Working in a 1920s Sweat Factory in 2020

Must be something about the 20's. I currently work part time in a small local company which employs people to work in a call center.

I mainly did it to still be active, and to make my new car payment. Everyone else seems to do it because our area is limited in jobs that are local, and many are very young workers. The breakdown is as follows:

Pay is $9.25 an hour
2 breaks of 10 minutes each (might as well say bathroom breaks as you cannot just get up when you need to use the restroom you must clock out on break.)
1 hour lunch
commission if you keep your stats high enough
an extra 25 cents per hour worked up to an extra 1.00 per hour worked is the range
Point system-1 point for one day of missing work
1/2 point if five minutes or more late.
At 5 points you get a write up
At 6 points you get a three day suspension
At 7 points you get terminated

Of course they made these rules due to abuse of the system. Not everyone abused the system but the few who did make it horrific on the ones who did not.

Never in my working days have I had to use a break to go to the bathroom. If I need extra time for an additional bathroom break I need to get a doctor's note so that it can be used "reasonable accomodation."

We had a meeting today with the HR department. She wanted to go over different things to see what might make a difference inour jobs.

1. Higher pay
2. Additional break for restroom purposes
3. Start Medical/insurances benefits within 3 months of hire date. Right now it is 13 months.

Many young ones said they had no insurance and when sick it was difficult to go to the doctor to get a doctor's excuse which is also required when missing work. If their insurance started sooner it would be of great benefit to them. They would not have to pay 75.00 for a doctor's visit out of pocket as well as the insurance premium each month. Many get a point for missing work when sick due to no doctor's note because they cannot afford to get one due to no insurance for 13 months.Yet, they pay the premium during all these months.

For me it's not so bad. Being a retired teacher I already have health insurance. It is merely a supplemental income for me to make my car payments but for the rest it is paying their bills. It is no wonder this country is in the shape it is in.

The few who abused the system created the rules. And now the rules are used against them. Twisted cycle. It's a shame the majority have to pay the price. However, it seems to be this way with many things.

The only difference in this old picture and modern day is we are even more confined with cubicle walls around each of us. The rows are pretty much the same. And we computers.