Up, UP, and Away!

Maybe it was at the “ExecuTable” boot camp for job seekers that the idea first occurred to me. There, in a stuffy windowless meeting room in a Hampton Inn, our drill sergeant berated a dozen jobless white collar people for failing to exude the positive attitude that would guarantee them a comfortable landing in the job market. Never mind the economy or a corporate culture that views employees as “expenses”-- whether you rise or sink is all a matter of “personal responsibility.”

Or maybe it was later, at a “Christian businessmen’s” event, where job seekers were told that the secret to success lies in “getting right with the Lord,” that I began to think: Every snake oil salesman and “prosperity preacher” is moving in on the battered white collar workforce, why not a real organization for them—democratic, grass-roots, secular or at least religiously tolerant, and aimed at solving real-world problems like job churning, lack of health insurance, and sudden downward mobility?

I don’t do organizations, or so I thought. I’m an activist, sure, willing to travel to picket lines, labor and living wage rallies around the country. Just don’t ask me to worry about by-laws and budgets; Robert’s Rules of Order make me retch

But someone’s got to do it, I kept thinking—without noticing that this was the same line of thought that had led me into Nickel and Dimed years ago. I walked into that project by recklessly telling a magazine editor that someone should do the “old-fashioned kind of journalism” and try living on entry-level wages. The editor had said “you” and posed me with an assignment I couldn’t dodge. So too now with the white collar workers I met while working on Bait and Switch: If not me, who? If not now, when?

The mail I began to receive as soon as Bait and Switch was published ratcheted up the pressure. All right, this isn’t Darfur – and nowhere near as compelling, to most good-hearted people, as the plight of chronically low-wage workers or those born into poverty. But the pain is real. You can see it in the studied affectlessness of the “over the hill” 50-year-old engineer or IT person, the carefully kept up appearance, the vulnerability to sudden tears. Or you find it in the 20-something baristas and assistant retail managers who are struggling to pay off their college loans and their rent for a group apartment, all the time wondering where they went wrong.

Their expectations have been betrayed, and when they reach out for help – at a networking event for example – they’re likely to be told that they have only themselves to blame.

So in the fall of 05, I took two small steps: First, I met up with an old friend who was working at the DC headquarters of the Service Employees International Union, a union I respect for their organizing among low-wage workers and for their openness to new ideas. My friend liked the idea of reaching out to unemployed and underemployed white collar folks. We agreed that whatever we created couldn’t be a union, because we were talking about people in many different occupations and workplaces, but unions could help with some start-up money and organizing skills.

Next, on the exhausting 20-city book tour for the hardcover Bait and Switch, I started passing around a legal pad at every bookstore event I spoke at. Then I’d wind up my remarks with an altar call: Who in the crowd would step forward and help organize a local group to provide support and advocacy for the unemployed, underemployed and anxiously employed?

Out of these lists of contacts I began to assemble—with more than a little help from my friends -- the nucleus of a new organization, and in April 05 we held a national meeting in a sagging hotel in the artsy section of Atlanta. Much of that gathering was devoted to sharing stories: the software writer who’d suffered a near-fatal heart attack under the pressure to hold onto his job, the underpaid 30-something nonprofit employee from Minneapolis, the freshly laid-off mortgage analyst from Fort Wayne, the corporate trainer from Tampa who’s seen her income plummet over the years, and so on. But the stories needed telling, and when we emerged from our meeting room we had sketched out our new organization, United Professionals, or UP, devoted to networking, advocacy and, somewhere off in the future, services like legal advice and health insurance.

The next few months were spent creating a solid structure as a nonprofit, nonpartisan, corporation with by-laws and a board of directors. We brainstormed to come up with a stellar advisory board, including economists Jared Bernstein and Julianne Malveaux, sociologist Richard Sennett (author of The Culture of the New Capitalism), and Tamara Draut (author of Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead.) We roped in another old friend of mine, Indiana labor organizer Tom Lewandowski, to work on chapter-building. We voted in Chicago-based management consultant Bill Holland (author of Are There Any Good Jobs Left?) as Chairman of the Board, based on his consummate good sense.

On September 8, we were ready to emerge from our larval stage at a “launch party” in Washington DC. An overflow crowd turned out for our panel and snatched up our attractive blue and orange membership cards. We began to get press coverage – including an article in the New York Times—and visitors pouring into unitedprofessionals.org.

A few days later I ventured out on a book tour for the paperback edition of Bait and Switch. No longer organizationally challenged, this time I was frankly proselytizing for our new organization, and, what was especially wonderful – I was no longer doing it alone. In city after city, either UP founding members or brand new volunteers showed up at my bookstore events, collected email addresses, and announced the formation of local chapters. As of this moment, people in over 100 cities have come to our website and volunteered to build chapters in their areas.

