Sunday, October 31, 2010

The Low Wage Worker:The Invisible Janitor

Who are the invisible faces we see every day? The jobs which keep the world spic and spam while we go about our day? They work in almost every public place imaginable. They are the working force which keeps our environments live able, enjoyable, and downright clean. They are the janitors and cleaning services of the world. I’m sure everyone in schools has seen them around. We leave our plates and trash on every surface imaginable and in no time it’s clean and tidy and read to eat off of. Many of these workers speak little English and depending on where they work may or may not get a decent paycheck. Weather we respect them or not everyone has a stake on their punctuality, commitment, and work.

This topic came up when I was in high school. A lot of people decided to leave their plates and trash everywhere and it started to get on the nerves of the faculty. They implemented a lot of programs to combat this problem and really nothing happened. It had an opposite effect students got pissed to the point of even saying “Why should we clean it up, It is their job”. I always cleaned up after myself and on occasion told other to. However, this never really hit home until one of my teachers asked “How many of you even know the name of the janitors who take care of this building”. I felt terrible. They keep the school clean and I really couldn’t answer that question.

This reminded me of middle school. In my small middle school there was only one janitor for the whole school. Going to that school for well over seven years I remember how everyone knew his name. We all enjoyed talking to him and he even got us candy and helped us when we needed it. He was always happy to do his job and really made students feel at home. Remembering this experience made me feel terrible; I didn’t get to know the staff which kept the school so clean.

This experienced changed my views on the workforce in schools. I always try to say hi and thank you for all they do. Now that I’m in college it has gotten even worse. Many of us are oblivious of the janitors. We go to sleep one day and generally the next day the dorms or building are clean. Now not every janitor gets no respect or a low wage but a lot of them do. Many janitors get only about 6-7$ an hour and of course like many jobs there is a scale. 6-7$ isn’t a lot to live on. When a janitors dose his job he is rarely noticed or bothered but when he is busy or his work is lacking he is the point of everyone’s anger, even spite. A janitor is such a vital job in this American world we live in where many of us are not use to the debris of everyday life. Yet they are forgotten, mistreated, and are forced to live to the best of ability on so little.

1 comment:

  1. Janitors are very hardworking people. They make our world a better, cleaner place. And what they’re doing is not an easy job; they go to places back and forth, bend over, and reach elevated areas just to make sure everything’s clean. They deserve, in every way, to be respected. Being kind and friendly to janitors everywhere would mean a lot. A simple “hi” would do.

    - Sebastian Gaydos

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