Essentially, Worker Narratives
What: The American workers talk about the jobs they do and what it means to them. These worker narratives come from a variety of sources (e.g., books, podcasts, articles).There are 5 to respond to, but at least 3 must be by workers who are
considered “essential,” and the last 2 can be from any field. Lastly, you will add a recommendation for a social/cultural intervention to aid one type of worker you discussed.
Why: We are highly dependent on essential workers, who make up the foundation of the workforce and ensure the functioning of our society. This is especially true of workers in the food industry and made even more clear in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet this diverse group of workers are frequently ignored, underserved, and exploited. We will thus study essential workers by reading/reflecting on their experiences and building together a rich collection of advocacy resources centering this group of workers.
How: I don’t want summaries of each narrative. I want your reaction and reflection on the worker experiences you read (1-3 paragraph response for each). In addition to your general responses to the stories, your reflections should include your responses to the following questions:
1. Did anything surprise you? What are your thoughts and/or feelings about this worker’s story?
2. Is this a job you would be interested in doing? Why/why not?
3. What is one question that you would like to ask this worker?
4. What kind of preparation or training is required to enter and succeed in this position?
Help: Identify one change or intervention — such as a new policy, law, funding, or public education campaign — that would improve the
circumstances of one specific group of essential workers that you wrote about. Think about the main challenges that this group faces.
Explain how you think this intervention could help. Lastly, identity one source of support or advocacy for this group of workers. This might be a professional group, a union, an advocacgocy organization, or support group.
