Sep 20, 2009 6 min read

College grads flipping hamburgers at fast-food eateries is a common example used to highlight problems in the American labor market. But many people working those service-sector jobs are not college graduates and society needs them, according to speakers at a panel discussion at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus. And, society must find a way for those jobs to provide a living wage and health benefits.

The panel discussion was part of Penn State Fayette’s kick-off for students in the First Year Experience class to read “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America,” by Barbara Ehrenreich.

“The book is about what it is like to work low-paying jobs. I don’t think I’m too far off base to believe our local economy likely has a lot in common with the experiences of the author of the book,” Susan-Brimo Cox, Penn State Fayette director of public relations, said.

Brimo-Cox said the kick-off event will invite First Year Experience students, the campus community and the local community to read the book and “join in this as an ongoing discussion.”

Students will have a project to complete, and can work with community mentors. Volunteer community mentors will be encouraged to participate, Brimo-Cox said. The projects will wrap up from noon to 1:50 p.m. Dec. 2, at which time the First Year Experience students will display their creative responses to “Nickel and Dimed.” The local and campus communities will be invited to view the displays and talk with students about their experience.

Screening of a short video, “Eyes on the Fries,” also was part of the program. It related the experiences of young workers in San Francisco, Calif., who succeeded in getting the city to pass a minimum wage higher than the national rate. The video also showed how young workers unionized in hotels and supermarkets. The panel discussion followed.

Members were Pete Eberle, Penn State Fayette instructor of business; Marilyn Weaver, executive director of Wesley Free Clinic in Connellsville; Adrianne Wilson, a case manager at City Mission, Uniontown, an agency that advocates for the homeless in Fayette County; Sister Ellen McElroy, who helps people with needs through St. Vincent de Paul Society in Uniontown; and Cathy Zimmerman, a recent Penn State graduate who is involved in a program to help the hearing-impaired find employment.

The central theme was the question of how people could make a decent living wage working when so many service-sector jobs pay minimum wage, which is $7.25 in the U.S. and in Pennsylvania.

“We want to see how we can get people out of low-wage service jobs or how we can make bad jobs good again,” Susan Crampton-Frenchik, who organized the kick-off and discussion, said. Crampton-Frenchik is coordinator of the International and Intercultural Programs Office at Penn State Fayette.

Panelists related their experiences with low-wage workers and the jobless in this area. Wilson said she sees many people coming to City Mission “who have nothing more than the clothes on their backs.

“There are a lot of jobs here in the service industry but people need to come together to improve the future of Fayette County,” Wilson said. She explained City Mission has several facilities for the homeless and provides a variety of other services to people with needs.

“This is an important issue, whether or not people have enough money to feed themselves and their family, rent a home or buy a car,” she added.

“We will help people with just about anything. There’s nothing we won’t tackle,” Wilson said.

Wilson also said that transportation is another problem for those working low-wage jobs. The state Department of Public Welfare, Wilson said, “offers a $700 allowance for a car. But what kind of car are you going to get for $700? It usually breaks down and car repairs are expensive.”

Adding to situation recently, Wilson said, is that some state employees who have not been paid due to Pennsylvania’s budget turmoil, also were using the services. “More and more people are coming in saying, ‘I never thought I would have to do this,”‘ she said, meaning go to a social service agency seeking help.

Weaver said that a decade ago, “a living wage was $30,000 a year for a family with two children,” noting it must be higher today.

The Wesley Clinic, she added, provides free health services for anyone who does not have health insurance or who cannot afford medical care.

Eberle recapped some of the discussion, offering his views.

Asking the audience of college students and professors, Eberle said, “What was the purpose of the minimum wage?” He answered his own question. “It was to protect workers from competing against each other. It was never meant to be a living wage.” He said without the minimum wage, workers could undercut each other to snag a job, offering to work for less money. “That would drive wages too low,” he said.

Eberle said that while historically, unionization has been good, it’s not today’s answer to solving the low-wage problem.

Instead, he advised students to get a skill as soon as possible where they can work to make a living wage. Offering his own experience, “I got an associate degree and I worked as a mechanic. I made more money working as a mechanic than I do as a professor,” he said, adding that he went on to get his bachelor’s degree and enter teaching.

“We need to reinforce the need for skills-based employment: mechanics, farmers, plumbers and electricians. If you have a four-year degree and you are flipping hamburgers, you need to ask yourself if you shouldn’t be looking for a different career.”

He also suggested students remain at home until they can support themselves. “The military is another option. They will pay you and you can get your college degree there.”

Eberle also opined that choice is an important factor. “You can made a good or bad decision.”

Wilson said that it is important for young people to “make a plan for your life.”

Zimmerman advised students to “respect everyone you meet.”

Weaver suggested students stay at home “if you are on your parents’ health insurance. That’s a big thing.”

“How do we work together? What can students do to be part of the solution and how can we keep the agencies we already have in existence,” McElroy said.