The Working Poor | The Price of the American Dream | ENDEVR Documentary

Right now we're on um 192 West Arlo, this road leads to um Disneyland SeaWorld and things like that. It was very quick for me to find a job because I have a lot of different businesses here to apply for and it's mostly them. I'm always looking for a job everywhere destiny took her to this highway in Florida this afternoon on Route 192 we crossed paths with Germania and she all to a normal life a life that looks like that of millions of other Americans after the recession like that that I got a Double Quarter Hit a plane with a cheeseburger, it will be 2786. 9 million jobs have been created since the recession, most of which, like the Germans, are at this fast food giant, the second largest employer in the country.

They say there are jobs but they don't pay you. everything you're not getting paid everything you have to go and get a second job minimum wage jobs good morning thanks for ching dunin Donuts which means Americans are

working

even harder than ever a medium H coffee or a sweet ice cream they pick up part-time jobs

working

70 hours a week often 7 days a week have a good day H, you know, two jobs right now is nothing like I could probably do three jobs if I wanted to, but then definitely not I would sleep these hands the hands that work to keep the American economy running at full steam 9 the workers who helped lift the country out of the economic recession that had brought the economy to its knees are far from reaping the benefits today it is a struggle every day how am I going to do it?

Today it's like how am I going to earn money to buy food? How am I going to earn money to cook my children's dinner at night? You know, thank you, every day is a new chapter of my life, so it's a success story, the story of the amazing United States. economic recovery 8 years after the crisis, its politicians and companies emphasize the message and the statistics seem to confirm it: the main world power has saved its economy. This is pending in our continuing series on the American middle class. Never before had the country created so many people. jobs have never before seen their companies make such huge profits, so the American

dream

should get back on track, but at what

price

do many economic indicators suggest the country is booming?

There have been 73 consecutive months of private sector job growth in this country, which is huge, the recession in this country is long gone, the economy has recovered, so why does it still feel so shaped from its exit from the recession? Florida Florida, one of the hardest hit states, has created over a million jobs like Germany right now. multinational Fast Food Corporation W guys, she works there nights 37 hours a week for about $900 a month tired, I'm very irritated, my head hurts, I don't feel well, I usually leave earlier, I usually leave like a 4:00, they know they have another job but then they just like it but you need to finish this and you need to do this and you need to do that like a lot of other things I feel like they don't really care I really hate overnight I think If I had to start at the usual time, they probably would have started me at 8:50 and I really needed the money, so I thought: you know what I'm going to do overnight if they pay me $95?

I'm going to do $95 like just hold on, it's like 50 cents more. I paid too much for it because I'm sleep deprived, my appetite is gone because I'm so tired and I'm trying to focus on how to do it. come home how to figure out how I'm going to pay for the room and things like that tonight Germania won't even have time to sleep it's 6:00 a.m. and it's time to go again buddy, I'm fucking late. I don't wait to get on the bus so I close my eyes second part of my endless day I just left McDonald's like 2 hours ago now I'm going to start my other job just four months ago Germania was a shift supervisor at a restaurant in the north , then the very common story of a breakup and the desire to start over happened.

I thought about it a lot before coming here for about four or five months and I really like it, do you know what I'm like? I need a fresh start, like a new newspaper, just go somewhere, start over, it doesn't matter if I had to do a low income job again to get back on top, that's what I was going to do, you know, and that's basically what I'm doing now for her Fresh Start Germania chose to move to Florida at the end of this road is Disneyland Orlando and there are 100 million tourists that come every year, bringing the region and this state to full employment when she was more young Germania had a different

dream

to be a pediatrician Hello, how are you for now she is serving coffees a small coffee with milk so they only want ham, egg and cheese or only ham and cheese only ham and cheese without egg I love all my jobs like every job I do I am very committed 100%.

