I’m bucking against the normal.
As people celebrate the slow return to life before COVID-19, I am wanting to dig in my heels and refuse to go. It’s not that I don’t want folks to get back to work because I do. It’s not that I don’t want to see businesses succeed because I do. But I don’t feel as if we have learned enough. Or maybe it’s a feeling that we haven’t been made to pay attention to much; I don’t know which.
But I do know that somehow, we have to be made to realize what a mess things were for a huge number of Americans and demand that we do better.
I was on a phone call the other day with an organizer who was talking about childcare. The conversation went to why childcare staff would want to leave their homes and be one of the first industries opened back up when they make more money on unemployment. Let’s face it, that $600 bump is over a week and a half of wages if you’re working for $9.75/hour, which a lot of childcare professionals are. Why would someone want to give that increase up?
Let’s think about the fact that while some folks are receiving unemployment because their low-wage jobs were closed, others working for low wages were labeled as essential and, despite being exposed to the public during a pandemic, aren’t making as much money as others receiving unemployment. I was told today that some waitresses and restaurant staff wish they would have been laid off because they would have been better off financially. Why isn’t that making the headlines? Why do we not pay attention to the fact that the government gave more money to people who were staying at home than people who weren’t?
Why aren’t we hearing that businesses, especially large corporations, are leaving the hazard raises in place when we return to business as usual? Hell, some businesses gave their essential employees pay raises and then, to even it out, cut their hours. How’s that for fair?
We hear a lot of people complaining that businesses have employees working without protective equipment. We hear things like, “Those workers should have to wear masks and gloves or they should be sent home!” Here’s the thing: first of all, I don’t know of any store where I can walk in and buy a mask, so there’s that. And there’s also the fact that those employees are being made to work; it’s probably not a choice because people working for low wages can’t afford to quit their jobs.
They can’t afford to call off because they more than likely don’t have paid sick days. You don’t want that cashier coughing into her hand and touching your purchases? Well then maybe you should start writing your reps and telling them that low-wage workers deserve paid sick leave. Trust me, I don’t know anyone who would be out there working if they weren’t faced with choosing between working their scheduled hours or losing their job. Losing your job starts a fast avalanche of despair when you’re barely earning enough to survive.
Now don’t get me wrong, I know a couple of people who have really been humbled throughout this shutdown. They have had to go and stand in line at food pantries. They have asked organizations for help with food and necessities. And most of them apologize the whole time they’re doing it. They’re sorry that they don’t know how to do it. They’re sorry that they don’t know the rules. They’re sorry that they’re there … because there is such a stigma attached to needing help. There’s such a bias toward those who can’t do it on their own. And now people are being forced to realize what that’s like.
Suddenly, government assistance is sought after. Suddenly, the government is throwing money into our mailboxes and bank accounts because they realize that we’re really not okay out here. I was told a story yesterday of a teacher who has admitted that she judged the poor parents of her classroom kids harshly and now, because one income isn’t enough to run her home, she has found herself standing in line beside them. Imagine the emotions and realizations that grew out of that experience!
I want us to come out of this stronger, but I want us to also come out of this with more empathy for those who constantly live with the fear of scarcity, of never feeling as if you have enough. When we hear groups fighting for a higher minimum wage, I hope we all take a minute to remember the people who have kept our shelves stocked and our carryout orders coming. I hope we remember that they put themselves in direct contact with people while the rest of us stayed home. They were forced to put themselves and their families in harm’s way.
And I hope we remember how hard, how scary, and how stressful it was when we didn’t know what was going to happen to our jobs if we didn’t open our state up soon. I hope we realize that everyone has the right to a living wage. And that it’s hard to get out of financial trouble once you get into it. And that sometimes things happen and it’s not really anyone’s fault. I hope we remember that not all of us had the privilege to stay at home. Let’s not forget that when the return to normal outshines the essentials.
Wash your hands. Donate a mask to those who don’t have one. Be kind and patient with one another.
Onward,
Amy Jo
