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Myra
Mercer Island, WA | |
Myra, 40, was working an IT job at WatchMark Corp. for two years. One day, her entire department was informed they would be laid off in one month and would train their Indian replacements in the meantime. If they failed to do so, they would lose their severance package. For the last 10 months, Myra has been actively searching for employment, and her unemployment benefits just ran out.
When WatchMark decided they wanted to save money, they outsourced my job to India. Not only was I told I would lose my severance if I failed to stick around for a month and train a number of my replacements, but I was instructed to ‘Keep my head in the game.’
“I’ve considered going back to school, but I simply can’t afford it. Displaced IT workers are not eligible for NAFTA retraining benefits. And given the current atmosphere of America, what assurance would I have that after going to school my new industry wouldn’t start outsourcing and off shoring? If I’ve learned anything from this experience, it’s that all jobs in this country are in danger.
“My life has changed drastically over my 10 months of unemployment. I’ve cashed in my 401(k), can no longer afford health insurance and can just barely pay the rest of the bills. I no longer plan for the future; I just try to make it through the present. I’ve even resorted to selling a number of my things on eBay to get money for essentials.
“I think that my biggest struggles throughout this experience are the constant feelings of powerlessness and paralysis. I did everything I could to succeed. I got a good education. I paid off big student loans. I worked hard at my job. But I now realize that it doesn’t matter what I do to make myself a marketable employee if there are no policies in this country to protect our jobs from being sent overseas to someone who will work for one-sixteenth the price. I can’t compete with that. You could say that I woke up from the American dream.
“We need to realize as a people that the middle class is being outsourced along with our jobs. We need someone in the White House who won’t ignore the struggles of their constituents, while constantly courting big business. Otherwise, I fear that the next generation will inherit a much more hostile America than the one we inherited.
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