I hope this is like my start and eventually I can move on to, you know, 55 and here's one and two. I'm trying to give myself at least a 5-6 year period to regroup. myself and say okay, I did it now. I'm working this good job and I'm driving. I have a house, my kids are happy to be grown up, so you know, I'm trying to give myself that period of time, I say 6 years. About 6 years into the recession, the United States has lauded itself for creating 9 million jobs, but at least half of them are modest, low-paying jobs to escape living in poverty, in the United States you would have to earn 15 dollars an hour, but Germania only earns eight. a lot of you, um money, when you start working and then to get a raise or something, it takes like 6 months, 8 months just to get 10 cents raise, you know, so really at the end of the day you're working and You're not making anything because they're giving you minimum wage, you know, and to further increase their profit margins, major employers are pushing the envelope even further, splitting hours and splitting shifts.

The head of Germany does not even try to hide it, yes. We have benefits, yes, we have to know, yes, you know we have health insurance, but you have to work full time to get it, that's number one, so you've seen companies using more and more part-time jobs for Avid. Of course, since we launched this new health plan, yes, I hire a lot of part-time jobs so they don't have to pay benefits. You know, we have a lot of competition, so they know, but that's it. until you know, you know the politics, you know it's the market downturn, yes, unstable part-time, low-paying jobs, this is the reality behind the American economic miracle.

This reality has put nearly one in two workers in poverty today, the average American. The social class is disappearing replaced by the working

poor

. This has affected one in three families in the US along the road to Disney. Cheap motels are filled with these workers who cannot afford to rent an apartment. 1,700 families live in this section alone, completely exhausted. After 18 hours of work, Germania is finally able to return to her motel inn. He pays about $850 a month for his room there, that's 3/4 of his salary. I stay at the inn because I don't have enough money to save. for a deposit to get an apartment what it's like to live in the motel it's not fun at all kiss in a hug and then I'll give you a donut and a kiss this is my son Pedro Fernandez he's four years old this is my mother-in-law Marilyn and this is our room where we spend the night night, um, my bed and my daughter's bed.

I really didn't think I would be staying in a motel for so long. I really thought I was going to find something faster than I thought. and I end up not showing you where your pajamas are on top of here Germania has just a few hours of respite to dedicate to doing her third job being a mother is very difficult because you have to keep opening and closing them and open them and take out the school clothes take out the clothes that they are going to use during the day a lot of organization bath time bath time marilyn is the mother of exart from germany she left her town in the north of the united states to help maintain the illusion of a normal life in a room of only 15 M square she takes care of the three children while Germania is at work p p pull you try to make it as comfortable as possible for them making them feel like it's not a big place but this is our small house for now and sometimes it seems okay to them and sometimes it doesn't , but why are they the famous question is why is it not fun, it was up to my granddaughter why can't everything be 99 cents because at least they know that 99 cents is not much, try to manage, you have to go sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down, who wants cheese, who wants pepperoni, pepperon, I want Che and pepperoni and, um, okay, I'm going to start. with one slice and then when you're done with that size I'll give you another size okay because we don't have a lot of big bowls delicious uh the pizza was literally just a few dollars left on my card so kids .

I wanted to eat pizza, so I said, "Okay, let's get some pizza." Now I don't have money, but at least they ate something. How much do you have? I mean like $8, yeah, like $8, I have it in my name right now, why? the sky is very far away why this guy is so far away I don't know why he is so far away I don't know either now I'm going to put you to bed and I'm going to talk to you put on your shoes and go out while you that night yes, come on, big baby, I love, I love you, I love you more, the break was short-lived.

Germania can only see her children 4 hours a day, she is unique, I have never met someone like her um, she doesn't give up easily. I feel bad because she takes away his freedom. She can't enjoy all that quality time with the kids. She only sleeps a few hours, maybe an hour, maybe 2 hours when she has to. She goes back to work and she's 25 and she's only 25. I think she's going to be trapped in the system for a long time. She will always be working, so everyone who doesn't say it, I say this American dream, a lot of garbage in me.

