Low-wage jobs can lead to the direct formation or desire to form labor unions. Norma Rae and Nickel and Dimed are examples of this development. The inflicted struggles of both main characters due to their occupations aided the desire to be apart of labor unions. Labor unions are formed to protect and further workers rights and interests. Low-wage jobs have the tendency to inhabit poor working conditions and workers rights. The desire to gain fair working conditions and better rights fuels workers to be apart or create labor unions. Barbara Ehrenreich a low-wage worker at Walmart experiences poor working conditions. She is not allowed to sit on the job and cannot take unscheduled breaks. She works for hours and only gets 15 minute …show more content…
Henley textile mill. She is working in very loud and unsafe working conditions where she only males $1.30 an hour. This wage is not livable, especially with two kids to care for. She only get 15 minute break which is not enough for the amount of hours she works. Due to the loud noises in this factory her mother goes deaf for a day. She brings her to the factory doctor, Dr. Watson but he dismisses the deafness as temporary. Her father has a heart attack on the job leading to his death because their boss told him to work faster. He told his boss his arm was numb and his response was you’ve got a break soon. The management at the textile mill only cares if their employees are working productively not about the condition of their health while performing their work. These occurrences fuel Norma Rae’s aspiration to join and get others to join a labor union. Reuben who represents a union in New York comes to North Carolina where she lives and introduces her to labor unions and all the benefits it helps workers receive. He strongly recruits Norma Rae and she jumps on board pretty quick and helps him organize the whole upbringing of the labor union for the textile mill. At first it took awhile to get her co-workers on board but then they started realizing the benefits they could get if they become apart of this labor union. It all works out and the textile mill joins the union. Low-wage jobs mostly have unfair working conditions and