So much of what we take for granted about what labor looks like today has been shaped by the muscle workers put into the struggle. The eight-hour work day, weekends, and protections against unsafe working conditions and child exploitation are just a few examples.
May 1, also known as May Day, marks the establishment of the eight-hour work day in the United States. Over a century ago, in 1884, the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions (which would later become the American Federation of Labor or AFL) gathered in Chicago and proclaimed “eight hours shall constitute a legal day’s labor from and after May 1, 1886.” May Day is commemorated on the same day as the global holiday of International Workers’ Day.
In Memphis, workers are central to our story. They help shape our history as we’ve seen with the ’68 sanitation workers’ strike and the Fight for $15 campaign for a living wage. City officials and the business community enthusiastically tout the Bluff City’s workforce as they court news business. For example, the Memphis Chamber of Commerce lists logistics and distribution, manufacturing and headquarters/back office as its “target industries.” In logistics and distribution, more than 161,000 people are employed in Memphis who earn less than $35,000 a year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics used by the chamber. The chamber also lists the average wages in other kinds of manufacturing, such as the 6,450 people employed as “team assemblers” earning $30,660 per year on average, as of 2017.
MLK50’s Living Wage Survey, in 2018 and 2019, have scrutinized whether the 25 largest employers and area nonprofits pay their workers enough. The annual survey uses the Living Wage Calculator, which currently sets the bar for a living wage for a single adult with no children, working full-time, at $11.06 an hour. That covers only the most basic expenses, such as food, housing and transportation, with nothing left for savings or entertainment, according to economists’ calculations. And, of course, the recommended hourly living wage increases as family size grows: For example, one adult, with one child would need to earn $22.09 an hour as a living wage. Two working adults with two children would need to earn $14.06 an hour, and so on. Ultimately, Living Wage Survey data show the scope of how many Memphians are affected by wage policies.
There’s so much nuance in the data that is difficult to visualize and parse out. For example, temp workers and subcontractors enjoy fewer protections than regular hourly and salaried workers. Some folks work two or three jobs so they and their families can survive, and possibly, thrive. Workers in the informal economy provide invaluable services for their communities.
Everyone has a story. This series introduces you all kinds of workers, reveals their nuances, and shares their hopes and fears so we can zoom in on what this data looks like in everyday life. Here are a few workers to start:
Sepia Coleman, 42, full-time certified nursing assistant for a home healthcare company
How many hours do you work a week?
Coleman: 32
Who depends on you?
Coleman: My daughters, my grandsons and my mother.
If an emergency expense at about $400 (based on a Federal Reserve question) came up, could you afford it without having to sell or borrow?
Coleman: No. I could not afford it at this time. My car has died. I have no way to get back and forth to work.
How much would you need to earn to do the things you want to do?
Coleman: I would like to make $15 and have union rights the power to negotiate working conditions, better benefits and pay. I would have to earn literally a income of at least $2,000-$2,500 a month to be debt-free from title loans, payday loan and extension on bills and also able to save up. It’s a shame when you don’t have anything to save up because your pay is so low.
If money were no object, what would you do with your time?
If money was no object, I would travel and continue to fight against injustices among others and volunteer to feed the less fortunate in different places. I’d love to use my CNA experience to help those in crisis. I’d like to spend more time with my other siblings and family on my father’s side.
What is your biggest financial obstacle?
Coleman: My biggest financial obstacles is not having a backup plan like now. Not having a car or money to possibly get to and from many other options without waiting on pay day. Then paying off payday loans, then having to go right back and get it again. It literally took me two and half years to pay off my last ones, and now I have another two because I had major surgery. I had to be employed a year to get [medical leave] from my job. I had to use pay day loans, title loans and GoFundMe, which is a damn shame. Now I am in more debt.
Statistics show that I should be making at least $15 to $17 a hour. They do in Nashville, some places more than that. I just want to be able to own my home, have enough room for my grandsons and family to visit without going to a hotel. Most of all, I’d like to get out of medical and financial debt and help my mom get her medications.
Paul Wakerfield, 26, security officer at Crosstown Concourse
How many hours do you work a week?
Wakerfield: 70–80 hours per week.
Who depends on you?
Wakerfield: My family, mom, sisters, four kids …
If an emergency expense at about $400 (based on a Federal Reserve question) came up, could you afford it without having to sell or borrow?
Wakerfield: Yeah, I can manage money. I learned what I know from the streets.
If money were no object, what would you do with your time?
Wakerfield: Spend more time with my kids and family. Also would spent more time on comedy. I perform about every week at the P&H [Cafe].
How much would you need to earn to do the things you want to do?
Wakerfield: What I’m doing now is being patient and stacking my money. Everyone can use some extra. I would love to have more and spend more on kids.
What is your biggest financial obstacle?
Wakerfield: [Caring for] my kids and my mom. Mom’s on disability, been on disability since I been in high school. She got a lot going on. But I’m the baby of the family, so I have to do what I have to do.
Rachel Wheat, 24, restaurant bartender/assistant manager
How many hours do you work per week?
Wheat: 42
Who depends on you?
Wheat: 6-year-old son.
If an emergency expense at about $400 (based on a Federal Reserve question) came up, could you afford it without having to sell or borrow?
Wheat: Yes. I’m financially frugal.
How much would you need to earn to do the things you want to do?
Wheat: A lot. I was working at Logan’s before this job and am making more with better hours. That lets me spend more time with my son.
If money were no object, what would you do with your time?
Wheat: Spend time alone. And spend time with my son.
What is your biggest financial obstacle?
Wheat: My house note.
Sarah Rushakoff, 38, graphic designer, co-owner of Foxy Robot, and social media consultant
How many hours do you work a week?
Rushakoff: I spend about 20 hours a week on my business and another 15–20 doing the social media work on the side. I’m kind of always in work mode. I’m thinking about it while doing other things, trying to remember to also make time for the administrative stuff. I also volunteer as the managing director with Our Own Voice theater troupe (a mental health advocacy and arts program), which is almost a third part-time job based on time commitment.
Who depends on you?
Rushakoff: Just me and my dogs. I was the caretaker for my mother who passed away from an illness last year.
If an emergency expense at about $400 (based on a Federal Reserve question) came up, could you afford it without having to sell or borrow?
Rushakoff: If I had to rely on my income now, no. But I do have savings.
How much would you need to earn to do the things you want to do?
Rushakoff: Right now, in the first year of having started my business, they tell you you’re lucky if you break even. I’d love to be able to afford better benefits. Last year, I spent more than I made on health insurance. But it’s just such a bad idea to have not health insurance.
If money were no object, what would you do with your time?
Rushakoff: That’s hard. Probably travel a lot more. Probably have a house somewhere else that I could stay at. That would be fun. There would be a lot of places I’d donate. There’s people with all this money and still wrong things happening. Pay it forward!
What is your biggest financial obstacle?
Rushakoff: I think I’m pretty OK, paying my mortgage, doing OK with that. Obstacles are emotional. Doing my own bookkeeping is a huge stressor on top of the work toward growing the business and personal freelance business.
Where do we go from here?
Are you a worker who would like to be a part of this series? Do you know someone who might be a good fit? We’d love to hear from you. E-mail us at workers@mlk50.com.
This story is brought to you by MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a nonprofit reporting project on economic justice in Memphis. Support independent journalism by making a tax-deductible donation today. MLK50 is also supported by the Surdna Foundation, the Southern Documentary Project and Community Change.