Eyes, it's all a load of rubbish, it's just to make those who are rich and have more make those less fortunate work harder, more money in their pocket and less money for those who are really busting their butts or sacrificing the most. which is not fair. So I don't consider it an American dream. American workers have emerged from the crisis more vulnerable and even

poor

er than ever, condemned to always work longer hours just to survive and find a job. Most of them move to the most prosperous cities. in the countryside Seattle is one of them heard this whisper through the cracks of the factory it's a new beginning today first day of work get to uh yeah see what they have for me Joe just got here from California he's a construction worker and here in the fourth most expensive city in the country new buildings are being built no- Stop here , the economy is doing pretty well in Seattle compared to everywhere else.

I mean, that's why there are so many people who are flocking to places where the economy is, you know, actually growing, growing like it's an economic refugee. I feel like I feel like I feel like that, I think a lot of people are nowadays, but since yeah, the collapse, whatever, I think yeah, a lot of people are, yeah, you have to move and adapt and overcome, I guess that you have to go where the money is, at least there's a chance you have a chance more chances on the other side of town Amber Joe's 7-year-old daughter is figuring out her new house this morning in her print pajamas Cherries is a little overwhelmed by the camp, a camp that is home to those who have been left behind by the city this is my mom this is my family we see right there and me the real butt Amber is a girl little girl who has been dragged from city to city when her parents go looking for work Amber changes schools she hasn't even enrolled in Seattle yet while she waits she's making friends your hands are cold she's not okay Chelsea's mom Amber is a cashier at downtown earns almost $1,300 a month working full time wash your hands put your hands down before you go to work you have to prepare a bottle for atoria your youngest son yes the bathroom yes i have urinals in the bathroom , it really sucks, you know, it's hard, you know, because you have to share with I don't know, maybe 40 or 50 people, you know?

It's not exactly what he expected in life, you know, after spending the last of their money on motel rooms, Joe's family had no choice but to end up here in this church parking lot, okay, okay, it's worrying, you know, because I don't want to be. living like this, you know, I never thought I would be in this kind of situation for my kids to be in this kind of situation, I never did it and this is the first time I had to do it, you know CU? I had tons and tons of money and now it's like I'm stupidly funded, you know, it's really very annoying to be here,You know, in Seattle, 500 families live in these temporary camps tolerated by the city, they house people whose insufficient wages mean they can't no longer live in cities that have become too expensive.

These are the Americans who were hit hardest by the recession and That these families on the street never managed to recover, this childhood spent on the side of the road represents the hidden side of economic recovery. A story that a supposedly rich United States finds difficult to tell in the richest country in the world. More than a million children are homeless, double the number before the economic crisis. It came down to Picking up the crumbs of opportunities on foot by bus. Joe has been on the road for 2 years. Hours trying to maintain hope of finding work.

The hope he has left this morning is behind this door. He offers himself work for the city's construction sites. They already finished. I have to get a real job. This is not right for me. He just said yes. He said he only sent like three people this morning, but yeah, yeah. a guy still sitting there mad at myself. He should have gotten me up earlier. I guess I fell asleep for 10 minutes, so I guess I'll have to get up even earlier, around 4, to get here. I should probably be here by 5:30 in the morning to maybe go to work maybe not and yes, every day, yes, almost every day, take any G, but I would shovel now if I had to, I should probably head to the north for these day-to-day workers to come here. let me change a little stinker, but wait, put this in, often the inevitable fall into financial ruin is dizzying, well, you weren't supposed to eat it.

Areno used to have his American dream within reach see dad see your uncle see your other uncle during the At the time his music video was played repeatedly on American television, his song was called "Be Number One." Hey oh oh oh, I'm, that's the thing about America, you'll have your UPS, you'll have your Downs. You're going to have your best moments, you're going to have your hardest moments, but the point is to be true to yourself and the key is to keep going, never stop, never stop. I think America is just a playground for high-level people. you know because I've dealt with a lot of people who have been at the top and when you meet these types of people, it's like they don't think about life like we do, you know, it's just like, oh, anything I can do, I can make something happen if I snap my finger, you know, I think it's all for the rich, you know, it's all for their benefit, I wouldn't say they pick on the poor, you know, because I don't believe.

