Working at the Margins

Frances Julia Riemer is Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Northern Arizona University.

"These interesting interviews present many stories that will cause concern, but the successes in them will also be cause for celebration." — Library Journal"Riemer provides real insights into the process of moving from welfare to work and the often hidden biases of those in positions of power. By delineating the attitudes of all of the parties involved, the concrete circumstances of the workers' work and private lives and the reality of specific workplaces, this ethnographic study gets beyond the facile slogans about the nature of poverty, work, and individual responsibility to provide genuine insight about the problems people face in trying to change their lives." — Ruth Sidel, author of Keeping Women and Children Last: America's War on the Poor"The greatest contribution of the book lies in the closeness of its attention to the real situations at the workplace, as viewed by both low income workers and supervisors and co-workers.... It is extremely useful as a carefully nuanced, front-line study." — Ann Withorn, author of Serving the People: Social Services and Social Change

• ForewordPreface Introduction: Myths and Realities PART I: THE STORIES 1. Development and the Hardest to Serve Naming the Hardest to ServeAn Institutional HistoryThe Reality of the Hardest to ServeConceptualizing the Hardest to ServeSocialization for WorkComputers in the Learning LabLife SkillsSupported WorkThe Social Organization of WorkJustificationExceptions to the RulePerceiving InequitiesNegotiating the NamingAn Imperfect FitResistanceAgainst Each OtherCooling OutStayingFull Circle 2. Church Hall and Single Mothers on Welfare Getting ThereSingle Mothers and WelfareTraining to CompensateBlending InCertification TrainingThe WorkLocal KnowledgeA Professional HierarchyDifferent, Strange, and Even DangerousA Lack of RespectCarving SpacesFew OptionsProtests of DenialViewing Practice in Piecemeal 3. Concordance Steps and Southeast Asian Refugees Refugee as IdentityA Political HistoryAdult LearnersThe Labor MarketSkills Training and Hands-On LearningJob PlacementThe Social Organization of WorkCambodians Are a Little BetterThe Language BarrierErrors on the FloorYou Have to Know PeopleAppreciating KindnessAccommodation in the WorkplaceLearning to Juggle 4. Jackson Hospital's Pharmacies and the Cream of the Unemployed Getting ThereThe CollaborationThe Best FiveBroad-Based FundingLearning Specific KnowledgeGetting HiredAn Occupation in TransitionA Good SalaryActive MembersBecoming SupervisorsEmbracing the RoleSomething's Keeping Us Here PART II: WHAT THE STORIES MEAN 5. Analyzing the Circle The Pieces of ChoosingTraining ProgramsSorting the PoorThe UnderclassRefugeesAssessment and the Cream of the UnemployedRanking IndividualsJTPA and Job TrainingDownscaling TrainingDefining WorkMaking SenseDistance from an Imperfect FitA Better Fit 6. Other Possibilities Prioritizing WorkCooling Out at WorkA Foot in the DoorImaginingsFlexible Training ModelsEducational Networks and SupportsGood Jobs, Good Pay, Good BenefitsBucking the Natural Trend Appendix A: Ethnographic Methodology and MethodsAppendix B: The PeopleAppendix C: State Mandated Content of Nurse Aide TrainingAppendix D: Church Hall's Clinical Performance SummaryAppendix E: Pharmacy Committees at Jackson's Hospital NotesGlossaryReferencesIndex