Hourly Guilt
Maybe I acknowledge them because of the guilt. Many don't even see them, and that can't be good. They are the true worker-bees. Yes, I am a worker-bee when you strip down my job description to its barest, but there is an entire demograph of folks busily keeping this hospital moving - the real worker-bees. They are called "House-keeping", and they are all, without exception, Latinos.
I should say LatinAs, since the majority are female. And now that I think of it, Ernie is from Trinidad, and he's black.
I once was having a conversation with Don, from Dominican Republic, when another PA walked right up to me and literally stood in our line of view. In his midsentence. Determined to project my embarassment on her, I told her to step to the left, look at Don, and apologize. She sheepishly did so, but I think I just embarassed Don more than he already was. But I was pissed.
Another time I was alone in a large room with another co-worker checking paperwork, typical busywork type stuff, and we were making small talk. I forget the topic, but it turned secretive and gossipy, and she looked around the room and proceeded to say, "It's OK, there's no one here." She must have looked right through Maria, pushing a sweeper 10 feet away. I can understand not worrying about her listening in and saying so, but to call somebody "no one" within earshot is a slap in the face.
Maybe I do it out of guilt, but I usually make an effort to give them a basic hello or hola in the halls, and thank them for emptying the trash if they do so nearby. I probably overcompensate and say hello to them more than others, making me wonder if I inadvertedly succomb to racism or classism. The motive is good, however, and a person deserves and appreciates basic acknowledgement.
I once questioned an El Salvadorean about his life "back home" and how he got here. This guy had been working in Pre-Op for about 4 years now, and none of the nurses knew his father and brother had been tortured and killed before his eyes for trying to restrict the flow of rebel soldiers across his family's creek, or that he sends almost his total paycheck home to his widowed mother, 2 sisters and remaining brother, while he lives with 6 other immigrants in a 1 bedroom apartment. When he told me these things, he kept looking up since his eyes had grown shiny. I remember the nurses within earshot stopped crunching away on their Whole Foods salads and stared in surprised horror. Many or these people have known the violence of poverty and war, and most have experienced various forms of sorrow I pray and hope never to encounter.
Almost all the housekeeping staff send money home. One guy can't get his immediate family into the country, and will show you the same folded picture of his wife and daughters in Bolivia every time you ask how they are.
Some think it is fair and even polite to expect "American" behavior from them, and roll their eyes when they won't speak English. I think this is a mistake. I openly question and praise their culture, language, thoughts, and styles. Afterall, condescendingly expecting immediate assimilation is no way to get your hands on a homemade empanada.
Sometimes I compare them to ants. In a good way, not a condescending step on them way. Afterall, ants are amazing creatures - efficient, industrious, clean, and in large numbers, able to construct a mall. If it weren't for ants, there would be forests filled with rotting shit everywhere and thousands of half-eaten lollipop sticks on the sidewalks of the world. The planet would be a smelly pile of garbage in a year. This hospital would be a smelly pile of shit without the existence of the most hardworking demograph I have had the honor to work alongside. And I would be living in a hut. Latino males literally put Montgomery County togethor. Every nail in every board was put in by men from Central or South America. And what amazes me is that no one ever seems to really appreciate this fact.
We just had a citizenship party for a woman who has spent the last 15 years of her life becoming a citizen in the US. She studied, payed taxes, saved money, and worked her ass off in a low paying position to earn her citizenship. If you think about it, that's quite a bit more than many people do to be a citizen. Certainly more than I did. Compare that to indigents who are born citizens, then pass up opportunities for advancement and instead become parasitic financial burdens on US society. Makes you want to celebrate all the more for a woman who is driven to make it in a foreign country, taking advantage of opportunities half of those on wellfare choose to ignore.
When it's slow, I watch the hours and nervously segment the clock, calculating the odds of being called for a section as my shift nears its end. I almost always don't want to do a section, or work for my pay in other words. I just figure the slow times make up for the times I get slammed so it all evens out. Housekeeping, on the other hand, is always getting slammed. There are too few of them for the amount of crap that needs to be cleaned, polished, sanitized, mopped, buffed, emptied, refilled, whatever. When I consider how much I am getting paid compared to the housekeeping staff, I usually feel a pang of guilt, especially when it's slow. It's never slow when it comes to cleaning a hospital.
And I think their rights are abused. I know some of them. They like me because I boldly and incorrectly say freindly things in Spanish. I have heard their managers (white males) force them in on holidays, force them to work overtime, dock their pay, even spread rumors within their ranks. Some may be your basic disgruntled bullshit. Nonetheless, I am pretty certain their rights are abused. I don't like their bosses, and don't even look at them in the halls. I've seen them purposefully berate their staff in public, broadcasting their authority to the curious eyes of the medical staff. They wear dress pants, button down white shirts with colored T-shirts underneath,and cheezy bright ties, trying so hard to distance themselves from the stinky waste storage areas and dingy employee locker rooms their underlings must dwell in more than their homes. I'd much rather make eye contact with them - the relentless worker-bees.
