Since we& #39;re locked down under pandemic quarantine, healthcare & economics under the hot light, I guess it& #39;s time for the "Trash Mule" origin story...

I used to get paid $15/hour to remove contaminated sharps & Rx waste from hospital floors, and had to pass background check, health exam & drug UA for this magnificent trust. Once I qualified for family health insurance, 3 months into the gig, premiums ate 1/4 of my take-home pay

The low rate of compensation was an issue up front -- which I didn& #39;t beat around the bush about, talking w the unit supervisor -- but at the time I was desperate for steady work. But taking the job perversely increased my desperation; it became a trap I couldn& #39;t see my way out of

One of my coworkers, a woman, needed EBT to make sure she & her family had enough to eat. Others either needed 2nd gigs or relied on family members with better compensation to keep their households afloat. This was a "good," stable, full-time, vital service job! No layabout poets

I kinda left this thread hanging bc it got no engagement so who care. There& #39;s more but anyway I wanted to die almost every day on that job and was never more glad to quit one.

It& #39;s not enough to "honor" and "respect" healthcare & essential support service workers; the bottom line is the bottom& #39;s been falling out of this country for my entire life, ppl need to be paid what they& #39;re rly worth. Back to "normal," even if it were possible, is not good enough