Inauguration Musings- Getting to work
If I was still working at the
Holocaust Museum and scheduled to work Tuesday, I'd be so screwed.
Yes, January 20th is a Federal holiday, however, holiday or no, some people have to get to work. Think about all the places that will be open or have to be open Tuesday. Closer to the action are the museums, and the Holocaust Museum is only closed on two days, Yom Kippur & Christmas. I take it that the Smithsonian Institutions' museums are the same, minus Yom Kippur. So there are the security, janitorial and exhibit area personnel who have to show up. Then you've got restaurants, coffee shops, hotels with waiters, managers, and other staff who need to get in. And silly question, will the Gallery Place Bed, Bath and Beyond be open? The movie theater?
Getting to work in the core inauguration area is an obvious bear. What of the other parts of DC that depend on workers who commute from Virginia? Hopefully getting from MoCo, or Ward 9 (aka PG Co) won't be that bad.... with VA traffic diverted to Maryland.... Metro overloaded. It will be interesting to hear, with the bridge closures and the predictions of heavily trafficked roads, what the impact of the day will be for parts of the city far from the downtown area.
But right now, I'm so thankful that I'm no longer a Visitor Services Representative at the Holocaust Museum. I remember trying to get home after the Million Man March. The entry to the Smithsonian station (Ag Building side) was so blocked with people, a blockage that wasn't moving, I turned around and walked across the 14th Street Bridge. I wouldn't have that option, the 14th Street Bridge will be closed to pedestrians and cyclists from 2am to 7pm on the 20th, according to the Washington Post.
Labels: employment, inauguration
There's ethnic pride and then there is something else
Last night the 5C meeting took place at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. One of the presenters at the meeting was looking for approval for a modification, brought on by "suggestions" by the city government, for a hotel and conference center to be built over by the Children's Hospital and Catholic U. There was the horse trading of what the developers could provide for the 'community' in return for support. You don't ask, you don't get, so you may as well ask. Most of the chatter was in regards to meeting space. One of commissioners, a flashy dressed and exceedingly verbose man, asked about jobs for the community, specifically for native born African-Americans; to the exclusion of African born, Latino, or any other non-white persons, as I understood what he was saying through all those words. Now, it's fine to want to support your own ethnic group, however asking someone to give preference to your ethnic group over other minority ethnic groups, is somewhere in the land of wrong.
Labels: ANC5C meeting, employment
Expecting More with Neighborhoods
Ok, I'm done with Sudhir Venkatesh's "Off the Books" and there is one thing (among many) that is a subject that I found interesting, the neighborhood as a source of income. In the underground economy of his book residents are making side income by making meals, hosting gambling parties, selling products in the park, shade tree auto repair, and the such. With "Tally's Corner", I got the hint that neighborhood income was preferable so a man could keep an eye on things at home. Anyway, I think back to one or two neighborhood meetings that I have attended where someone (a resident oldtimer) expressed a desire for the community/ neighborhood to provide jobs or employment or income for residents.
Maybe that's expecting too much of the neighborhood if it is to produce jobs. DC isn't an industrial town. Shaw, is mainly a residential area with some commercial corridors (U St, 14th St, and a bit of 9th St). Besides, in successful neighborhoods residents get their wealth from other parts of the city and the region. Of the self-employed persons I know in the neighborhood, a job/ client in the neighborhood is nice, but not necessary. Others who have decent jobs work elsewhere. They work downtown, in Dupont, out in NoVa or Maryland. Not since college have I worked in the same immediate area as my work (TA, work-study in the library, etc), so as an adult I lived close of enough for a reasonable commute but not close enough to walk. I never expected or demanded that the job be that close to the house. Come to think of it I like a certain distance to help with the work/life balance.
As far as work goes the neighborhood does provide something. It provides good transportation, or more specifically RELIABLE transportation, so I can get to work on time. It is close enough so the commute is reasonable.
Labels: employment
Child labor
Something has been bugging me about the whole Summer school jobs program, and I can't put my finger on it.
When I was in high school (over twenty years ago) I remember the people of
Bob Evans coming to my high school and recruiting for wait and kitchen staff. I remember applying and being disappointed when my friend Michael got a job and I didn't. That did get me applying to other jobs and I got my first job working at
Winn-Dixie. There were labor laws out there regulating hours so there wouldn't be a conflict with school. I held that job from the time I was a junior in high school till I was almost a junior in college.
My younger cousins in Laurel, MD were on a similar track, working for national food chains (you want fries with that?) in their junior and senior years in high school.
So I'm wondering, don't DC high school kids get jobs for the rest of the year? I understand that in Summer there is this ability to work more than 10 hours a week, and students are available during business hours. But what's going on in DC that discourages kids from working the rest of the year?
I got a lot out of my year round high school job. I learned about balancing school, work and home. I experienced taxes being taken out of my paycheck. I learned how to be a good cashier and offer decent customer service. I got job experience that helped with later, more 'professional' grown-up jobs. And I got about $60-$70 a week.
So really are kids in DC not working the rest of the year? A part-time job keeps you out of trouble, gets a few dollars in your pockets, and allows you to excerise work habits on a regular basis.
Labels: employment
I went to community college
Just a quick mention, in relation to something I thought about while responding to a comment. I wonder why there isn't a stronger push for community colleges in the DC metro area?
A little info on me. I have about 12 or 20 (I have to look) credit hours from my hometown community college. At least 4 credit hours I took while still in high school. The county school system had this great program where we could get a head start with college by taking courses at the CC (comm. coll.) free of charge. Since a huge bunch of us were going to go to Univ of Florida, FSU, FAMU, or another state university it was a great way to knock out some required courses for free. Later, I went to CC during the summers so I could get Cs in classes I was going to do badly in anyway, so why not get a C for about $29 a credit hour, vs a D (these were weed out classes) at $45 a credit hour?
My mom got her Certified Nurse's Assistant (CNA) certificate from the CC, and that is what she's doing now in her semi-retirement. My sister is a CC drop-out, but she was aiming for something in the veterinary field. So I've experienced and seen how CCs are useful in a community in helping people get jobs by giving them specific training. When I hear about job training around here, it (and please forgive my ignorance) doesn't sound like more than advice on doing a job interview and introduction to a computer. And this goes back to another problem I mentioned before of the community trying or asked to support programs it has no direct dealings with, difficulty judging the efficacy of those programs. Basic skills have value, but I wonder how far it gets you in an environment where more workers have that skill set, plus this, that, and something else.
Labels: employment, schools
Small jobs for kids
Help me out here. This was a small discussion in the comments section so I want to expand it a bit here. Can you think of small jobs you can have neighborhood kids to do? So far on my list are:
1. Rake leaves
2. Pick up trash
3. Water plants
4. Sweeping up the sidewalk or alley
When I was living in Logan Circle I also paid kids to get stuff from the Giant. That requires you giving them money and demanding a receipt. Also you have to know if they are allowed to go that far (or to cross certain streets) by their mom, or else you could get into trouble.
I have heard of other people paying kids to wash their car. Not any major detailing work, just soap and water and circular motions.
Part of a hesitancy with assigning some jobs depends on how well I know the kids' parents and the kids. Another part is the risk factor of a job not done well. Will the kids step on the wrong plants? Will the task mess up what they are wearing and get his/her mother angry with me? Is the kid allowed to cross this street or go this far from the house?
So any suggestions you have to add? Pointers?
Labels: employment