Nobody messes with the poor, but they look down on you, you know, and being someone who was once in the top position before I got here can make you realize that I looked down on that person here. Socks Socks I don't know Hey baby, come on here socks socks we don't do that young lady, are you proud to be an American? I do, oh yes, yes, why H, why are we still America, we still are, I mean, yeah, our light is a little dimmer now. I don't know America, oh yeah, wow. tough question, I am, I'm still proud to be an American, it was almost hard to find a reason now, wow, it really is, I guess I mean, I think it's in my blood, I was born here, my family's been here since before that we are a country.

I'm not proud of a lot of things right now. I'm not a proud American per se. I guess I love my country. I would die for my country, but yeah, I mean, things have to change. The poor become poor because the rich want more. money or whatever, they know they want more, which I'm fine with, I really am, I don't have anything against rich people, I think so, that's amazing, amazing, but like I said, I've never gotten him a I work for a poor person, not even once. I think there is a limit and I think some should be rejected.

I mean, yeah, 10 cities. I mean, look at one of the richest cities in the country. You know these things shouldn't be happening. I mean, I'm embarrassed. It's a real blow to my pride. I mean, yeah, it sucks. Sacrifice its most vulnerable citizens to remain the world's leading economy at all costs. Is this the new American dream? It is a dream for the financial giants. A remarkable economic rebound in which workers pay the

price

. Erie. It actually used to be one of the industrial capitals of the United States, basically, if it's made of plastic, wood or metal, there's no reason it couldn't be built here in ER, like the cradle of American industry, factories in Erie they put more than 75% of the country's locomotives in circulation on the tracks that helped build America Yuri is dying the ones that are still here are a shadow of what they used to be the ones that still remain uh and the ones that uh many of them they just closed If you see in front of us up here, I mean the building is literally falling apart now, uh, but these are all old factories that have been here since they closed, that's another one that closed.

Scott Slawson is at the head of one of the oldest. unions in the US. In other words, he is the sworn enemy of the multinational company whose employees he defends. GE is right here, we will actually see it from the front from the north side General Electric The American energy giant 36 branches in 142 countries the seventh largest company in the world, its most successful branch is headquartered here, transportation, but they live here on borrowed time. General Electric decided that the wages they were paying us were too high and did not support the profit margins that the company wanted, we didn't even know that those profit margins were in the range of 19 and 20%, so they built a manufacturing factory. low wages in Fort Worth, Texas, and that led to the layoff that we're in today because we just don't understand at some point what's going to happen. provoking the collapse of the United States is the new strategy of large American companies to relocate within the US and move to where wages are lower for these locomotives it will be in Texas, a state without unions, the workers there will be paid half than they were getting paid in Erie and the layoff plan is already implemented here General Electric is laying off 1,353 people hello hello hello hello hello Tom Swar is next on the list good good A lot of people honking oh yeah we have a lot of people honking the horn as well as GE technician Tom Swar makes electrical wiring for locomotives.

What's happening is people are leaving the plant right now and they're honking in solidarity with just us standing here with that horn since they started laying off five six months ago. They come here every Thursday. My name is Tom. I'm 43 years old. I have been a GE employee for 13 years and have worked in the union for 11 of 13 years. Tomorrow is my last day of work. I am permanently laid off, my name is s and I have been a GE for 11 years and a half day to day. I don't know if I'll have a job tomorrow or something.

I received my notice the other day due to a reduction in workforce you will be removed from your current job this contact serves is a 40 hour notice of your permanent lack of work a few quick sentences on a piece of paper is what you receive when you goes after 13 years of service after 13 years of working in a large corporation this is exactly what you have when it's your turn your boss comes to you your PTA you are a business leader and you they come they hand you a piece of paper they walk you down the hall pass each of your coworkers through the building to his office to give him the newspaper and tell him when his last day is happy, it is very humiliating that everyone looks at him knowing what is happening, they know that his day is approaching, but Having that walk of shame and losing their job for nothing they have done is wrong, the recession was the perfect pretext to implement the new rules of the game by reducing salaries and relocating to factories without unions.

