Hand Laborers


HAND LABORERS ARE IMPORTANT PEOPLE





They risk their health each week to improve the quality of life in New Orleans.  According to government statistics, the median annual wage for these workers in May 2016 was  $24,880.  They are not required to have formal education, but they must "be physically able to perform the work" according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Unfortunately, the Bureau doesn't mention that these people who are classified as "hand laborers  and material movers" must be psychologically able to endure being thought of as untouchables are thought of in India. Class and caste are integral features of American democracy. The workers  are human "things" in the economy necessary for maintaining a relatively decent urban environment.  In the bad old days when we were still capable of using plain English, the workers were called garbage collectors.



We rarely think about how hard they work or about how abjectly miserable we might be if they did not sacrifice themselves for the good of the community, the city, the polis.  Many of them "lift garbage cans by hand and empty them in their truck."  Some drive the trucks "along a scheduled route.  When collecting materials from a dumpster, drivers use a hydraulic lift to empty the contents of the dumpster into their truck."  They have a higher rate of illness and injuries than the national average.  They work very hard for the commonweal.  Do we ever say "Thank you."?  In an interview, the poet John Murillo once said " No one ever asks 'What can garbage collectors do to promote social justice?' "  We should ask that question.  We should ask what is social and just about putting one's health in danger by weekly inhaling  of ill-smelling refuse and other toxins.



Yes, poets have written about garbage and garbage collectors.  One most engaging poem is Philip Appleman's "To the Garbage Collectors in Bloomington, Indiana, the First Pickup of the New Year." (It can be accessed at http://www.poetryfoundation.org. )  Nevertheless, poems about garbage collectors do not excuse us from some obligation to say "Thank You" to garbage collectors who may have no interest in reading poems about themselves, about their undervalued Selves.  I have a dream that one day New Orleans will institute an annual  GARBAGE FEST in City Park to honor hand laborers and material movers. The workers will be our special guests.  Each worker will be served a special meal prepared by acclaimed local chefs and presented an original "thank you" card created by acclaimed local artists.  But when I hear  Johnny  Adams sing "Dreams Must Be Going Out of Style," my fantasy is reduced to a  figment of imagination.  The real thing would be our attaching "thank you" cards to our garbage containers on a day when the weather report assures us there will be no rain.



Jerry W. Ward, Jr.            July 19, 2017


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