Word: harbors
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...middle class, the truth for most American families lies in the details of their lives. And the details paint a discouraging picture of the generational fortunes of the Forrester family since Bob, now 60, went to work as a tankerman in the Inland Boatmen's Union in Los Angeles harbor...
...full medical, dental and pension benefits. During his last full year in that work, he cleared $27,000 and saved $8,000, nearly enough for a down payment on a small house. The problem is that his company, United Towing, has just gone the way of dozens of other harbor companies: it has busted Billy's union by hiring maritime workers from Louisiana at a cheaper wage. Billy is suddenly out of a job. A year later, he is scratching out $10,000 a year as a gardener...
Today the harbor jobs pay up to $265 a day, which means a worker can make $45,000 to $55,000 a year. But the few jobs remaining are tough to get. As Bob's youngest son Paul, 26, who has had an application on file with the Longshoremen's Union for three years, explains, "They pass out 50,000 or 60,000 applications. They give 3,500 interviews. For about 300 jobs." Paul keeps updating his file, but has heard nothing...
...brother Paul and his wife Silva are in similar straits. "What I'm afraid of," says Silva, gesturing across their apartment in Harbor City, only a few miles from where Paul's parents reside, "is to be living like this forever." The life she refers to, like Peggy's, doesn't look all that bad. They live in a modest but comfortable one-bedroom apartment. For most of the past eight years (they've been married for only a year), Paul has driven a delivery truck for a private mail company. He has worked...
Brother Billy, 34, who lost his harbor union job, has four children, the oldest twelve. He migrated north to Washington State, looking for a better quality of life, and went into business for himself as a gardener. His income has ranged between $10,000 and $20,000. Last year Billy bought a house in a rural area for $43,000, a purchase made possible by his father's financial aid: Bob put up the down payment of $11,000. Billy too is looking for a job on the waterfront, where the $11 hourly wage and full benefits will...