Like Rain on Parked Cars, Chapter 16 – In the Workplace

“For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress…For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall” (Isa. 25: 4).

Aretha called, upset.  I had been expecting a call, but not like this.  She was supposed to have started a new job.

The position was at a facility for the mentally handicapped.  Aretha would be serving as an aide, assisting patients with meals, bathroom needs, and other daily activities.  She was so happy to have landed the job.

Everything had looked positive, just a few days ago.

As it turned out, Aretha and a cousin had gone out to a club Sunday evening.  The club was crowded.  Somehow, an argument started up between Aretha’s cousin and another young woman there.

Perhaps one woman, by chance, bumped into the other.  Perhaps a drink was spilled.  Words were exchanged, and a fist-fight broke out, with several of the other woman’s friends joining in.

Aretha first attempted to break things up, then assisted her cousin in exiting the club.  As the two waited in the street outside for their ride home, a car veered sharply toward them.  Aretha managed to dodge.  The car, however, struck Aretha’s cousin, dragging her several yards.

Police were called, and quickly arrived on the scene.

The woman who had started the altercation in the club was identified as the driver.  Aretha’s cousin was taken by ambulance to the hospital, having sustained several severe fractures.  Aretha and other witnesses were questioned into the early morning hours by police.

Because of all this, Aretha was unable to make it to work on time Monday.  Evidently, her new employer did not view this as boding well, and let her go on the spot.

“What if I call your boss?”

“I don’ know.”

“Do you think that might help?”

“Maybe.”

“Does she know what happened?”

“I tol’ Rollie.”

“Who’s Rollie?”

“He works theah.”

“But did you tell the woman in charge, honey?  He may not have explained the situation to her.”

“I was really tired.  I didn’ think it would make any difference.””

We figured at this point it could not hurt for me to call, so I got the number and dialed.

“Ma’am, I’m an attorney calling on behalf of a new employee of yours.  I understand you recently had a problem with her.”

“[Ahem.]  Yes, we felt it prudent not to go forward with the employment arrangement.”

“I understand, Ma’am.  I’m not calling to cause you any problems.  I just want to make sure you have all the facts.”

“Facts?”

“I’m not sure if you’re aware.  But Aretha was the subject of a vehicular assault last night.  Police had to be called.  Her cousin was hospitalized, seriously injured.”

“Oh, no!  We did not know that.  I hope she’s all right.”

“Thankfully, Aretha was not hurt.  She was though detained most of the night by police for questioning.  That’s the reason she was late for work.  Of course, Aretha was in no way responsible for the assault.   Ordinarily, she’s very dependable, and extremely motivated.”

“We didn’t realize that.  Well, naturally, that puts a different light on things.”

“Would you consider giving Aretha another chance?  It would mean a great deal to her.”

I sighed with relief, when I hung up the phone.  The job had been saved.  The daily commute would, however, take Aretha six hours – not exactly what I had in mind, when I first tried talking Aretha into taking a job outside the comfort of her immediate neighborhood.

At least Aretha had alerted me to the situation early enough, so that I could try and intervene.  More often than not, I learned of such events too late.  Aretha accepted them as the norm in her life.

There was, also, denial involved.  In order to stay sane, Aretha would convince herself that situations anyone else would have seen as disastrous were still under her control.

Not having had anyone to call for help in the past, Aretha did not expect anyone to respond now.  I was not deluded enough to view myself as any great “savior.”  My attempts to assist Aretha were simply better than nothing.

Minimum Wage Jobs

Aretha had been looking for work as long as I had known her.

While still involved with the children’s agency, Aretha applied for sales positions at several shoe and clothing stores, as well as a large department store.  She finally found work as a waitress, but the move back to Philadelphia meant leaving that position behind.

Part of the problem was that – intelligent as Aretha was – her skills were limited.

There were file clerk positions in Center City that, if not fascinating, would have been steady work.  Aretha could not type fast enough to qualify as a secretary.  Many administrative assistant positions required some college.

Aretha might have worked in food service at a hotel or hospital.  There was always data entry or reception.  Many of these, however, were minimum wage jobs.

Most were dead-end positions – not really a surprise, when you realize that the combined wealth of the 225 richest individuals on the globe is equal to the income of the 2.5 billion poorest [1].

After her pregnancy, Aretha declined employment with a delivery company which would have allowed her gradual advancement, and paid for her education.

Aretha could not wait that long.  For the same reason, Aretha could not be talked out of her six hour commute.  The job meant everything to her.  She would find a way to support and rear her son, and go to college, as well.  She was adamant.  After all, who needed sleep?

Scams Targeting the Poor

Like many others, Aretha responded to an advertisement that promised well-above minimum wage, no prior experience necessary.  She worried what to wear to the interview.

The job turned out to be wholly commission-based for the door-to-door sale of costly knives.  The likelihood of a successful sale in West Philadelphia was somewhere between nil and non-existent.

One enticing ad required a down payment by applicants before they could be “considered” for what proved phantom jobs.  It was a scam perpetuated on the destitute.

Another scam promised job seekers positions as “agents” and “financial managers.”  Again, the positions were bogus.

Victims were tricked during the interview process into providing social security and bank account numbers, supposedly so that future paychecks could be deposited directly.  Some were then victims of identity theft.

