Underpaid Worker Reluctant to Criticize System That Keeps Him Underpaid
Tony Maloney, a 67-year-old, honorably discharged Army veteran who works as a grocery bagger at Publix, is reluctant to criticize an economic system that requires him to have to work as close to full-time as possible in order to make enough money to cover basic living expenses.
“You’ll never catch me saying anything negative about this country, no sir,” he said while double-bagging an impatient woman’s personal hygiene items.
“Be careful with that; I don’t need my vagina shit falling out in the middle of the parking lot for the world to see,” she told him.
“I believe everyone in this country has the opportunity to become a millionaire, if they work hard and stay out of trouble. I’m just waiting for my turn,” he said. “I hope it happens soon because my back hurts more every day and it’s hard to lay down and fall asleep at night.”
“Don’t put the Midol in there; I got real bad cramps right now. I’m going to have to take one in the car,” the customer interrupted.
“It’s a struggle, since I only get about 30 hours a week because that’s all they can afford to give me,” he said. “I understand that; the company has to take care of their business before they can help me take care of my business.”
“I have a review coming up and I’ve been trying really hard to do a good job so I can go from from $12.25 an hour to $12.40 an hour, an additional $1.20 for an 8-hour shift. That’s an extra $36 dollars a week, before taxes,” he added.
“Put the bags in the cart. In the cart! You can’t expect me to lug this stuff all the way out to my car,” said the exasperated customer. “I’m certainly not tipping you to do it. Oh wait, I’m at Publix. Tipping isn’t allowed. Take it out to the car for me.”
She then noticed a small pin on Maloney’s name tag identifying him as a veteran and muttered, “thank you for your service.”
“These are hard times for everyone. We’re all struggling, every one of us,” Maloney said. “Once the people who already own everything decide that they have enough, they’ll share some of it with the rest of us. That’s basic economics as it’s been explained to me my whole life,” Maloney said. “I just have to continue to be patient while the best system in the whole world works through the process.”