They have silent dignity, pleasantly dark humor, and sudden smiles. And when asked, they can tell some of the best stories you have ever heard.
I should say LatinAs, since the majority are female. And now that I think of it, Ernie is from Trinidad, and he's black.
I once was having a conversation with Don, from Dominican Republic, when another PA walked right up to me and literally stood in our line of view. In his midsentence. Determined to project my embarassment on her, I told her to step to the left, look at Don, and apologize. She sheepishly did so, but I think I just embarassed Don more than he already was. But I was pissed.
Another time I was alone in a large room with another co-worker checking paperwork, typical busywork type stuff, and we were making small talk. I forget the topic, but it turned secretive and gossipy, and she looked around the room and proceeded to say, "It's OK, there's no one here." She must have looked right through Maria, pushing a sweeper 10 feet away. I can understand not worrying about her listening in and saying so, but to call somebody "no one" within earshot is a slap in the face.
Maybe I do it out of guilt, but I usually make an effort to give them a basic hello or hola in the halls, and thank them for emptying the trash if they do so nearby. I probably overcompensate and say hello to them more than others, making me wonder if I inadvertedly succomb to racism or classism. The motive is good, however, and a person deserves and appreciates basic acknowledgement.
I once questioned an El Salvadorean about his life "back home" and how he got here. This guy had been working in Pre-Op for about 4 years now, and none of the nurses knew his father and brother had been tortured and killed before his eyes for trying to restrict the flow of rebel soldiers across his family's creek, or that he sends almost his total paycheck home to his widowed mother, 2 sisters and remaining brother, while he lives with 6 other immigrants in a 1 bedroom apartment. When he told me these things, he kept looking up since his eyes had grown shiny. I remember the nurses within earshot stopped crunching away on their Whole Foods salads and stared in surprised horror. Many or these people have known the violence of poverty and war, and most have experienced various forms of sorrow I pray and hope never to encounter.
Almost all the housekeeping staff send money home. One guy can't get his immediate family into the country, and will show you the same folded picture of his wife and daughters in Bolivia every time you ask how they are.
Some think it is fair and even polite to expect "American" behavior from them, and roll their eyes when they won't speak English. I think this is a mistake. I openly question and praise their culture, language, thoughts, and styles. Afterall, condescendingly expecting immediate assimilation is no way to get your hands on a homemade empanada.
Sometimes I compare them to ants. In a good way, not a condescending step on them way. Afterall, ants are amazing creatures - efficient, industrious, clean, and in large numbers, able to construct a mall. If it weren't for ants, there would be forests filled with rotting shit everywhere and thousands of half-eaten lollipop sticks on the sidewalks of the world. The planet would be a smelly pile of garbage in a year. This hospital would be a smelly pile of shit without the existence of the most hardworking demograph I have had the honor to work alongside. And I would be living in a hut. Latino males literally put Montgomery County togethor. Every nail in every board was put in by men from Central or South America. And what amazes me is that no one ever seems to really appreciate this fact.
We just had a citizenship party for a woman who has spent the last 15 years of her life becoming a citizen in the US. She studied, payed taxes, saved money, and worked her ass off in a low paying position to earn her citizenship. If you think about it, that's quite a bit more than many people do to be a citizen. Certainly more than I did. Compare that to indigents who are born citizens, then pass up opportunities for advancement and instead become parasitic financial burdens on US society. Makes you want to celebrate all the more for a woman who is driven to make it in a foreign country, taking advantage of opportunities half of those on wellfare choose to ignore.
When it's slow, I watch the hours and nervously segment the clock, calculating the odds of being called for a section as my shift nears its end. I almost always don't want to do a section, or work for my pay in other words. I just figure the slow times make up for the times I get slammed so it all evens out. Housekeeping, on the other hand, is always getting slammed. There are too few of them for the amount of crap that needs to be cleaned, polished, sanitized, mopped, buffed, emptied, refilled, whatever. When I consider how much I am getting paid compared to the housekeeping staff, I usually feel a pang of guilt, especially when it's slow. It's never slow when it comes to cleaning a hospital.
And I think their rights are abused. I know some of them. They like me because I boldly and incorrectly say freindly things in Spanish. I have heard their managers (white males) force them in on holidays, force them to work overtime, dock their pay, even spread rumors within their ranks. Some may be your basic disgruntled bullshit. Nonetheless, I am pretty certain their rights are abused. I don't like their bosses, and don't even look at them in the halls. I've seen them purposefully berate their staff in public, broadcasting their authority to the curious eyes of the medical staff. They wear dress pants, button down white shirts with colored T-shirts underneath,and cheezy bright ties, trying so hard to distance themselves from the stinky waste storage areas and dingy employee locker rooms their underlings must dwell in more than their homes. I'd much rather make eye contact with them - the relentless worker-bees.
They have silent dignity, pleasantly dark humor, and sudden smiles. And when asked, they can tell some of the best stories you have ever heard.
posted by All Rounder | 5:35 PM
1 Comments:
Amazing post.
Makes me feel good about where I work.
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