I mean, you guys can go back across the street or we can call Lord's. Park tries to find these blue collar workers, they had to take it or leave it. I was born and raised in Erie. I love being here. I love the city, but I don't know if I'll have a chance if they fire me. staying in the city it would be very sad if I had to leave a lot of people who were laid off and decided they were going to move and do something else, I don't want to do that, you know, this place is At home it was a different day because I had to um I had to clean out my locker I had to return the tools to the tool area I had to make sure everything was ready for tomorrow on my last day uh yes Can I go on a diet C please C thank you yes?

I was very proud to work for G 13 years ago and to some extent I still am because I want to say we do good work there. I think it might have been part of the diet at some point. American dream to work at G, but my aunt worked at GE and she worked her entire career at G and was on the floor and finally ended up in the offices working for GE and when I graduated high school, she told me when I just got out of high school, she said you needed to get a job at GE because I worked there my whole life and it was a good job and a good paying job and here I am, 25 years later, working at GE and getting laid off. of G in 15 years 5 million industrial jobs have been destroyed in the US.

In fact, it is the end of the captains of industry, of the paternalistic companies that turned the United States into a leading world power, hand in hand with his workers at an EMP this morning like any other For the last 13 years, Tom Swar got up at 5:45 a.m. m., he is a punctual man even on the day of his dismissal. Last night I had a little trouble sleeping looking at my watch thinking what time it is or what do you know what. What time do I have to get up? The more I think about it, the more I think it's going to be a stressful day.

I think I'm going to miss getting up every day and the daily routine because I'm a person of habit I like getting up I like having somewhere to go and having to be there at a certain time and finishing my day and doing certain things every day um waking up and having nothing to do is a little disconcerting, in a few hours the seventh largest company in the world will have taken away your badge, your job, and your certainty that you are still part of the American middle class. In the US unemployment benefits are not mandatory, but thanks to his union negotiations, Tom will receive 70% of his salary for 6 months afterward, who knows, so what is the thought process behind that in General Electric Union headquarters Scott Slaon just received more bad news?

The company wants to get rid of 181 more jobs. We're not going to sell the farm for 181 jobs because that's not fair, uh, to number one, everyone who is on the street and everyone who is currently working, it's just not fair, but we'll see later, bye , the company we work for, uh, they're not very admirable. but General Electrics' profits continue to rise, they have just redistributed $26 billion to their shareholders since the beginning of negotiations. Scott Slawson has felt like he's fighting a losing battle, they can afford to keep them but the fact of the matter is they're looking for ever-increasing profit margins and you know you can keep hitting a rock until it turns to dust, but a Once it's powdered you're not going to beat it to make it smaller, eh, but they're going to try to get what they want. one thing stands in their way unions the last line of defense that protects workers and for them this is a death sentence planned by the financial districts of the United States back then people knew what it was like to fight for a cause a long time ago just 50 years ago one in three Americans were protected by a union now it is only one in 10 at the government level and at the employer level they have done a good job of instilling that fear in people that if you bring in a union, we will go out of business. and you move to another place, so there is an excessive fear of losing your job.

If you form a union, you know they basically have you, so you'll agree to things you wouldn't normally agree to going back into a union. American employees on the corner have nowhere to turn. Tom and his colleagues now only hear news about the company they have dedicated their lives to by reading the local newspaper. Did you see this? No, I don't even read. Front, I don't even read. on the front page of the Eerie newspaper when they're laying people off the same day they put GE Fort Worth there, they made their, they made a thousand locomotives the same day and they put it in the paper the same day we They laid him off, how's that for a slap in the face?

