Barely Surviving

Tom Meagher of the Herald News in Passaic County, New Jersey, spent a month trying to survive on the pay of a low-wage laborer. "Low Wages, Strong Backs," which Meagher co-wrote with Suzanne Travers, gives a blow-by-blow account of the daily life of the working poor. The story uses sharp details and crisp writing to show the struggle to work in mind-numbing, back-breaking jobs and to find decent housing and affordable food. Here's an example of what it's like to get to his temporary job: "I pile into a jitney with about 20 other temps. There are no seat belts, and the bus rattles like a dishwasher - we shake back and forth like we're on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride." To read more, click below.
www.northjersey.com/temporarylife