Nickel and Dime

What are the types of jobs Ehrenreich categorizes as possibilities for her research in Florida?

she wanted to avoid waitressing, and a hotel front desk clerk, and go for jobs such as a supermarket job, deli clerk, or housekeeping in hotels and houses.

proletariat

workers or working class people, regarding collectively (often used with reference to Marxism).

agape

( of the mouth) wide open, especially with surprise or wonder.

Mephitic

(especially of gas or vapor) foul-smelling; noxious.

Autonomous

(of a country or region) having self-government, at least to a significant degree.

Onerous

(of a task, duty, or responsibility) involving an amount of effort and difficulty that is oppressively burdensome.

idyll

An extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene, typically an idealized or unsustainable one.

What does Ehrenreich mean when she says that want ads are "the employers' insurance policy"? What does this suggest about the jobs they advertise?

Ehrenreich means when she says that want ads are "the employers' insurance policy" that although they might not be hiring at the moment, there is a relentless turnover in the workforce and the businesses need to build up a supply of applicants to replace the workers as they get fired or leave. So finding a job for her in the low wage community requires her to be in the right place at the right time and to be flexible.

On p. 23, the manager, Phillip, says that the break room is "not a right...it can be taken away." Using examples from the text, what other basic rights are no longer rights when you are a low-wage employee?

Going to the bathroom is no longer a right. According to the book, until April 1998, there was no mandated right to bathroom breaks. They have no time to break for example cigarette buds are constantly burning because the servers and dishwashers don't have time to waste lighting another one up.

On p. 22, Ehrenreich writes about her resentment of assistant managers, most of whom are pulled out of the ranks of cooks and clerks. She says "everyone knows they have crossed over to the other side, which is crudely put, corporate, as opposed to human." List three examples of inhumane behavior she experiences at the hands of managers while working in Florida. Why do you think people's behavior changes when they rise to the management level?

In one instance, the company has a health plan that kicks in after working there for 3 months and when one of the employees claimed to have been legible to be on the plan by that time the company claimed to have lost her application form and that she had to begin the paperwork all over again. Another instance is when the author is exhausted from working so much and tries to refuel by eating clam chowder the manager yells at her that she can't eat although theres no customers around. Lastly, when the authors table sends back a lot of food the manager starts screaming in rage and the author in the end walks out. Moral of the story the managers have zero respect for their employees and I believe they are like this because when they got promoted to management level it was probably because they worked up to it and they have a lot of expectations to fill so they try and do that.

improvidence

Lacking foresight; incautious.

Why does the author have to rent an efficiency apartment that is forty-five minutes from her place of employment? How does that reflect the realities of resort communities?

She decides to go with the efficiency apartment because the only option in her budget more local is a trailer park which she would prefer not to live in although it is more convenient. This reality is that there is a lot of competition with the tourists and the wealthy for living space with the people who clean their toilets and fry their has browns.

Explain, in a brief paragraph, Ehrnereich's motives for embarking on this experience.

She was hoping to "go out there and try herself" to live on the wages available to the unskilled. So she wanted to see if she herself could apply for jobs in a few different locations without using her skills she got from education. Her hopes were to attempt to match income to expenses, as the poor do in those places everyday. She applied for different jobs like hotel housekeeping, and waitressing. Although this was the best case scenario for a person, she was trying to experience how a person could survive in the economy's lower depths in a time of exuberant prosperity.

What are some examples of how customers treat Ehrenreich when she is working as a waitress?

Some tables glare at her when she hasn't gotten to them yet to take their drink orders, others are peppy and request special orders like everything on the side, another table has petty complains like the ice tea isn't fresh enough or that the table is sticky and the last one complains and sends food back when it all comes back at once and then when it comes reheated. Another time is when the table takes advantage of her and sends her back to get more items when she's already been to the table multiple times.

How does Ehrenreich leave her waitressing job? Why does she do it?

The author walks out of her waitressing job without even taking out her tips, doing side work, or asking her manager if she can leave. She does this because her manager screams at her, the cook, and a coworker when the customer sends back food and the cook doesn't get food out in time. The manager threw a tray across the room which was the breaking point.

In this parallel universe where...I never got through college, I am "baby," honey," "blondie," and, most commonly, "girl." What point is the author making about education and the types of names that designate her as a female member of the working poor?

The names represent the respect others have for a women member of the working poor. They don't think much of her and assume that she is a dumb women just trying to find the easiest job she can with limited education.

On p. 19, the author imagines that she is a princess in a fairy tale. Later, when she takes up motel housekeeping, she and her fellow maids listen to soap operas while they work. What other forms of escapism are available to the working poor?

The only escapist available to the working poor is the bathroom breaks they get which they still have to hide the fact that they aren't doing something productive, some of the employees sneak a quick cigarette break, and others sit at the table for a little to recuperate.

What kind of community is Key West?

The population is about 25,000 and it is almost at the relevance of a genuine city. The housing is expensive leaving her only with flophouses and trailer homes with her budget. It is a touristy town.

On pp. 13-14, Ehrenreich refers to Winn-Dixie's "onerous application process." Describe this experience. How does it reflect the "corporate point of view"? Do you agree with the author's point, or are businesses justified in asking such questions in order to screen potential employees?

The questions she is asked during the interview reflect the corporate point of view because they are making sure she is someone that a consumer would feel comfortable working with. And that she isn't a troubled person with problems such as " child care" or "stealing" goods. I don't agree with the author because I think the businesses have the right to ask these questions so that they don't hire someone who isn't reliable or safe in the work place. It is safety for both themselves and the customers.

solipsism

The view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist.

On p. 17, the author talks about the touch-screen computer ordering system that she has to master. What other kinds of technology characterize the jobs of the working poor? How might these technologies be barriers to employment?

These techonologies might be barriers to employment because the poor doesn't have the money or education to have learned how to use them which would limit their ability to complete the job.

What are some examples given that illustrate the way management tries to increase productivity out of hourly wage earners.

When the author gets caught reading a news paper her manager orders her to vacuum the entire floor with a broken vacuum that has a 2 foot handle. Other than that the workers try to always find something to do like freshening up the food so that management doesn't give them something way worse to do like mixing dressing.

Neophyte

a person who is new to a subject, skill, or belief.

penury

extreme poverty; destitution.

Covert

not openly acknowledged or displayed.

votive (adj)

offered or consecrated in fulfillment if a vow.