Frederick Taylor, known as the father of scientific management, takes responsibility for the change in the American workplace organization throughout the twentieth century. Taylor believes that power must be redistributed within the workplace by dumbing down the work and shifting those with intelligence from the work shop to a higher level, leading to mass production. This principle opens the doors for foreign immigrants, African Americans and others with little knowledge or skill who now have an opportunity to enter the work industry and better their standard of living. However, these newly employed workers must go through the difficulties of living on a low- wage of six to seven dollars an hour, while being treated harshly and scrutinized for their every move by their employers.

Barbara Ehrenreich, the author of Nickel and Dimed, raises awareness of the lives of low-wage, poverty stricken people being pushed into the labor Market by welfare reform, by highlighting the struggles they encounter daily. She gives up the comforts that come with being a well known journalist, by finding out for herself how many of Americans can survive on near minimum wage. Before searching t

confront others about bringing change by perhaps forming a union. “We can hardly pride ourselves on being the world’s preeminent democracy, after all, if large numbers of citizens spend half their waking hours in what amounts in plain terms, to a dictatorship.” (pg. 210). Those who enter into the low wage workforce, basically give up their civil liberties to those in charge. When someone forgets a maid is coming and therefore forgets to leave a key for them, their manager reprimands them explaining that their forgetting must mean something, like they are dissatisfied with the work of the maid. Employers do

he want ads for a selection of minimum-wage jobs, Barbara first decides to find a place to live. One of the first things she learns is that “trailer trash was now a demographic to aspire to.” (pg. 12) She realizes that earning seven dollars an hour practically limits her to a trailer home with no air conditioning, no fans, no television and no kitchen. Ehrenreich and upper class America have always thought of roadside motels as overnight stops for those traveling however, they are oblivious to the fact that a high percentage of the American population live in these unfortunate conditions yearly. With wages too low and rent far too high, lower class

Ehrenreich’s experiences as a waitress and maid, illustrates how employers work their employees to the limit without any recognition. Employees are forced to work in unsanitary conditions using their hands and knees instead of utensils. While working as a waitress at Heatherside, she must use her hands to scoop up lettuce and hash browns onto plates. Employees are given their own restroom which lacks soap and paper towels. One day while Ehrenreich takes a minute of her time off to glance at the cover of a newspaper, her manager spots her and compels her to clean the entire restaurant floor, and the only way to cover every spot is on her knees. Working as a maid she is told of the services extremely degrading cleaning tactics “We clean floors the old-fashioned way, on our hands and knees.” (pg 83) They must work under these harsh conditions in order to get paid. The maids work very hard in each house with hardly any recognition or gratitude from those they are cleaning for. Ehrenreich is surprised that no one ever offers her a drink of water while she is scrub

Some topics in this essay:
Nickel Dimed, Ted Ehrenreich’s, Wal-Mart Ehrenreich, Frederick Taylor, African Americans, low wage, seven dollars, wage workers, minimum wage, Barbara Ehrenreich, low wage workers, low income workers, civil liberties, nickel dimed, drink water, upper class, ehrenreich explains, drug testing,