In response to being let go from American Apparel due to sweeping reforms adversely affecting longtime immigrant workers, and their employers (including my Pizza Hut neighbors), a now former American Apparel employee in the manufacturer's downtown Los Angeles 'sweatshop free' HQ wrote a letter, which was posted on the American Apparel site. The entire letter is heartfelt, however, the line that sticks out most, at least to me, is its last: "Our hopes and goals are gone but our faith is still very strong."
Unlike faith, goals are often dependent on other factors beyond one's control, like the economy, or job market, which some say is getting better, yet I cannot help but put a personal spin onto it, and look at the economies of the people in my immediate circle, aka family, and friends, like I did last night at a dinner in celebration of the Jewish New Year. The stories told around this dinner table were not tales of an economy getting better, but instead of a worsening one.
Despite this realization, however, there was plenty of laughter, and a good bit of faith crackling beneath the surface. Not necessarily faith in a higher power, or in the religious sense, but faith in our country, in our abilities to contribute to our communities, and to 'repackage' our skill sets, along with the faith in the value of family, and in relationships.
Five of the 12 adults gathered around the table, including myself, have officially lost full-time, salaried jobs within the past year. A sixth is on his second pay cut as a salaried worker. I am not good at math, but I am pretty sure we hover near 50% unemployment, and are well above the national average of 10%, which does not include the thousands upon thousands of recently laid off immigrant workers, and the millions of American that have fallen off the Dept. of Employment Security's radar upon exhaustion of their benefits. Are we just unlucky? Not good enough? Not smart enough? Not desirable in an employer's eyes? Or, are we just Average Americans? I'd like to think the latter.
We Are:
A CPS special education teacher with nearly 15 years of experience whom was let go after a new principal came to her north side school, and 'cleaned house' by firing, with just (but highly questionable cause) about 75% of the school's teachers. The now former teacher is embarking on a private tutoring career, and awaiting an early retirement settlement, only after which she can apply for inclusion into the growing pool of substitute teachers whom will ironically take the spots of the workers that replaced them when they go on vacation, or maternity leave.
A customer service worker with 11 year of experience whom was training a temp worker in his 20s this past spring. The 11 year worker was let go on June 1st, and the temp whom she was training, presumably to be an addition to her team, and not a replacement for her, was made a permanent employee on June 6th. Since then, the former customer service worker joined a temporary crew of 106 phone workers for a sports apparel company, and worked through the busy holiday season. Of the crew of 106, she is one of six that has been invited back as needed when the company is in a pinch, and she is on first call for this holiday season. This customer service worker's secret strength? To talk down irate customers on the phone, to listen to them, and as a result she routinely has few, if any calls requiring "escalation" to a manager.
An IT manager from a carpet company, which in response to lackluster sales let go of half of its IT workers, including him.
An administrative assistant at a travel booking company specializing in trade shows, and large scale events whom was let go along with many of her colleagues because of the sharp decline in corporate travel. She recently found a temp job through Craigslist, which begins next week.
An online advertising sales representative asked to leave shortly after her manager with 11 years of experience, an SVP, was more or less forced to resign. Her department, once autonomous, and somewhat different in function than the rest of the company, was integrated into another group, and the accounts that much of the team built up from cold calls were given to others. The person whom was reassigned the bulk of her accounts was the college roommate of one of the company's newly minted SVPs.
Of the others, the employed, you'd think there'd be sense of relief, but check out these experiences from the front lines of the Working World:
A CPA and owner of his own firm, with about three hundred clients, many of whom are in real estate. The CPA estmates that at least 25% of his clients have experienced considerable declines in their salaries over the past few years-- and he knows because he does their taxes-- with some declines as much as 200K per year down to 40K. Perhaps because these people can no longer afford therapy, they go to their trusted CPA, whom is frankly exhausted from hearing everyone's complaints, some of whom are wondering how they can pay mortgages, as well as pay him for their services. He told stories of very angry people, with valid gripes. A preschool teacher's aide at a private school that is seeing a decline in enrollment, and potential loss of her job down the road because parents that are losing jobs are staying at home with their kids, and those that have experienced economic setbacks are leaving their children with family members, or less expensive daycare options.
A 20-something paralegal at a law firm that works very long hours, and does not have much of a life after work. She's recently been recruited to work extra projects on a team that needs a lot of help: corporate bankruptcy. She explained the difference between Chapter 11, and Chapter 7 to me, and then I suggested that she sign up for sketch writing classes. Sounds like she needs some comedy in her life!
A customer service rep for a real estate company that actually sounded happy with her job.
Ditto for another preschool teacher's aide that works in the suburbs of Milwaukee, and is about to take some time off for maternity leave.
A computer programmer that is extremely busy, but happy, which is a good thing considering there's a baby on the way.
I think I covered everyone.
As for faith, I still have it. I don't know why, but I do. And for now that's all I need, along with some sleep. Tomorrow is a new day, and I'm looking forward to it. Mostly.
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