Cost Of Working Poor

Words: 777
Pages: 4
Open Document
The working poor are those who, despite having a job, earn an income that falls below the poverty line. Most of these workers are in blue or pink collar jobs, and the combined threat of their low salaries and being replaced (either by technological advancements or new employees who will work for less) makes it difficult for the working poor to lead a stable life. Rent is a difficult cost to cover with their miniscule income, resulting in many of the working poor going hungry in order to save money for rent. Additionally, most of the jobs offer little to no room for advancement. The majority of the working poor hold jobs in the service industry, where both physical labor and emotional labor are often required. Many of the jobs, such as a hotel …show more content…
However, many of the working poor have jobs that require interactions with the customers, such as a waiter or hairstylist, and these jobs require the emotional labor of seeming energetic and happy to the customer even if they do not feel that way. Despite how taxing the jobs of the working poor are, their compensation remains low and many of the working poor struggle to survive.
The occupation we chose was hotel maids. Hotels will have maids on duty at all times, but individual maids will work 7.5 hour shifts during which they may be required to clean more than 15 rooms. Maids have a long list of responsibilities that mostly revolve around keeping the rooms clean; changing towels and sheets, vacuuming, and dusting are some of their well known tasks, but hotel maids may also be responsible for fulfilling guests’ requests and maintaining the hotel’s property. According to our observations, most hotel maids …show more content…
One particular company, Marriott International, which owns hotels chains such as Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, is run by an executive chairman and a president/chief executive, as well as a board of directors. The hotel industry makes $550 billion annually, but the majority of profit that does not go to improve the hotel is paid to the executives and stockholders. Hotels often hire the working poor because they are such a large population, they are willing to work for low salaries, and they are not as concerned with job benefits as those in white collar or professional jobs. For consumers, having the working poor serve as hotel maids means we have many of our daily concerns, like cleaning, taken care of. When people go on vacation, they want to relax, so hotel maids contribute to that by taking care of some of the unpleasant tasks guests wanted to leave at home. Also, by hiring the working poor, the hotels do not have to pay their maids as much, meaning that guests do not have to pay as much for their stay.. As for our country overall, hotel maids are an invisible source of labor that is convenient because they are out of sight, thus relegating them out of mind as well. They perform the jobs we need done but do not want to do ourselves, and work for low wages so our wallets aren’t majorly
Show More

Related Documents: Cost Of Working Poor

Should Minimum Wage Be Increased

middle class, working class, and the working poor errand more wages to stay out of and above poverty. Not only does increasing the minimum wage benefit those who work for wages or have low income, but it also helps boost the economy, keep local jobs in the United States, but it helps local businesses stay in business. In Seattle Washington, there was an illustration on why Seattle should raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour from $9.32. The biggest reason for this was the working poor is growing…

Words 567 - Pages 3

Essay about Closing Case 1 Apple

iPhone to foreign companies, in particular China? What are the potential costs and risks to Apple? Outsourcing the assembly of iPhones in foreign countries has the potential to expose Apple to fraudulent copies, cost saving assembly mistakes, and government agencies that wish to increase profits by tax increases and manufacturing tariffs. Benefits can be seen as an increase in profitability by taking advantage of low wage costs of assembly line workers and engineers. Many companies have utilized outsourcing…

Words 458 - Pages 2

Japanese Silk Factories Dbq Analysis

Japanese Silk Factory Workers: Did The Costs Outweigh The Benefits? The Industrial Revolution was one of the biggest impacts in the an entire world and generated a mass of job opportunity. Starting from Great Britain, the Industrial movement rushed towards Japan and began in 1868 when the Meiji changed everything. Since the textile industry had been booming, many silk factories were opened. Women began to be hired in these factories and had made a great difference in the Industrial revolution of…

Words 1043 - Pages 5

How Is Obamacare Affecting The Economy

expensive for citizens, it hurts small business, it is hurting people who are not on Obamacare. Obamacare is hurting the very people it was designed to help. It is so expensive that the average worker cannot afford it. While is was designed for the poor, it is putting an already tight budget of the lower income worker into an impossible position, Obamacare has increased by 49 percent in the last 5 years. Low income workers are wondering why they are paying such high premiums, yet faced with crazy…

Words 488 - Pages 2

Gentrification In Neighborhoods

Therefore, it is imperative that a policy be put in place to lessen the effects of displacement on the working poor in gentrifying neighborhoods. The process of gentrification appears to be a phenomena that occurs as a natural reaction to the post white flight and the subsequent Reagan-era, post-industrialized world our society currently inhabits, so it is futile…

Words 1371 - Pages 6

American History: The Gilded Age

3rd In the aftermath of the Civil War, America went through economic growth. With economic growth came issues such as political impact and economic division. There was the poor and the rich, two very different life styles. The rich lived a lavish and comfortable life while the poor lived a hellish life. Unlike the rich, the poor had to fight for fair wages as well as fair labor treatment and freedom. There was even a fight between men and women for women’s independence. All of this is known to us…

Words 920 - Pages 4

Finance: Inventory and Working Capital Essay

Welcome to FIN 370, Working Capital Management. Working capital management entails short-term financial decision making. Short-term decisions involve cash inflows and outflows that occur within a year. What types of decisions need to be made? Here are some examples: 1. How much cash should be kept in order to pay bills? 2. How much cash needs to be borrowed in the short-term? 3. How much inventory should be kept on hand? Working capital management is important for the following reasons…

Words 704 - Pages 3

Essay about Student Advocacy and “Sweatshop Labor”; the Case of Russell Athletic

livelihood is affected with unemployment. Therefore regardless of the working conditions, people have to find some kind of employment to feed their family. Also in some cultures, it is accepted to work long hours (eg- Japan) and use child labor. Another issue is the high competition in the market. People are looking for the cheaper products. To produce cheaper products, the easiest and most effective way is to reduce labor cost, particularly by outsourcing. This could be leads to sweatshop conditions…

Words 945 - Pages 4

The American Dream/Nightmare Essay

Florida,” I was reminded of my time serving for three years. I have had firsthand experience with that life style. The hours are long, the pay is low, the environment is stressful, and there is a total lack of respect towards the employees. With the cost of everything increasing, living off only one very small income is becoming close to impossible. In most cases people are forced to pick up a second job just to make by, leaving them with little to no time at all to develop skills necessary to have…

Words 677 - Pages 3

Week 3 Assignment 1 Essay

stores C. Political – reflected to the business and not to the poor urban people or to the working class III. Groups affected by Industrialization A. Middle Class Workers 1. Growth of the middle class expanded and professional employment had increased. 2. Union labor groups defended workers, employers viewed workers as cost of production then regular individuals. B. Lower Class Workers…

Words 416 - Pages 2