Labor Day

a reflection on labor as a member of the gig economy

As a worker in the gig economy, reflecting on Labor Day is sort of like taking a knife, shoving it into your chest, twisting it around, and then pulling it when someone asks to see what you are made of for five dollars.

I work all of the time. I am working right now. I work at work and then, I work at home. And I know many of us do this. I am not alone. And all of this seems just so far from what our Labor Union organizers and freedom fighters wanted for us, for the future of work in this nation. We might not all be child coal mine workers, but we are perhaps all living lives pretty close to that level of exploitation and respect.

My fiance works all day as a contractor. When he comes home he hops online and focuses on his goals of having an online business that will finally take off. Exhausted, he watches YouTube videos on e-commerce and website building until it’s time for bed. He also is a professional stand up comedian, doing local and regional gigs, thankfully close to home. But, bottom line: he works all of the time.

I work as an adjunct instructor. I teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But I work Monday-Sunday around the clock. Grading, planning, setting up the course, figuring out the lectures, coming up with activities, answering emails.

The entire month of August is unpaid labor for most teachers and adjunct instructors. We work on the syllabus, write the lectures, set up the course website, and prepare for our classrooms and campus orientations, all for free.

And when school starts we are just as overwhelmed and just as behind on bills and dreams, despite that free unpaid month of trying to get ahead.

I have been writing more which is pretty much the best thing to have happened to me in terms of doing something that feels like my soul is free and alive. But it has not been a living wage earner, yet. I have been doing some work on Fiverr, freelance style, but again, I think my total earnings so far max out at $40 dollars. Bottom line: I also work all of the time.

So much work is unpaid labor in the gig economy. So much work is undervalued labor in our society in general. How can we let this go when the system won’t let us get ahead? You would think, honestly, that working all of the time would mean bills paid, rent paid, debts paid down, groceries stocked, health taken care of, an occasional night out or family vacation, right?

Cue Childish Gambino: This is America. This society demands our constant business, our constant labor, our constant work. Not for purposes of financial stability or productivity. It has been proven time and time again, working more or working longer does not mean producing more, and it certainly does not mean being paid more. Not in this system. Not in our lifetime. Not in the foreseeable future.

My mother worked in a factory for 25 years. From the time I was born until the time I was 25, really. She is now almost 65 and spends her days cleaning a gym. For minimum wage. Hobbling from years of low pay, hard labor, little benefits, and constant work. She has never taken a vacation.

The shift that happened in the 80’s (neoliberalism, folks) hit everyone hard and has trickled down through the generations. I am not in a factory, no, but the labor value, the labor stress, the labor that goes unvalued, and the limited health care and vacation time remains the same.

Everyone I know is working and working hard. And we all have different things to show for it, sure, but most of us, most of those I know are in the same boat. The boat where we can make jokes about driving our cars with all of the dash lights on and pray it all lasts through the winter. The boat where we can joke about deleting those student loan emails each time they pop up to remind of a default. Ope!

What can we let go of? Well, for the longest time I was afraid of the bottom. But now after living bottom adjacent for so long, not paying off debts, having a credit score that is hilariously low, living paycheck to paycheck, the bottom isn’t that scary. Because it is where most of us are. So maybe let go of the fear and embrace the solidarity.

The gangs all here! And for those of us out here striving, going, writing, working, piecing things together, we hang on because the only place we have to go is up. I’m praying my writing is like a hot air balloon for this family, as I hustle and flow with it, and it lifts us up slowly while we wave at the tree tops for a bit before settling on somewhat higher ground.

Jenny Justice is a mom, Sociology instructor, and writer. You can follow her on Medium and at Jenny Justice, Writer. She has been recognized as a Top Writer on Medium in Poetry, Parenting, Reading, Education, Books, Racism, Feminism and Climate Change, so far. You can follow her poetry at Justice Poetic.