Serving In Florida - Essay Example

Serving in Florida The story “serving in Florida” is a story about a woman, Barbara Enrenreich, who started her lifeon a “low-wage life” in the Key West of Florida. Among her main fears is that some locals may possibly recognize her. This recognition from locals interferes with her main task of investigating lives of the working poor. Barbara starts her life in Florida with an allotment of about $1,300 (Ehrenreich 16). The amount seemed too convenient to enable her pay two months’ rent on the apartment she rented. Afterwards, she embarks on hunting for a job. As her search for job continues, she realizes that there is no correlation between the number of vacancies or jobs available with the amount number of the available adverts. Moreover, it became apparent to her that the low wage jobs had high turnover. The high turnover job markets facilitate the main restaurants and hotels to keep the ads running. Regardless of the tussle in the job search, the author proceeded with job search, and eventually managed to be hired. Her first job experience in Florida was the application of the job to the Winn-Dixie that had a computerized interview. The question asked wanted her to determine the amount of dollar worth the stolen goods the prospective employee had purchased in the previous year, or would he or she have turned in one of the employee to steal. The final computer interview question was, “are you an honest person?” (Ehrenreich 21). The majority of the procedures that followed involved testing of drugs. Most of these drug tests often pick to test for marijuana since it is medically known to stay in the body for several weeks after its ingestion. Ehrenreich complained to one of her fellow servers that “I don’t understand how she can go so long without food,” (Ehrenreich 292) and she responded that “Well. I don’t understand how you can go so long without cigarette” (Ehrenreich 292). Additionally, cocaine and heroin are as well tested. Unbelievably, alcohol tests are never taken. Fortunately, Barbara Ehrinreich passed the entire computerized interview and was led to drug test. Up to this point of the employment process, Barbara had received enough humiliation and was subjected to a $6 charge per hour she declines the tests (Ehrenreich 28). Barbara engages herself into several job searches; however, she declines to accept the job offer at the Hearthside restaurant. The rejection might be because Barbara contemplates on spending additional $2.15 per hour on the trips that are associated with that job. Nonetheless, she settles in being a waiter, and a waiter named Gail takes the task of training Barbara. Gail is a woman in her forties, has ever been homeless, and has for most her life spend her nights in her truck. Just recently, her boyfriend is murdered in prison. Another waiter by the name Joan also starts liking Barbara. Joan has three kids to whom she raises in a mobile home all by herself. There seems to be a tremendous generosity within these women that have never been noticed. Some of these traits are witnessed in their extra croutons in serving salad whenever the management allow them to only extra six, or an extra rolls whenever the management allow them only one. Barbara after a while begins to develop these traits of generosity and caring, particularly towards customers and her coworkers. These ideals are clearly demonstrated, when Barbara clienteles and serves customers and her fellow workers with the best of dinner experiences she acquired before she became a narcotic (Ehrenreich 293). It is apparent that as Barbara is carrying out her duties as a waiter, she truly accomplishes her mission of investigating the lives of the poor employees. One day while wrapping some silverware, Gail told Barbara that she (Gail) was contemplating of hiring a room that would cost her between $40 and $60 per day (Ehrenreich 48). Barbara then asks her why she could go for an apartment. Up to this point Barbara literally, but in a more intellectual way digging into the difficulties experienced by individuals doing are earning peanut. On responding to Barbara’s concerns, Barbara realizes that Gail cannot afford the two months down payment for an apartment. Notably, the reactions of Gail are a vital lesson learnt by Barbara as one of the serious problems facing the low wage world. In addition, the problem of poor planning of the expenses may be a decimating to an individual’s finances .Therefore, the life Barbara chose was equally vital, since she used it to learn and report the life challenges facing the low waged employees (Statsky et al 32). This reflection can be extrapolated, for a state to implement appropriate correction measures. Moreover, Barbara’s movement in search of job aimed at understanding what persons who are searching for low waged jobs are undergoing (Ehrenreich 295). Thus, her act of tourism was worth taking since it gave a true reflection on written and the actual job conditions on the ground. In many establishments, many employees are obliged to give a portion of their uniforms including pants and shoes. Some of these additional expenses are therefore, a hardship to the low waged employees. Additionally, the low wageworkers never receive regular health care services. This is because the workers are awaiting such plans to commence. Further, when such workers opt for health services, they never get full prescription since most of the medicines are too expensive for them to afford. The intensively server health services that most of this category of workers cannot attain include dental surgery, which are quite expensive (Statsky et al 52). Later as an employee at Hearthside hotel, Barbara realized that she could not use her salary in even paying her rent. Because of the unassailably of this salary, Barbara opts to search for another job. After leaving Hearthside, Barbara gets a work as a housekeeper. However, being a white of native English speaking, she is typecast a waiter. Thereafter, she gets a hired at Jerry’s restaurant. At this restaurant, Barbara realizes that customers are highly valued, and the environments within this restaurant are intensively peaceful. However, the restaurant lacks break room since the restaurant has no breaks. The restaurant has the largest inflow of customers; thus, it requires top movement waiters. The intensive works in this restaurant make the newly hired waiters not to last even for a day. These new conditions of work make Barbara work under intense pressure. However, she realizes that some challenges should be accepted for the continuation of life. Barbara demonstrates how fast and hard she is to work in this new restaurant. She works for a while in this hotel and moves to the next-door restaurant. In this new hotel, she realizes that some of her new colleagues have never been paid for some time. Moreover, a colleague called George had been accused of stealing. The decision made by Barbara was vital and it has effectively succeeded in revealing the suffering faced by low waged workers. However, he feels that these workers should take responsibility for their own lives and mistakes, for instance, in the case of George. Works Cited Ehrenreich B. "Serving in Florida." Money and Sucess (2008): 290-296. Print Ehrenreich B. Nickel and Dimed: On (not) Getting by in America. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2001. Print Statsky W. P, Diotalevi R. N, Linquist P. The Florida Paralegal: Essential Rules, Documents, and Resources. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Read More