A friend, call him Andy, acted unusual when I stopped by Friday night. “I guess your weekends feel different now that you’re not looking forward to a break from working working hard all week,” I said.
Andy works in a local factory making parts for the auto industry. After 19 years, seniority has not spared him from the rotating layoffs that have reduced him from working five or six days a week to maybe two or three.
Rather than the optomistic, jovial, or bantering response Andy usually gives, there was confusion and bitterness.
“I don’t want to talk,” he said. “I don’t like it when other people bring me down, and I have nothing to say that won’t bring you down.”
” Andy, I do want to hear what you have to say,” I told him. “We’re friends, and when I ask how you’re doing, I want to know.”
What followed was an outpouring of confusion and anger and bitterness. Rolling layoffs seemed to be doled out according to the whims of a capricious supervisor rather than following seniority, or even an equal distribution of the pain among all workers. The national news about Chrysler and General Motors did nothing to inspire hope. After bringing dedication and skills to his job for a large part of his adult years, there seems to be no light for him at the end of this particular tunnel.
“I just want my normal life back,” Andy said.
The thought immediately came to my mind that “normal life” isn’t coming back. There are new realities of stock market and globalization, the disappearance of industries, and retirement funds that have been decimated. I was about to say that no one’s life is normal when Andy said one more thing.
“It feels like life is going on for other people and I’m not part of it anymore.”
Andy’s financial challenge is compounded by the emotional isolation he feels.
Elkhart County is divided roughly in thirds. One third of our community is severely impacted by unemployment, under-employment, or the uncertainty of working in a company that is teetering on the edge of failure. Two thirds of our community is employed, and continues to shop, go out to eat, plan vacations, and maybe even contribute to a retirement plan!
Part of the normal life Andy wants back is a normal work week and a normal paycheck. Part of what he wants back is the feeling that he is a normal member of the community.
ECWT is built on the assumption that the economic crisis we are experiencing is a community problem that requires a community response. That certainly involves extra giving to the local food pantry, finding ways to give unemployed people work, or donating to a sharing fund at church. It also involves maintaining, and building, meaningful individual relationships between people in the “one third” community and the “two thirds” community.
Everyone one of us in Elkhart County can do something to address this crisis. We can give, and receive, financial resources with grace. We can ask, and respond to, the question, “How are you doing?” with an open heart.
What can you do to help Elkhart County work together?
