TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
I still have trouble forgetting a trip into Mexico in the early '70s to a big oil refinery. I was an hourly employee in a refinery in Houston at the time. I was doing quite well, a union member, decent wages ($5/hr), a nice house and car, air conditioning, electric lights, 40 hour weeks, health insurance that covered 95% of everything, paid vacations, etc.
The employees in Mexico were living in tin and clapboard shacks just outside the refinery gate with their sewage mixing with that of the plant in a concrete ditch. Only a few electric lights were in evidence, certainly no new pick-up trucks or washer/dryer combos.
The price of gasoline in the US then: $.30, in Mexico: $.60.
When all the borders are down, where will you live?
Rick
I admit it, I'm naive. I read this today about Levi's:
"I make $12 an hour," said Ann, who works in the refinishing plant. "The
people who'll be doing the work, they get paid $12 a week. They'll be
saving money . . . using out-of-the-country manufacturers..."
Now, why is it that it is so expensive to live in America? Why do we
need to make more than $12/week to live?
--
Michele
I got out of Babylon, but there was no Zion. No Promised Land.
www.krautgrrl.com
