STANDING ON THE CORNER

Standing on the Corner
image courtesy Photobucket.com

There is a happening that has been going on from the distant past till now which is "Standing on a Corner," where people will come along and hire you to work for them.

In Southern California this practice is most common, but is also a practice in many communities where there are large numbers of Latinos.

In contrast to the survival programs provided by the Federal government the time was when you had to depend upon yourself for your daily bread.

Back in the thirties many worked out of hiring halls this was the seaman’s method of being hired. However first you had to get in the union, and that was next to impossible unless you knew someone who was friends with the union officials.

This was their version of standing on the corner.

My version of doing this was I had to find a job on my own and then become a member of the union. They wouldn’t help me get a job, but after I got one they would force me to join the union.

There were two tiers of employment; one where you worked for the company full time, and the other where you would fill in when a company needed extra help.

Here you would only work one or two days and then be laid off and then it was back to the union hall and wait for another company to call in for help.

I still recall having to be at the union hall at seven o’clock in the morning, and hope someone would call in. Your name was put on a list and the men were hired in order as your came named up.

The older members had first choice of the available jobs. It was only after they refused them that the newer members would get a chance to work.

I discovered that some of the old guys had difficulty in handling the heavy lifting so I would always do that for them and when we went to the hall for a new job they would insist that I go on the new job with them. This sure helped me feed my family when employment was scarce.

There are many people standing on the corner today demanding to be given freebies. They want for free what I had to work and struggle for. They are not willing to earn their way; they prefer to receive it for free.

Hard labor to them is a prehistoric concept that they want nothing to do with.

There can be an argument made that the corporations are making excessive profits. For instance, take the profits the oil companies are making. C.E.O S make in excess of a hundred million dollars.

This must not continue, it can’t continue for the forty nine percent (the tax payers) won’t continue to support the fifty one percent who are getting a free ride. I’m not concerned with the one percent or the ninety nine percent that people are yaking about. I’m concerned about the forty nine percent who are being taken advantage of. It’s “enough is enough” time.

C’mon now let’s serious!
Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFY8VeUlcQ4