RE: [UC] striking at strikes ....

[Turner,Kathleen]

Title: Message

Somehow, Mr.. Rhoades' comments bring my favorite description of G.W. Bush to mind -- "He was born on third base and thinks he hit a triple to get there".   The government's unemployment figures hide a lot of hard truths -- that there are many people working at jobs that 20-30 years ago might have been filled by teenagers (McDonalds, stock clerks, etc.) because they don't have skills/qualifications to find a "career".  And why aren't they going to school or doing something to "improve" themselves so they can find a career?  Probably because they're not working at Wal-Mart OR McDonalds; they're working at Wal-Mart AND McDonalds, and probably another part time job as well, all without health benefits.   Kathleen -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 4:33 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [UC] striking at strikes .... "Well, the Wal-mart example is a good one however, I do look at it sort of different, and maybe I'm living in the 50s.  I see most of the people working at as a job, not as a career.  I don't think of Wal-mart as a career place other than maybe some management.  I shop there with that mindset and think that many of the problems are people believing that their job at Wal-mart should be something to support their family."   Do you really think that "many of the problems are people believing that their job at Wal-mart should be something to support their family" is valid?  Do you have any idea just how many people do exactly that?  Work in retail or some other low paying job because it's the best they can do or it's the only job they can get ... that that job IS what helps pay the rent, utilities, puts food on the table, etc.  I've known college graduates ending up working in a store because that's the only  job they could get.   I myself have been through the working in retail, having a roommate, living on eggs and pasta with margarine cause I couldn't even afford tomato sauce and struggling to make ends meet.  Why?  I had no choice.  I had gone from being homeless - having been kicked out of my house to taking the first job I could get to get me off the street.   I'm not a college graduate, I am a high school graduate.  I did end up working for many years as a legal secretary before I became disabled.  Going from a legal secretary salary to SSDI has been like going back in time money wise.    I guess the point is anything can happen to any one of us at any time,  so don't assume that a degree or anything else can prevent you from ending up in a position of being poor or the working poor.   W