Bait and Switch: An Interview with Barbara Ehrenreich

The unemployed masses of people that she networked, attended job fairs, and coaching sessions with presented an interesting contrast to her blue-collar informants in her previous book. While many of the blue-collar workers in Nickel and Dimed were in precarious situations involving poor health and tentative housing, many retained a sense of humor - joking, laughing (many times at the expense of a manager or boss). "Many of the people (that were looking for jobs) were withdrawn, tentative, and seemed reluctant to show emotion." When asked if this was a defense mechanism to disconnect from the harshness of rejection and the corporate environment, Ehrenreich replies, "perhaps it is."

Bait and Switch paints a bleak future for the college educated masses that have "done everything right." A major shift in the white collar field now suggests a future market where the majority of workers are involuntary consultants whom business can retain and release at will, shirking the responsibility of providing health care or a pension plan. Ehrenreich does leave the reader with a rallying cry by encouraging those stuck in constant job search mode to have "the courage to come together and work for a change." When asked to elaborate, she speaks of her background in union and political organizing noting that her book tour has become a kindling focus for these issues. "When I am on tour now many of the people in the audience are laid-off white collar workers who have gone through the same experiences that I have written about."

Employing the method of consciousness raising, just as in the feminist movement of the 1960s and 70s, where women were encouraged to share stories of their hardships, Ehrenreich encourages people at her book-signings to share their stories. "Now when I am at a book signing, I ask how many people have been let go from their jobs, and how many are still looking for work. After this, I ask if someone in the audience would be willing to help organize an email list of people from the event who would like to talk about their experiences later and perhaps begin to organize around the issue. The first step for a lot of people is to realize that they are not alone, and that there are people in their community just like them."

Ehrenreich has taken the email list idea a step further by including a discussion blog on her website where people can talk about their common problems in searching for work, common solutions in finding it, and even perhaps unionization.

Barbara Ehrenreich is touring through November 2005. Consult her schedule for a tour stop near you.