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Nickel and Dimed Summary
Description
Here you will find a Nickel and Dimed summary (Barbara Ehrenreich's book).
We begin with a summary of the entire book, and then you can read each individual chapter's summary by visiting the links on the "Chapters" section.
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Last Updated: Monday 1 Jan, 2024
Chapters Nickel and Dimed Summary Overview
In the late 90s, a mature female journalist and activist decided to get a closer look at the struggles faced by America's low-income workers. She took on the roles of unskilled, minimum-wage jobs in three US cities, while hunting for budget-friendly accommodation. To portray an accurate picture, she didn't mention her Ph.D. or extensive skills on applications, ensuring that she was considered for only the most basic positions. She did, however, use her personal funds to guarantee she always had a car, food, and wasn't homeless. Her journey started in Florida, where she found a low-cost apartment thirty miles away from work. She anticipated earning $7 per hour, but her waitress job paid less due to tips being included in the salary. Despite her camaraderie with colleagues, she struggled due to her inexperience. When she realized that her current wage would not cover living costs, she tried to juggle a second job but found the physical demands too high. She then moved on to housekeeping at a hotel but eventually left due to a disagreement with a supervisor. She then moved to Maine where she found a small affordable flat and took on two jobs. One was with a cleaning service where she was part of a team cleaning affluent homes. This physically demanding job led to her developing a skin condition. She found that the cleaning methods used were more about aesthetic appearance than actual cleanliness. She was also unsettled by the disparity between what customers paid and what she earned. Her second job was at a nursing home, serving food to Alzheimer's patients. The interaction with the residents was enjoyable, but the cleanup after meals was taxing due to equipment breakdowns. Her final destination was Minnesota, where finding affordable, safe, and decent housing was a real challenge. After being advised to stay in a shelter, she accepted two job offers. One at a hardware store which she left before the first shift due to poor working conditions. The other was at a retail clothing store. The work environment was not conducive, from the ongoing store rearrangements to the customers leaving items all over the store. She found herself becoming bitter and decided to quit after advocating for a union at an employee meeting. Reflecting on her experiences, she concluded that minimum wage jobs in America were not sufficient to live on without multiple jobs and zero unexpected expenses. She also noticed that employers withheld wage information from their employees and dehumanized workers through techniques like random drug tests. She further observed class and racial prejudices in managerial attitudes. She recognized that medical and childcare benefits were too costly even for the middle class, let alone minimum wage workers. Her hope was that one day the working poor would demand change, leading to a better nation.
introduction
Barbara Ehrenreich, an author and activist, outlines her objective in the book: to experience life as a minimum-wage worker in America. She embarked on this project in 1998, a time when the average hourly wage required to afford a one-bedroom flat was $8.89. Still, the possibility of an individual on welfare securing a job with such a 'living wage' was estimated at a slim 3%. Ehrenreich set certain ground rules for her endeavor. She would not leverage her professional skills during job hunts and would aim for the highest paying job while seeking the most affordable housing options. However, she would use additional funds when needed to ensure access to a car, food, and prevention of homelessness. By 1998, Ehrenreich was in her late 50s and acknowledges she had several benefits, including being a white, English-speaking, healthy individual with no children to support. After her primary location, she decided against cities like New York and LA due to her ethnicity and language. Despite holding a Ph.D. in biology, she stated on applications that she had completed three years of college. She also altered the names of individuals and businesses she interacted with for anonymity purposes. She concludes the introduction by stating her experience represents the 'best-case scenario' for someone benefiting from ethnicity, education, health, and motivation.
one
Ehrenreich chooses to work close to her home in Key West, Florida. Her first challenge is finding affordable accommodation on a projected hourly wage of $7, eventually settling for an apartment thirty miles away. She applies for over twenty jobs in supermarkets and hotels, primarily to avoid standing all day. Despite the numerous job ads, she quickly realizes they are not reflective of actual vacancies but rather high turnover rates. She finally secures a job as a waitress at Hearthside, a diner attached to a motel, earning $2.43 per hour. She struggles with serving and completing additional tasks like cleaning and restocking. Despite the hard work and long hours, she bonds with her coworkers and feels a sense of responsibility towards her customers. She quickly becomes disenchanted with the diner’s management, who keep the staff busy even during slow periods. Her living conditions and those of her colleagues are far from ideal, largely due to the financial demands of relocating. She takes on a second job at Jerry’s, another diner, when she realizes she might not make rent. She finds her work at Jerry’s unappealing, particularly because she has to handle food directly. After a few double shifts, she quits Hearthside to focus on Jerry’s. Her attitude towards customers slowly sours, especially towards those who don’t tip. Her income at Jerry’s, including tips, averages to about $7.50 per hour. Ehrenreich befriends George, a Czech dishwasher earning $5 per hour. His living conditions are even worse, with multiple occupants taking turns to sleep in available beds. After he is wrongly accused of theft, a disillusioned Ehrenreich decides to move closer to Jerry’s and takes on an extra job as a housekeeper at the attached hotel. She finds the housekeeping job physically taxing and monotonous. After a particularly tough day juggling both jobs, Ehrenreich quits on the spot. She realizes her initial intention to understand the financial struggles of the minimum wage workers has turned into a personal test that she has failed. When she leaves her rented trailer, she ensures her deposit is transferred to a former coworker who had been living in her car.