Other victims were inadvertently involved in money laundering, without being aware of the true nature of the transactions taking place.

Many of these scams were surprisingly sophisticated.  Several instructed job candidates to forward cash donations made to a non-existent charity out of the country.  These “charities” were described in heartbreaking detail, one allegedly for child victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Yet another scam promised advantageous civil service placement.  Candidates were shown actual civil service postings, given a rudimentary “test,” then told they had shown potential, and qualified for more advanced coaching…at a fee.

If you think all this foolish, you have not walked in these shoes.  Human beings talk ourselves into a great many things, when they see no other choice.  People seize hope wherever they can – sometimes manufacturing it, when they should be wary.

We live on hope as much as air.

Banking and the Poor

You may doubt this.  Certain bankers have learned to rely on it.  A lucrative business has developed targeting the inner cities and those with bad credit.

We had seen predatory lending practices at the legal clinic.  Initial rates were attractively low to lure customers into running up charges.  However, a single late payment would trigger huge penalties and a substantially higher rate.

In past, immigrants coped with the unavailability of credit by forming credit unions, St. Mary’s Bank CU being the first in America (chartered by French Canadian immigrants in 1908).  Many cities have banks and savings associations founded by members from particular communities or ethnic groups.

Though African American banks do exist, their assets are comparatively small, as the banking industry goes.  OneUnited, among the largest, as of 2018 had $661 million in assets, compared with Citigroup’s $2.4 trillion [2][3].

This shortage of capital limits the size of loans African American banks can make, and often limits the services they offer.  As far as I am aware, only one African American owned bank is located in Philadelphia, as of this writing.

There is a lingering resentment among some African Americans toward immigrants, whatever their country of origin.  I have come across this repeatedly.

At first, I assumed my own immigrant past (and the difficulties my parents and grandparents faced on coming to this country) would establish a bond.  It did not.

Those to whom I mentioned my background were polite enough to change the subject, and hide their true sentiments.  Those from whom I withheld the information, expressed their understandable resentment that American persons of color were being surpassed by newly arrived immigrants.

I make no assertion that this view is universal in African American communities (or even in the inner city).  Unfortunately, to the extent it does exist, the resentment prevents groups with similar needs from recognizing (and making the most of) their common interests.

Let me add that wealth among African Americans is increasing, at least among African American members of the upper class.  This is one of the factors driving the growth of African American banks.

However, America’s middle class has shrunk over the last fifty years [8].  Between 1970 and 1990, the number of inner city neighborhoods experiencing poverty rates in excess of 20% doubled, as did the number of communities experiencing poverty rates in excess of 40%.

Financial Crises

The Great Recession had millions struggling to find work, retain their homes, and put food on the table.  Subprime mortgage-backed securities imploded, decimating the retirement savings of countless ordinary individuals with little or no knowledge that these securities even existed, let alone about the risks they involved.

The Covid-19 crisis and related lockdowns had much the same effect, with young people, women, small business owners, and gig workers (temporary and part-time independent contractors, many with limited education) most heavily impacted [4].  Many households were unprepared for an economic shock of this magnitude.

Underclass

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities reports that the income disparity between the wealthy and middle and lower classes increased in twenty-eight states from 1980 to 2000.

The underclass — the working poor, long-term unemployed, and homeless — is growing [5][6].  African Americans and Hispanics make up a large percentage [7].

Our Brother’s Keeper

Difficult to believe though it may be, I have known two attorneys who were at some point in their lives homeless.  One of these was African American, the other Caucasian.

None of us is immune to the travails of life, as the recent financial crises have shown.  We should not forget that lesson.

Financially and spiritually, our fate is tied to that of our less well-off brothers and sisters. The answer to that age-old question is “yes”.

Yes, we are our brother’s keeper.

—

[1]  McGill Journal of Medicine, “Joining the Fight against Poverty:  Open Invitation from the International Poverty and Health Network to All Health Professionals” by Iona Heath and Andy Haines, 2000, file:///C:/Users/Anna%20Waldherr/Downloads/jlam,+heath.pdf.

[2]  Wikipedia, “OneUnited Bank”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OneUnited_Bank.

[3]  Companies Market Cap, “Citigroup (C) – Total assets”, March 2024, https://companiesmarketcap.com/citigroup/total-assets/.

[4]  World Bank Group, “Chapter 1.  The economic impacts of the Covid-19 crisis”, https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2022/brief/chapter-1-introduction-the-economic-impacts-of-the-covid-19-crisis.

[5]  Wikipedia, “Lower class”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_class.

[6]  Pew Research Center, “How the American middle class has changed in the past five decades” by Rakesh Kochhar and Stella Sechopoulos, 4/20/22, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/04/20/how-the-american-middle-class-has-changed-in-the-past-five-decades/.

[7]  Urban Institute, “Racial and Ethnic Disparities Among Low-Income Families” by Margaret Simms et al, August 2009, https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/32976/411936-racial-and-ethnic-disparities-among-low-income-families.pdf.

[8]  Newsweek, “America’s Middle Class Is Shrinking” by Giulia Carbonaro, 6/20/24,  https://www.newsweek.com/america-middle-class-shrinking-1913772.

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