Barbara Ehrenreich was right....
In her book about low-wage earners called "Nickle and Dimed," and another about educated, middle-aged workers called "Bait and Switch," Ehrenreich goes undercover to see what it's really like being at the low end of the totem pole. She paints a picture of endless financial woes and lives spinning out of control, and reports on how differently she is treated when she's a waitress/unemployed, etc.
Yesterday I found out how right she is. I applied at a home care agencies, thinking this would be a great way to do my homework and get paid for it while the ol' folks sleep. Plus, I like working with the elerly. So, I interviewed with an agency called Northwest Staffing, Inc., and was invited to what I thought was an interview, then a paid orientation. I waited for an hour in a conference room while 4 others made their way in, and we got started by writing our names on paper tags.
The administrator, Tracy, went over three thick notebooks of protocol on how to be a caregiver, nevermind the fact that all of us had at one point or another been certified by the state to do it. She told us things like how much trouble we'd get in if we stole money from patients, how important it is not to smoke at a patient's house, how not to cancel a shift without notice. It was obvious they'd been burned before, many times. And sued. More than once.
But with every mistake, came another policy, and by the end I felt like I'd spent a day in grade school. I asked about getting paid, and Tracy told me no, but we get "credit" for it. I told her it was the first time I'd been asked to do an orientation BEFORE I got the job. Nice loophole. Is that legal? They got four others to do it, too. I was ready to leave after the first hour I waited, thinking that I don't want to work for an employer who can't show me the respect to shake my hand and tell me what I am waiting for. But, I am so desperate for some kind of job, I stayed. I figure, that's how these other women were, too. They had no other choice, and this place was offering a heck of a deal: $9.50 an hour, no benefits. How could you pass that up?
My gripe is that I was treated like a little kid, like an uneducated derelict who was going to try and exploit their little system like so many had before. It makes me wonder what they are doing that they hire so many assholes, or piss off so many employees.
Plus, all monetary concerns are magnified 100X when you're flat broke.
In order to get started here, they require:
-A driver's record printout from the DMV, $5
-Scrubs $20
-Employment eligibility test $15
That's $40, or slightly more than four hours of work!
This sucks!
Yesterday I found out how right she is. I applied at a home care agencies, thinking this would be a great way to do my homework and get paid for it while the ol' folks sleep. Plus, I like working with the elerly. So, I interviewed with an agency called Northwest Staffing, Inc., and was invited to what I thought was an interview, then a paid orientation. I waited for an hour in a conference room while 4 others made their way in, and we got started by writing our names on paper tags.
The administrator, Tracy, went over three thick notebooks of protocol on how to be a caregiver, nevermind the fact that all of us had at one point or another been certified by the state to do it. She told us things like how much trouble we'd get in if we stole money from patients, how important it is not to smoke at a patient's house, how not to cancel a shift without notice. It was obvious they'd been burned before, many times. And sued. More than once.
But with every mistake, came another policy, and by the end I felt like I'd spent a day in grade school. I asked about getting paid, and Tracy told me no, but we get "credit" for it. I told her it was the first time I'd been asked to do an orientation BEFORE I got the job. Nice loophole. Is that legal? They got four others to do it, too. I was ready to leave after the first hour I waited, thinking that I don't want to work for an employer who can't show me the respect to shake my hand and tell me what I am waiting for. But, I am so desperate for some kind of job, I stayed. I figure, that's how these other women were, too. They had no other choice, and this place was offering a heck of a deal: $9.50 an hour, no benefits. How could you pass that up?
My gripe is that I was treated like a little kid, like an uneducated derelict who was going to try and exploit their little system like so many had before. It makes me wonder what they are doing that they hire so many assholes, or piss off so many employees.
Plus, all monetary concerns are magnified 100X when you're flat broke.
In order to get started here, they require:
-A driver's record printout from the DMV, $5
-Scrubs $20
-Employment eligibility test $15
That's $40, or slightly more than four hours of work!
This sucks!
Comments
Right around the same time as what happened to you, I also had a negative experience with Northwest Staffing - in particular, Tracy.
But before I go into it, I'll give you a bit of background. I have about 20+ years as a secretary under my belt, plus a masters degree, and plenty of life experience. But, to them, I was still treated like a child-minded, potential convict or whatever it is they seemed to be so concerned about avoiding.
After much patience waiting for my first assignment, I was finally given a temp assignment as a receptionist at a Vancouver-based agency for assisting elderly people. I was waiting for something more administrative, but I was desperate, unemployed, and willing to take whatever pay they were offering. The agency they were sending me to sounded wonderful, so I felt lucky to get an offer to temp there. Unfortunately, the opportunity turned into a nightmare experience.
Evidently, that particular agency was almost completely staffed by Northwest temps - and you were lucky if you simply got hired on to stay, if you could handle the long list of abuses. None of the temps were happy there, nor helpful. So, I was stuck. But that's not the worst part.
After one week, while I was not thrilled with the job, I needed it too badly to call it quits. Throughout my week there, I remained cheerful, helpful, and above-all, professional while I was there - so they'd have no reason to let me go. It was my first assignment with Northwest, so I wanted to make a good impression.
But, to my shock and surprise, I got a call from the agency at the end of the week at home, on a voice message, rudely telling me that they had received complaints about me - that I had refused to cooperate with my supervisors, that I was unwilling to learn my job duties, and that I had expressed my dismay with everyone there. I was speechless. I was completely floored as to why Northwest Staffing had said this to me, why I was being told such things, and why - if Northwest believed any of it to be true - why didn't they choose to handle it in a more professional matter - or simply make me aware that there were problems.
Looking back, all of it seemed to play out like the events of the Gonzalez hearings (if you have been keeping up with what happened with the fired attorneys, it should sound familiar -- i.e. all of the attorneys were fired based on lies about their performance, when legally, all the attorney general had to do was simply fire them for no reason - the same way a temp agency can simply cancel your assignment without notice.
It was crazy - I couldn't understand why such lies were fabricated and why Northwest treated me so badly - and it served absolutely no purpose to anyone on either end. It made no sense. Of course, if any of it were true, I could understand Northwest's position - but why the "attitude"? Why didn't they simply choose to handle it more professionally?
I needed answers. After much research, I found out what happened. It seems that the customer/client where I had worked wanted to hire someone else for the job I was temping for. But instead of simply saying such, the client fabricated a huge lie to Northwest Staffing to get out of staying in a contract with them. I was depicted as incompetent so they could get a refund (Northwest has a policy that they'll give you a complete refund if you're not happy), and they set me up as the one to take the hit. Northwest was duped into believing I was incompetent, then turned around and fired me in the worst way possible, as a way to show off how big and bad they are. Mighty unprofessional, cruel, and wholly analogous of what's going on in this country - even as high up as our justice department.
Anyway, I enjoyed your blog. Thanks for sharing your story.