What will we do? Well, that depends in part on the priorities of our growing membership. What we’re thinking of so far includes:

• Real networking and community building. Encouraging people to get together, discuss local issues, share stories and tips.
• Advocacy on national issues: the need for universal (as opposed to employer-based) health insurance, a solid unemployment insurance system (unlike the current one, which covers only about a third of laid off people), ways of tackling the individual and family debt crisis (fairness in lending, college loan reform), and, of course, a living wage.
• Services: We are working with other groups, such as the National Employment Lawyers Association (nela.org) and the Freelancers’ Union (freelancersunion.org) to be able to offer free legal advice and, eventually, affordable health insurance to our members.

We hear all the time that the middle class is “under attack,” and now it’s time to fight back. If you can think of a better way than UP, be my guest. But for now it’s the best approach we have. The dues are low – a dime a day or $36.50 a year – and the time investment as big or small as you want. So take some “personal responsibility – not only for yourself but for the future of America – and step up to the plate.

Comments

[Laura]

Barbara,
This is wonderful! Many thanks for all your hard work.

[A Canadian]

Barbara,

I think UP is a great idea, but do you know of any chapters in Canada?

[Marlene]

I'm canadian too... and can't afford the REAL networking meetings. We're suffering up here too, wondering where we went wrong... etc.

I too am fed up with hearing that it's OUR fault because of our 'negative attitudes'. What is this, Dr Phil ????

[Lisa D]

Hi, Barbara -
It would be good to include a link to UP on your entry - I found it by googling "United Professionals" and the url is http://www.unitedprofessionals.org/

[debbie]

This is a great idea! I hope you do have Canadian chapters. I know tons of other university grads/barista-types like me who would love to be a part of this.

[Peter Kay]

Please send me additional information!

picdistrct@yahoo.co.uk

[dieter]

Why don't we rename the group and call it, "The National Socialist American Workers Party", or NSAWP for short. Just an idea!

Dieter

[Anarcissie]

Come now, Dieter! Surely you can do better than that!

[Barbara E]

The url for United Professionals is in red letters above my blog and on the home page. Please go there --unitedprofessionals.org --for more info and to join.

[Jonathan Cohen]

I am a Canadian too (Toronto), and I would definitely like to get involved.

jonathanacohen@gmail.com

[Barbara E]

I don't see why we couldn't have Canadian members and perhaps chapters. Please go to the UP website and sign up. or UP.

[Tom]

As Bush and the Republicans, with the complicity of Congress, backed by their corporate sponsors and the "religious right", continue to desimate our Constitution and make ineffective the Bill of Rights, we're all going to be squashed by the looming debt that is piling up every week due to Bush's misguided, ineffective and wrong foreign and domestic policies. With the environment going down the tubes, the population of the world steadily increasing, and the separation of the "haves" from the "have-nots" continually increasing, our working class struggles will be compounded exponentially in the coming years.

[M]

This is a great idea. I'm curious to see how it can be effective with office-based workers because office culture is very oriented to individual success/failure/blame and many individuals think they are great negotiators of their own circumstances--and some perceive they are higher status workers because they are not unionized. So it should be interesting. I'm hopeful that American society is truly at a 'tipping point'. In the meantime, I post this link to a cnn.com article about bullies in the workplace: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/Careers/10/06/cb.bully/index.html. I believe there is a serious problem of bullying behaviors in the workplace and that bullies are part of the problems facing the middle class.

[Anarcissie]

That page seems to be about bullies who are at the same political level as their victims. It is considerably more of a problem when they have contrived to insert themselves into the corporate managerial structure, where bullying, along with persuasion and deception, is useful for increasing the level of surplus labor value removed from the workers, and is therefore encouraged by the nature of the system.

[Terry Vermeylen]

Can I start a group in Canada?

[Kyle Weisman]

It seems like yesterday that I met your daughter at a DSA meeting that I believe was at your home. Much has changed from then and now. Much damage has been done to our country. Who knows what would have been if I, and other like me. had been more active. Alas, we reap what we sew. Apathy reaps apathy.

[Barbara E]

Tom: OK, so what are we going to do about it?

And to all you Canadians: Please join at unitedprofessionals.org and inquire about help in building Canadian chapters.

[Jamie]

A Tenant’s Guide to Renting

The first challenge every tenant faces is finding an apartment for rent that suits their individual needs. For today’s tenant, the most effective apartment search can be done using an online apartment finder. Tenants should decide what they require in an apartment or house rental before beginning their search. For example: the number of bedrooms, location or distance from public transportation and how much the tenant can afford to pay in rent, furnished or unfurnished apartment, etc. By making these important decisions first, tenants can avoid renting an apartment or house only to regret it later. Many tenants today are taking advantage of the convenience of the internet to locate apartments for rent as opposed to the traditional print publications.

