Payday is Wednesday each week. By that time, I’ll only have $20 in my pocket. This is life as a low wage worker in New York City.
I work hard to take care of my 16-year-old daughter, who has autism, and my 65-year-old mother. My part-time job as a package handler at UPS pays $17.85 an hour. I never know how many hours I’m going to get, and the company has supervisors doing our work to get the job done while paying us less.
My mom was also a single mother. She raised seven kids on her own in Brooklyn. When my paycheck comes in, I take care of my daughter first. I make sure she has the food and clothes that a growing kid needs. I want her to have support now, so she won’t have to depend on anyone else when she grows up.
After providing for my daughter, there isn’t much left. I get help from family when I can, but they are struggling too. It is mentally and physically draining to always be on the edge of financial emergency.
No one can survive on $17.85 in New York. We have all been hurt by rising prices over the last two years. Groceries. Clothes. Transportation. Not long ago, a hero at the local deli cost $5. Now it's $10 and it seems like every couple of weeks the price goes up again. Despite those price increases, the minimum wage has stayed the same. We all need a raise.
My union, the Teamsters, is negotiating our new contract with UPS and demanding pay increases and more full-time jobs. We also want to end the company’s abusive practices during the busy holiday season,...
Tehran – Saba: The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the subversive actions taken by the rulers of Abu Dhabi against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Last night, Tasnim News Agency reported that the...