In the tradition of Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed, Slate.com., presents a weeklong journal of a sanitation worker in training by anthropologist Robin Nagle (New York University). On Monday’s entry Nagle describes the ups and downs of the job.
In reference to the training process, Nagle says:
At any moment in the process, for a host of reasons, a candidate can be disqualified and kiss the job goodbye. I had heard guys say that becoming a sanitation worker was like winning the lottery; now I understand what they meant.
As to the job expectations, Nagle pointedly notes:
A buddy who has worked behind the truck for nearly two decades laughs when I complain about getting up so early. “That’s where you learn humility,” he says. Others are more pragmatic. Early hours are a small price for steady pay, job security, benefits. “You’ll have a paycheck for the rest of your life,” we are told over and over. “This job will let you raise a family, buy a house, send your kids to college.” The American Dream is laid out before us as shiny as the wet streets outside; all we have to do is hang in for 20 years.