Once a possible apartment or home has been found, it is the tenant's duty to thoroughly inspect the premises making a commitment in the form of a security deposit. A tenant should not rely on the landlord or the landlord's agent to tell the tenant if anything is wrong with the property. The tenant must inspect the property carefully and ask questions about it.
Inspecting the condition and functionality of the following areas/features of the apartment before committing yourself as a tenant is highly recommended.
1. Kitchen appliances in working order.
2. Water pressure strong, plumbing without leaks.
3. Electrical outlets and wiring working.
4. Walls and ceiling painted or papered without cracks
5. Ventilation or air conditioning accessible.
6. Floors, railings and bathrooms in good repair.
7. Fire escape easy to use.
8. Stairs safe and well-lighted.
9. No rodents or insects.
10. Heating system in working order.
11. If furnished, check and write down condition of all furniture.
12. Windows and doors operable and weather-tight; screens provided.
The tenant should also check the security of the building to find out if there is a dead-bolt lock, security chain, or through-the-door viewer.
BEWARE OF EXISTING DAMAGES: In order to avoid being blamed for damages that already exist in the rental unit, the cautious tenant should take every step for self-protection. Before moving in (or as soon as possible thereafter), the tenant should make a list of all existing damages and repairs that need to be made. A copy of the list should he presented to the landlord and attached to the lease This way the landlord cannot blame the tenant for damages caused by others and the tenant will know what the landlord intends to repair. If the tenant keeps good records the landlord will not be able to keep the tenant’s security deposit for damages that were actually caused by others. Taking pictures before moving in is also strongly recommended.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul Rossano, associated with www.AllSpaces.com who “Conveniently Connects All People with All Spaces in All Places” has been dedicated to the Real Estate rental market for over 8 years. He has assisted over 25,000 tenants with their renting needs. Any questions about renting apartments, houses or other rentals, feel free to visit www.AllSpaces.com or email him at Paul@AllSpaces.com.

[The Eternal Squire]

I would like to suggest that UP have a gift shop that UP members can sell thier own wares through. This would provide UP members who are unemployable with some means of being able to support themselves through thier own creativity or intellect. For example, would anyone like me to create a UP membership pin out of sterling silver? I am teaching myself the ability to do silvercasting.

[Jacqueline]

To Barbara Ehrenreich:

I "splurged" and treated myself recently and bought your book "Bait & Switch" and I found myself unable to put it down. When I read the part about "Patrick", the career coach who seemed to me to have the personality of a Marine drill seargent, I pictured this guy with a Snidely Whiplash mustache dressed in unifrom, banging grapage can lids in a Paris Island style "wake-up call" with his demeanor to those attending his "boot camp".

I got a kick out of the "Networking With The Lord" chapter, too....have been preached at several times myself and told to just "have faith because Jesus saves if you only call on him". I politely responded to such with," As a Jew I can exercize my Right of Return to Israel where a call to God is by direct line, toll-free." Of course, that left the preaching, well-meaning person quite flabbergasted. The career counseling, the headhunter organizations, etc everything you've experienced undercover is true. Many of these are even worse. A rep from a life insurance company MGA (Master General Agency) popped in the other day trying to get me to look at pushing annuties from ALlianz because, in his words, "all the rich Baby Boomers are retiring and this would be a golden sales opportunity." My jaw dropped in shock.

I told him that the Baby Boomers may not be as wealthy with money to invest as he may think. I told him that this is because of forced early retirements starting in the mid to late 40's with 11-15 years left to go until actual retirement when they can get social security and Medicare. As such, any retirement savings they might have will have to go towards expensive health insurance and keeping their homes from bank foreclosure since age discrimination in the job market pretty much guarantees that they'll never earn a living wage - never mind an affluent wage - ever again.

[Kelly Miller]

Student loans, and student loan consolidation - Lock in the lowest rate with NextStudent. We also offer a scholarship search engine, private student loans and federal student loan applications.

[Sheila Topstone]

Top Consolidators is a new group of student loan experts dedicated to getting you the best rate, or the plan that best fits your financial goals. We are the most aggresive Student Loan Consolidation Company on the web.

[Lisa Tucker]

Wedding coordinators and day planners that are based in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Sedona. Serving all areas of Arizona.

[Lisa Tucker]

Wedding coordinators and day planners that are based in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Sedona. Serving all areas of Arizona.

[Darren erick]

If you want to get more information about unsecured loans, personal loans, instant loans visit http://www.loanswithoutcreditcheck.co.uk