For what it's worth...

One of the most revolutionary ideas I'd ever heard was that my job wasn't the source of my income. I always thought that  the whole purpose of having a job was to have an income. But just that simple idea, that God is the source of my income, not my employer was so radical, so empowering. I had been unhappy in my job for nearly two years, before someone told me that and within two weeks of hearing it, I was able to transition into a position that was much better suited to what I wanted to do (and paid better too).

Lately I have spent a lot of time thinking about money and worth. Part of this is because I have been charged with organizing all the Walmart solidarity actions for the state of Washington during the Bentonville Strike. In leafletting Walmart I was met with a myriad of responses. Some employees were very receptive and excited that other employees were banding together to make change and to demand better working conditions. And some were very hostile. One woman in Mt. Vernon made a point to tell us we were way out of line and that it was none of our business how Walmart treated it's employees. She was the first lower level store employee I have ever heard defend their wage and it kind of threw me for a loop. Some of the managers make really great salaries, but for the most part the hourly employees are at or slighly above the minimum wage. Here in WA we have the highest minimum wage in the US, $9.19 which is still barely enough to make ends meet.

I don't mean to keep harping on Walmart, actually this post is not about Walmart, but rather about what people think they deserve. What I am realizing is that everyone has a different idea about what they are worth. Salaries are just one way that it's expressed. What is "good enough" for one person might be wonderful for someone else, or insulting. I once interviewed for a position where I would be running programs for a non-profit. The salary was competitive and the programs were very compelling, but then the funding for the position dried up. I was then invited to reapply for the position, but as an AmeriCorp volunteer. Sure the job itself would have been the same, but I couldn't imagine getting up everyday and working my ass off just to be eligible for food stamps. That is certainly not why I got my MA degree. But isn't that reality. Do the people who work low wage jobs work less hard? Is 8 or 10 or 12 hours of their time away from their families really worth so much less? Just something on my mind...