two
Ehrenreich embarks on a job hunt in Portland, Maine, a town predominately Caucasian where she wouldn't appear out of place in low-wage roles. She faces the challenges of finding a place to stay and eventually settles in a tiny motel-attached apartment, costing $120 a week. She then starts applying for jobs, learning that most of the “now hiring” places might not actually have vacancies, but are preparing for employee turnover. Job applications involve personality tests which she finds easy once she understands the desired responses. She takes on employment at The Maids, a cleaning service, and Woodcrest Residential Facility, a nursing home. She starts at the nursing home, helping to serve food and clean up on the Alzheimer’s ward. A coworker named Pete warns her of workplace gossip and reveals he works only to avoid boredom at home. Ehrenreich attends a “tent revival” at a Church known as “Deliverance” one weekend out of curiosity. She finds the gathering lacking spiritual depth but comments on the need for income equality and higher minimum wage. She moves into a small apartment attached to the Blue Haven Motel and begins work at The Maids. The cleaning methods focus more on appearance rather than deep cleaning, which she finds questionable. Working pace and conditions are demanding, with a five-minute lunch break, and strict rules against eating or drinking in a client's house - a significant challenge given Ehrenreich's estimate that cleaning requires over 2000 calories a day. She catches a rash when asked to break into a client's house, yet is expected to "work through it". She notes the physical toll of the job and the stark contrast between her lifestyle and that of her clients. A fellow maid, Holly, falls ill but insists on working. Ehrenreich tries to help, even threatening to quit if Holly refuses medical help. She feels frustrated and helpless, reflecting on the degradation and invisibility of such menial work. She confronts her coworkers about their thoughts on the income disparity, but they express no bitterness, only wishing for the flexibility to take sick days without financial hardship.
three
Barbara Ehrenreich heads to Minneapolis, Minnesota, hoping to find housing for $400 a month and jobs for $8 an hour. She stays with a friend while applying for positions at Wal-Mart and Menard's, a local home improvement store. She's worried about failing the mandatory drug tests due to recent marijuana use, but a detox remedy from GNC and plenty of water help her out. While job hunting, Ehrenreich connects with Caroline, a friend's aunt from New York now living in Minneapolis. Despite earning $9 an hour and a combined income of $40,000 with her husband, Caroline still finds it hard to afford housing in the city. She shares her struggles with constantly moving and even offers Ehrenreich a container of homemade stew. Ehrenreich takes her drug tests and finds a long-term hotel room at Twin Lakes. Despite a less than 1% vacancy rate in Minneapolis, she finds a place without a fridge or microwave. She begins orientation at Menards and gets a job starting Friday in the plumbing department for $10 an hour. She also attends a Wal-Mart orientation but has no intention of working there due to their lower pay rate of $7 an hour. Ehrenreich changes her mind about working at Menards when they tell her she must work an eleven-hour shift and won't be paid $10 an hour, as previously agreed. She decides to work at Wal-Mart where she's assigned to the women's clothing department. Ehrenreich's living situation turns sour when her room at Twin Lakes gets rented out to someone else. She finds a room at the Clearview hotel but it's smaller, hotter, and less comfortable. Her job at Wal-Mart becomes more challenging as she struggles to keep track of the constantly changing floor layout. The Clearview hotel room has a sewage problem, forcing her to move rooms. The stress begins to affect her job performance at Wal-Mart when she snaps at a coworker for criticizing her. With rooms charging $55 a night and an affordable housing crisis in the Twin Cities, Ehrenreich moves to the Comfort Inn for $50 a night and relies on charitable agencies for basic necessities. Ehrenreich becomes better at her job at Wal-Mart, despite the stress. She observes how customers create extra work and starts to entertain the idea of a union among her coworkers. However, the cost of living combined with her low income forces Ehrenreich to quit her job at Wal-Mart as she can't afford both her job and her hotel room.
evaluation
Ehrenreich reveals that she was a diligent and competent worker, yet struggled to make ends meet during her experiment. Even under optimal conditions—being healthy, having a car, and having no unexpected bills—she still barely scraped by. She asserts, “Something is wrong, very wrong,” when someone working hard can barely survive. She scrutinizes her encounters using various studies, highlighting that the perceived labor shortage was likely due to the low wages. In the early 2000s, jobseekers lacked the means to compare pay rates, and companies often hid information regarding benefits and salaries. Ehrenreich underscores how employers often prohibit salary discussions amongst employees. She illustrates the demeaning practices employees endure, from bag searches to invasive medical tests. She argues these measures, along with the disrespectful treatment from management, are intended to subjugate workers. “If you’re made to feel unworthy enough, you may come to think that what you’re paid is what you are actually worth,” she says. She posits that the attitudes of managers towards low-wage employees are influenced by class or racial bias—"they tend to fear and distrust the category of people from which they recruit their workers.” Ehrenreich points out the unaffordability of medical coverage and dependable childcare, even for middle-class families. She remarks that other “civilized nations compensate for the inadequacy of wages by providing relatively generous public services such as health insurance, free or subsidized child care, subsidized housing, and effective public transportation.” She references articles indicating a growing divide between the affluent and poor, and the increase of hunger in America despite declining poverty and unemployment rates. She concludes by predicting that the working poor will eventually demand fair wages and benefits, leading to a more equitable society.
