The Latest Wage Crime in Educational Publishing

Image credit: crystalmedia.com

Today, while job hunting, I noticed this little gem:

Editor for English/Language Arts Curriculum
wowzers - Chicago, IL
Full-time, Temporary

We are looking for an editor for a English/Language Arts curriculum program. This position would entail reading passages of varying length and checking to make sure they are at the appropriate reading level, flow well, contain no spelling or grammatical errors, and that the accompanying questions test the students' comprehension.

Duties, Responsibilities & Expectations:

• Edit passages of varying length and subjects.
• Assist the writers in brainstorming topics and questions.
• Ensure the questions appropriately test the students and follow our rubric.
• Check informational passages for accuracy.

Qualifications, Skill, and Abilities:

• An excellent grasp of grammar, spelling, etc.
• Education background is preferred

This is a temporary position of 4-6 weeks that may lead to full-time employment. The position will pay around $13/hr, depending on experience. Writers must work in-office at our downtown Chicago location.

That's all very ordinary—until you get to the final paragraph: $13/hour. Really?! Here is why that turns me into the Angry Editor:

• In Chicago, that's 115% of the poverty level for a family of four. 
• $13/hour equates to an annual salary of $27,040/year. Of that, maybe you'll take home $1,700 a month after taxes. Considering that Chicago's average rent is about $1,200 a month, that leaves a whopping $500 to pay for an entire month's health insurance, food, clothes, transportation, utilities, and all the other necessities of life. Not gonna cut it.
• The only people who are going to apply to a job that pays so little are (1) students or recent grads with no experience, (2) people who are totally unqualified but apply anyway because it pays (slightly) more than retail; or (3) people whose unemployment ran out so they're desperate for work. 
• STUDENTS DESERVE BETTER. People should not be paid poverty wages to create educational materials for young children. It's appalling.
• EDITORS DESERVE BETTER. Editing is a learned, professional skill; it should not be compensated the same as what you could earn as a cashier at Costco. Additional specialized knowledge required to edit K-12 reading lessons makes an editor worth even more. 

For the record, I did pretty much this same job (with a few additional responsibilities) from 2006 through 2009, for a respectable company, and earned nearly double what "wowzers" is offering in this ad. Shame on them. 

If our kids turn out to be dummies, we'll know who to blame. 

Thoughts on Being Laid Off... Again

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Last week I got laid off for the third time in five years.

My thoughts, in order of appearance.

Wednesday, Sept. 25

(As boss's boss is talking to me in his office, door closed) Oh, crap. He's going to tell me I'm being laid off, isn't he?

(As he drops the bomb) Aw, hell. I was right.

Not again.

This sucks.

I'm so calm. It's going to hit me later, isn't it?

At least they gave me 2 weeks' notice, instead of escorting me out the door.

And at least they told me in person, instead of via e-mail while I was on maternity leave, like my last two layoffs.

(As I leave the boss's office) I gotta tell my husband.

I text my husband: "Bad news. Call me." 

It's been half an hour. Where is he? I want to tell him first, but I can't keep waiting. 

I go online and vent to some working-mom girlfriends, who sympathize and chat. 

Deep breaths. It will be OK. I've done this before. I can do it again. I'll find another job.

I finally talk to my husband. I shed my first and only tears as I tell him the news, because he cares, and he is kind to me, and that makes me fall apart.

I wrap up my phone call and visit the restroom to make sure my face has minimal evidence of tears. 

Two hours until time to go. I should work on this project. But somehow I can't bring myself to give a damn. 

Ugh. Soon I'll have to deal with the unemployment office again.

That's if I can even file for unemployment. I've been a "temp" here for the past 15 months. Oh, God. If I'm not eligible, we are screwed.

Riding home, I look out the window and see a homeless person camped out in a sleeping bag under a bush.  I need to suck it up. Things could be so much worse.


(Later, after the kids are in bed) Why is this so hard? I have skills. I'm a good, productive employee. I'm just trying to feed my kids and pay my bills and actually save a few bucks once in a while. 

Tomorrow morning I'm going to have that moment. That moment where I wake up, and I'm in that semiconscious state, blissfully ignorant of the real world, and suddenly the memory of what happened comes crashing back like an evil boomerang.

I need to stop thinking about this. I'm getting morose.

F that, today sucked. I'll damn well let myself be morose for a few more minutes before I move on!

Thank God I refinanced the mortgage this spring.

Friday, Sept. 27

At 3 A.M., my brain wakes me up to mentally compose a letter I'll never send to my soon-to-be-ex-boss.

This whole thing has been unexpected and upsetting. But I just realized what burns me the most: Being treated like I'm disposable. F THAT. F this economy, and F the companies that laid me off. I am worth more than that. 


That afternoon, I attend my grandfather's memorial service. I listen to my dad tell the story of how Grandpa was walking home one day during the Depression.

He was a teenager, and he'd just spent $14 of his family's scarce money on groceries. Someone jumped him, wanting to steal the food. Grandpa beat the crap out of the guy and brought the food home to his family.

THAT is where I come from. THAT is what I am made of. I can do this. It's going to be OK.