Forced From Executive Pay to Hourly Wage ($12 an hour janitor)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/01/us/01survival.html?bl&ex=1236056400&en=bb541e94ddc568ad&ei=5087%0A


Joshua Lott for The New York Times

Maggie Macias-Cooper praying with her husband, Mark Cooper. He made $70,000 a year; now he earns $12 an hour as a janitor.

By MICHAEL LUO
Published: February 28, 2009

TEMPE, Ariz. — Mark Cooper started his work day on a recent morning cleaning the door handles of an office building with a rag, vigorously shaking out a rug at a back entrance and pushing a dust mop down a long hallway.

Nine months ago he lost his job as the security manager for the western United States for a Fortune 500 company, overseeing a budget of $1.2 million and earning about $70,000 a year. Now he is grateful for the $12 an hour he makes in what is known in unemployment circles as a “survival job” at a friend’s janitorial services company. But that does not make the work any easier.

“You’re fighting despair, discouragement, depression every day,” Mr. Cooper said.

Working five days a week, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mr. Cooper is not counted by traditional measures as among the recession’s casualties at this point. But his tumble down the economic ladder is among the more disquieting and often hidden aspects of the downturn.

It is not clear how many professionals like Mr. Cooper have taken on these types of lower-paying jobs, which are themselves in short supply. Many are doing their best to hold out as long as possible on unemployment benefits and savings while still looking for work in their fields.

About 1.7 million people, however, were working part-time in January because they could not find full-time work, a 40 percent jump from December 2007, when the recession began, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

FULL story at link.

[rpannier]

1. No sympathy here

At least he found work that pays a decent wage

He's lucky he knew someone

There are thousands who would love to be in his position right now

[elocs]

3. I am unemployed now (not getting unemployment) and I have worked as a janitor.

I would love to get a full time job as a janitor for $12 an hour.

[MUAD_DIB]

7. Well it's great that you have no sympathy.

:eyes:

[stray cat]

2. Its rough to work that hard and end up with a job you were qualified for in highschool

I've spent 18 plus years out of highschool training for a career that required sacrifice financially and 60-80 hour work weeks. It would be heartbreaking to not be able to work in even a related field and doing a job I could have gotten out of highschool. He does have my sympathy - good for him that he is still working hard and not sitting at home feeling sorry for himself.

[dflprincess]

8. I feel for him too

$70k is certainly more than most people make - but it doesn't make a person rich either - and to go from that to about $24K (I figure $12*2080 hrs) would hurt. $12/hour is better than minimum wage, but it doesn't qualify for a living wage. (If minimum wage had kept up with inflation it would be $14 or $15 an hour)

I'll give the guy credit for not having delusions that work like this is "beneath him". A lot of people would think that way.

[jedr]

4. Mr Cooper needs to grab his bootstraps;

Pull baby pull.....time for a large helping of crow!( I hear they sell it at Wal*Mart)

[theoldman]

5. I lost my job as an engineer and went to work as an auto mechanic.

One thing I learned from this experience is that life goes on and the beer tastes the same.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

6. The current financial crisis is It's A Wonderful Life in

reverse. No pity.

[Confusious]

9. I'm not sure how some of my fellows here

Cannot feel just a little sorry for this fellow, unless your still pissed about your job.

I lost mine last April, I'm over it (well almost, 10 years is a long time to be at one place)

I guess I could also see, that with a little prayer, 8 kids, and living in Tempe, he's probably a Repug. But then again, he could be a demo.

[jedr]

11. It's not that I don't feel bad for anyone in this position;

and who knows if my day may come? It just galls me that these people were quite willing to do this to the lower middle class and let themselves gain by it. Now that it bit them in the a** it's a different story. I went through this in the early 80's in Pittsburgh when the manufacturing base was destroyed. I was in management and ended up delivering furniture for two years , working 12-16hrs/day for not much money.. I remember getting a bottle cap that gave me a free 2 litter of soda and I felt like I hit the lottery. We've all been sold out and I can't not forgive the people who voted for Bush TWICE! But, as said in an other reply...."life went on and the beer tasted the same"

[Confusious]

12. How do YOU know he

was one of the ones "quite willing to do this to the lower middle class and let themselves gain by it". I didn't get that from the article. It didn't say anything about it.

I don't remember him saying that he voted for bush *TWICE*. He could be a Democrat, though I see it as somewhat unlikely.

I would just like to know where you read it, so I can take a look.

Not all executives are the stealing, repug loving types.

[jedr]

13. I realize that's it's a generalization and I'm far from perfect:

and maybe it's not a rational conclusion. Maybe this guy is a raving liberal like myself. But if it looks like a duck , maybe it is a duck and I'm damn P.O.ed that my country has been ruined.

[kestrel91316]

10. I have a fair bit of respect for someone who used to make $70k

being willing to mop floors for $12/hr. Certainly more than for those who used to make $2m and are now whining about making $250k.

Janitorial work is HONEST work.

[Kat45]

14. He's fortunate that he had a friend who could give him the job.

Generally, a company would not hire someone with his resume for those types of lower-paying jobs because it would assume that he would leave immediately as soon as things got better for him. Even people who are usual candidates for a janitorial position may have trouble getting such a job because a hundred or more people could easily be applying for that job.

My job got eliminated at the end of the year, and the impression I have right now is that practically the only way to get a job now is if you know somebody who can introduce you to the person who is doing the hiring. I went to a job search seminar about a month ago, and that's pretty much what they told me also.