Chris, well, we go on and on. General Elric celebrated a milestone Thursday afternoon in Texas that could be read as a message to union leaders in an area where it would not be us who are the leaders, but Union members as they continue to negotiate with the company, you still love the United States United, oh, it will always be my country. I have a flag in front of my yard, so it's very patriotic that these big companies areMove out of here and, you know, slap people in the face and make them feel. like shit and the American dream is that it's going to be harder to set things up, you know, it's not just about salaries, it's not just about benefits, it's about treating you like a human being, you know, no, this is not a third world country that we live in this, you know, this is the United States, but these big corporations want to treat you like they treat these countries that have no losses, you know, like China that makes 50 cents an hour or whatever they want.

They treat you like that they see what they are doing there and why they can't do it here the economic recovery has only really enriched a small fraction of the United States the middle class that for decades embodied the American dream has fallen by the wayside in Florida, we We have caught up with Germania and her family 6 months after we met, that for her nothing has changed, she still works the same long hours and still doesn't have an apartment. I never expected her to live or move from hotel to hotel with them. I want to have a happy family, not a family that jumps from here to here to here and that has my children confused and asking me why we are here, where is my puy, what are we going to do, you know, don't get involved. that. details and we will stay here in the hotel and because we are homeless and all this I just say that this will be our temporary home and they tell me that it's okay mommy, it's okay, that's why they started saving their piggy bank. little pig I have because they said oh let's save all our change that way we have money to be able to move, you know, along the way to the Disney motels they stand up with these semi homeless families, as long as they don't stay too long , this motel is already the fifth that Germania has stayed in in 4 months, until now the motel has not dared to kick them out, perhaps because classes start tomorrow.

I got you guys, behave for me, it's okay for Marilyn, it's time to go, she has to go back to her husband, who she hasn't seen in 6 months, yes, my heart is divided. I don't want to leave my grandchildren, mom, but me. I also need a life I think the hardest part is not listening um not listening go say good morning Nana n what's for breakfast n can I have this or her favorite words? I'm hungry he's always hungry yes no n you help me a lot your password is nothing more than anyone has done for me give me this it will make me stronger there there there I love you I love you I love you more careful okay, in any case, let me know okay, love you better, stop crying, leave it, oh, she It's over, there was a time for broken PR.

Patch all our things in a bag. We can take them with us. We try to make everything fit after spending a month in this store. Joe Chelsea and the kids are getting ready to leave camp. A place just finished. be available in an emergency shelter in the city, one step closer to civilization I guess they have beds to sleep in instead of boxes, you know, real beds, we will have our own bathroom, we will shower whenever we want, yes, I need to bring my have that moving again one more time is in a way yes you have to do what you have to do how many times in the last year would you say in the few years let me see 1 2 3 4 5 6 78 probably about 10 times they are refugees in their own country they will have the right to stay 6 months in the center they will move to 6 months to recover find a stable job and an apartment before they punish people you know this is nice a lot of punishment and not being able to keep your children as you want or a house where to live that you can call home this is not my home, my home is a kitchen, a living room, pick up your children from school and be able to go home and say we are home children, you know this is not the Home, this is not at home for me, it is difficult, it is very difficult, but I have to start staying strong to make children, you know, yes, you are a strong woman.

You know, yes, I know, I know, but 6 months was not enough not being able to find an apartment. Joe Chelsey and his kids are back at the camp where we met them. Come on guys, come on, come on, let's go for Germania and her children. however life is changing a family assistance program has found him an apartment this three bedroom apartment for which they will pay the deposit for his hour they have this room here this is my room whose bedroom is on the stove now we can bake again do our cookies to see every day and big it is comfortable I love the rooms I love how it has two rooms with bathrooms it is very nice it is beautiful a long time ago Germania made a promise to her daughter on her ninth birthday that she would have a happy birthday house to live in life on a knife edge, a precarious balance, it took a recession and then a supposed recovery for the United States to reveal the true face of its economy.

Well, don't cover my face guys, there's always that chance that you guys will always go down and I will. I always think that America definitely does that and they have to keep it in mind all the time, it's part of the American dream, at the end of the day, it's part of what everyone thinks is useful, it's not the reality there.