Labor Day by Rambling Raven
By Raven • Sep 7th, 2009 • Category: Rambling Raven •
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Labor Day by Rambling Raven
This year, Labor Day takes on a whole new meaning with so many people out of work. Instead of taking a relaxing three day weekend, there are millions of Americans who are desperately looking for jobs. I happen to know one. This Labor Day I want to send out a note of hope to a friend and former co-worker who found herself out of a job just three months ago. My friend, Johnnie got a huge blow when called into the principal’s office and told that due to a dip in population her position was no longer available. She was devastated, not only had she formed bonds with her co-workers and students, she had a daughter to put through college. Everyone told Johnnie to not lose faith, after all there are over six hundred schools in the Chicago school system, and she was bound to find something. The only thing is, Johnnie found herself competing with a slew of displaced teachers and new arrivals fresh out of college. Instead of the 2,500 positions that the school system said were available, due to money woes, the board decided to cut 500 of those positions. Johnnie found herself competing with 8,000 teachers for only 2,000 positions.
There was a time when professions like teaching were considered safe, not any more. No job is 100% safe and secured. Many institutions are feeling the weight of the economy, and the only way they see fit to save money is to let some of their employees go. Johnnie is lucky in the sense that due to the contract teachers have here she has a little of a safety net. Being tenured, she will have the opportunity to be a substitute teacher for one school year at her regular rate. The hope is that she will be able to secure a position in that time, if not she will be officially laid off. There are thousands of teachers who were not tenured and are now officially out of work. These teachers will have to try and find jobs in other school systems or put their careers on hold and go and seek employment outside of the teaching field.
My friend is nervous about securing a position within the next ten months. She is concerned about the lack of positions out there and the number of people she will have to compete with. Johnnie is also concerned that she may be overlooked for less experienced teachers who schools do not have to pay as much to as a tenured teacher. The fear of possibly having to start over at a time when the job market is bleak is crippling.
This Labor Day I send out prayers and hope for all the Johnnies out there who suddenly find themselves out of a job. My hope is that the economy’s recovery is speedy enough so that the millions of those who are out of work will be able to recover as well. And I hope that those of us who are blessed enough to be employed stay that way. Labor Day means very little to those without a job and to those of use who do have one hopefully we take the time to stop and realize just how blessed we are.
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Raven is an educator with a B.A. in Psychology and a M.A. in Education. She has been an avid reader since childhood. Her favorite genres are mystery, suspense, and horror, although she will give any genre a try. She is a life long resident of Chicago. Her love of books opened her mind to people, places and events far beyond her Chicago home. Reading helped to shape her world and her opinion of the events that took place within it. No matter what demands her career requires of her, she has always found time to read and write in a journal. Along with reading and journaling, she loves to watch the sunset, and discuss hot topics with family and friends. She loves baseball, horror movies, mysteries, listening to music from every corner of the world and expressing her view of the latest books with the women of APOOO.
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Raven I love the “pen name” as much as I talk online I need something of the same….
I was in the same position as Johnnie in 2007 I found out that my bank was being brought by another. I went through a gamut of emotions; fear of the unknown was at the top of my list. Like Johnnie I quickly realized that the time I was job hunting I was moving in an employers market. It has NEVER taken me long to find a job I’m a Human Resource professional and I was in DEMAND. But in this recession so is 1M other HR professionals.
You have to come 10 better and different to acquire gainful employment, but you cannot look desperate while doing it. You also have to be willing to do more with less and take less while also negotiating something for yourself like extra vacation time or other company amenities.
Thinking of all those do’s & dont’s while under the pressure of how you will feed your family the next month is too much pressure.
I thank God for the generous severance package I received, but some employers are just closing doors with a hard heart. I pray for all of us Johnnie’s that your employer has a soft heart and your hunt comes to an abrupt halt…
Prayers going up and hoping the economy turns around quickly as this recession has gotten old and I know we’re all ready for a change.