The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: jobs

  • Luddites aren’t who you think they are

    by Carlos Pedraza

    The Luddites emerged in the early 1800s, claiming to follow craftsman and folk hero Ned Ludd in expressing the rage of craftsmen and other workers who felt threatened by industrialization. Today, Luddite is used as an insult for technophobes, but the real Luddites didn’t hate technology. They wanted to protect their livelihoods and get better working conditions.

    Automation has always been a threat to workers. Unlike humans, machines don’t demand higher wages and can work 24/7. The Luddites would go to factories and smash machines with anything they could find. In 2013, delivery drivers smashed and stabbed robots in a modern display of Luddism, not technophobia.

    While new technologies can lessen work time, they usually are used by businesses and governments for control. Think of the algorithms that Amazon uses to manage their workers’ work time and breaks. I used to work as a service worker stocking shelves. I would get up at six in the morning and work till noon, with only two 15 minute breaks. If I knew that a machine was tracking me to keep me working and not take an extra five minutes, then I would be the first to stab it.

    In working jobs where I had no autonomy, I would be forced to smile at all times and repeat the same mindless boring tasks over and over again. The greatest disappointment was when I saw my paycheck, feeling robbed by how little it was. A higher wage or longer breaks would have made me feel less angry, but a machine doesn’t care about breaks or paying rent.

    Even if automation didn’t make me lose my job, then it would still cut my hours and thus my pay. I’m a Luddite not because I hate technology or want everything to be the same. I like progress and embrace change, but if automation is going to happen then it must be for the workers to decide when and how to do it, and to distribute the benefits among the people.

    Until then, if I see a machine control my time or push me out of a job, I will keep shouting, “down with all kings but King Ludd.”

  • Seasonal Work Discrimination

    Seasonal Work Discrimination

    When companies refuse to hire temporary workers, desperate times call for dishonest measures

    Many students seem to have a hard time finding a summer job. In my experience, those who struggle the most are the students that go to college away from home and return only for the three months of summer. Unfortunately, I am one of those students.

    According to the National Center for Education Statistics 81% of part-time undergraduate students are employed at the same time they’re enrolled in school, and a large percentage of these students also look for work during their time off.

    These college students often depend on a summer job to help pay for their schooling and basic needs. To qualify for a minimum wage job, it takes more than just filling out an application and waiting for an interview. Companies want reliable workers that plan to stay for more than just three months and don’t seem to consider summer seasonal workers.

    A lot of companies look at training someone for only a couple months of work as a waste of time. There are some companies that do hire students for the summer but more often than not, they only give you a minimal amount of hours per week. It is almost like they are already preparing for you to leave as soon as they hire you which creates an uncomfortable work environment.

    “I had eight interviews with jobs that paid minimum wage and not a single one hired me. McDonald’s even sent me a rejection letter.”

    For me, last summer was tough. I had eight interviews with jobs that paid minimum wage and not a single one hired me. McDonald’s even sent me a rejection letter. It was at that point that I realized I made the mistake of telling these companies that I would only be around for the summer. But it shouldn’t be that way, I shouldn’t have to lie just to provide for myself during those three months.

    Many students not only work to provide for themselves but for their families as well. Some young adults need to support their parents, children and even their siblings. I think companies don’t understand the dependance that college students have on a summertime job. It is a time for us to worry about work only, whereas during the school year there is more than just our eight-hour shift on our mind.

    Companies should come up with plans for seasonal hires no matter the kind of job. Whether or not there is an influx or outflow of individuals, summer is a season of change. Many people use the few months of warm weather as time for vacation, families are out out for summer and in California summer is prime tourist season.

    This summer, I switched up my technique. During interviews, I said I was a new transfer student in the area and sure enough, I was hired in no time. Working all day, every day can be stressful but not being able to find work is a different kind of stress.

    Being in an environment where you aren’t welcomed doesn’t feel good. There are college students all across the country who go homeless because they don’t have enough money and then on top of that, can’t seem to find a job.

    Though it shouldn’t be this way, it seems the thing to do when applying for a summer job is to tell the company that you’re there to stay. College students are often young adults trying to get a handle on their responsibilities and it is unfortunate that the world has persuaded us to lie in order to survive.

  • Career & Volunteer Expo offers job opportunities

    Career & Volunteer Expo offers job opportunities

    The West Gym at Humboldt State held the annual Career & Volunteer Expo on Feb. 15. Employers’ tables were placed systematically in rows, a photographer took free headshots for prospective employees and there was a designated table for students to fill out applications.

    Studio art major Sam Donnell usually drops three hundred dollars on one class for initial art supplies. That amount doesn’t include extra art supplies over the course of the semester.

    “I’ll take any job,” Donnell said. “I need art supply money.”

    Mike Orr, Mad River Park supervisor, graduated from Humboldt State and said almost 100 percent of his recruitment comes from HSU.

    Orr said HSU has changed over the years and such expos were not around in his day.

    “I wish they had this when I was a student, because when you’re a student, you don’t know to access the information,” Orr said.

    Social work and Spanish major Ana Monjaras works for the Academic and Career Advising Center. Monjaras helped create handouts and greeted guests at the expo.

    “It’s really fun and helpful,” Monjaras said. “We are the first ones to know who’s coming.”

    HSU alum and administrative support coordinator Shannon Berge has been part of the Academic and Career Advising Center since 2005.

    “We really do try to get as many types of major jobs as possible to have a nice well-rounded fair,” Berge said.

    HSU alum Amy Martin is the job development coordinator for the academic center. Martin worked for the center when she was a student, but now she coordinates it.

    “It’s much bigger than it was when I started a long time ago,” Martin said.

    Martin works with the Humboldt Chamber of Commerce and national recruiters to bring opportunities to the students.

    “People reach out to us all year,” Martin said. “I keep a list. We have huge databases of the employers in and around the area. [There] are lots of different ways to recruit.”

    The expo had 115 employers this year. Local employers were present, such as the North Coast Co-op, the Arcata Playhouse and Coast Central Credit Union.

    “Seeing all the tables, the students networking and making connections with the employers is the best part,” Martin said.