Josephine

Josephine, 50, was laid off from her job as an industrial engineer and technical writer from the telecommunications industry in November 2001. Most recently, Josephine worked for the Ford Motor Co. sanding trucks eight hours a day at one-third her former pay. The Ford plant shut down in February 2004, at which point she was left without a full-time job and income for the second time in three years.

My Story
I was using my industrial engineering degree in the telecommunications industry when I was laid off in November 2001. After two years of part-time, low-paying work, I’m now working at the Ford Motor Co. as a temporary worker. I sand trucks eight hours a day in the paint department at one-third my former pay rate.

The Ford plant I work for is shutting down within the month, laying off 800 workers like me, and then I’ll be left without a full-time job and income for the second time in three years. My way of life has transformed. I live without medical and dental check-ups and visits, with the constant threat of having my electricity and heat shut off, being unable to make even the minimum payments to creditors and more. I haven’t had health insurance in 10 years and used up my savings a long time ago. Of course, I have cancelled my Y membership, the newspaper and the cell phone and have not renewed my membership in several professional organizations to reduce costs. I have rented out my one bedroom to a graduate student to help with the mortgage and have turned what was originally the front porch into a bedroom for myself.

I’m concerned for myself and for the future of the nation. The economy is headed for some very hard times. We’ve lost a lot of our manufacturing base, and now we’re losing technical and service jobs overseas. There should be some constraints on free trade so it doesn’t tear apart our families and communities. People need to work to earn a living and keep their homes. We need to strengthen America’s local economic base. So-called free trade will not result in the trickling down of new jobs for people like me.