeah, but its not paid work" I added.
Meanwhile my sister-in-law got a job after almost a year without work. Now she's a consultant. She works set hours. She goes to a jobsite. She has a desk and computer. But she's not a worker, she's a consultant. It's like being a worker but without any of the rights workers have. She took the job, hesitatingly, knowing that when she does get laid off (read:when her consultant contract ends) she cannot go back on unemployment benefits.
What a world. The bosses are really loving re-writing the rules to suit themselves, but our time will come to even things out.
No comments:
Post a Comment