One of the best parts of my job as a community organizer with TakeAction MN is getting to know the hard working women of our state. Like Evelyn Pechous, she’s a student at Hamline University triple majoring with hopes of going to Law School. This week was back-to-school for her and other Hamline students, as well as thousands of other college students in our state.
As summer winds down, Evelyn will need to leave two of her four jobs, and the 65 hours she’s working to make ends meet. She’ll have to work just two jobs and forty hours, because she’s going to be a full-time student. Evelyn’s forced to work these kinds of hours, despite her heavy class load, because of her medical expenses, and employers that refuse to offer her anything but part-time status with no benefits or protections — far too many college students share this experience. Again, Evelyn works so many jobs and so many hours, because she not only has to pay for her housing and living expenses, but also the high cost of her medical care. Did I mention she’s heavily involved on campus and volunteering? When I met her, she was struggling to figure out how she was going to have time to go to treatments for her chronic illness – Lupus – which are akin to chemotherapy, and still work enough hours to meet all of her costs.
The fact is, Evelyn is trapped in a cycle of work and struggle that too many people in this country face. She works to pay her medical bills, studies hard to have a bright future, volunteers and is involved on campus to develop her leadership, yet the more she works, the more it affects her health – which leads to higher medical bills. She’s then forced to go into work ill because many part-time jobs don’t offer any paid sick leave. Without time to recover, her condition worsens and the cycle repeats itself.
Evelyn knows her story is not unique. That’s why she’s joined #MPLSWorks, a campaign lead by workers across the state working to pass an ordinance in Minneapolis that will give workers the chance to earn paid sick leave, an advance notice of their schedule (fair scheduling), a $15 minimum wage, and an end to wage theft – making it easier for hourly and part-time workers to earn enough to live with dignity and with time to care for themselves or their loved ones if they are sick. As I write this I can picture Evelyn rushing off to her class with a determined smile on her face. She plans to run for Senate someday – to work with people to make laws that give workers the opportunity to thrive, not just survive.
If you believe that we must increase workplace standards so that workers, like Evelyn, are treated with dignity, with fair and safe job conditions, and compensation for their valuable work, contact the Minneapolis City Council and ask them to pass the Working Families Agenda. Send them an email workingfamilies@minneapolismn.gov. Click here to learn more about the Working Families Agenda.
