Q&A with Barbara Ehrenreich

Barbara Ehrenreich has written 18 books, including the bestseller Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. A Florida resident, her newest book is Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy.

Are workers in America paid enough to get by?

Ehrenreich: Not enough are. A living wage for a family of three would be somewhere around $15 per hour as a national average, and the majority of wage-earners earn less than that. In the last few years, incomes have shot up extravagantly for those in the top 1 percent of the income distribution and been stagnant for everyone else. At the same time, benefits for both blue and white collar workers have undergone severe erosion - health insurance and pensions especially.

Is hard work a ticket out of poverty in the United States?

Ehrenreich: That's what I was brought up to believe, and it was once true for many more people than today. Since my childhood, we've lost the manufacturing, mining, and lumbering jobs that once allowed a worker (usually male) to support a family on a single wage. Now more and more jobs are in the low-paid, largely unorganized, service sector, where you can work full-time, year-round, and not get out of poverty.

Do unions protect against worker abuse?

Ehrenreich: Unions do [many things] - for example, in protecting people from arbitrary firings. But I think they need to do more to guarantee basic civil rights on the job. I find it incredible that in most states it is legal for employers to search employees' purses and backpacks. I also think unions should oppose other gross invasions of privacy like drug-testing and reading employees' personal e-mails. What we need is nothing less than a civil rights movement for American workers!

If a worker is not earning a living wage, what should he or she do about it?

Ehrenreich: The first option would be to seek union representation. If no union appears to be interested, there's the option of forming an independent workers' association that can bargain with management. Beyond that, one should find out if there's a living wage movement in the area and get involved. And as with so many other issues, it's essential to investigate political candidates and see which ones, if any, are committed to living wage legislation.