by Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian
Image by ekenamillwork from Pixabay
06-28-25
Oftentimes at work as early as 5 AM, there are many in South Texas towns who are described as the working poor. The working poor consist of single moms in their 30s, young adults in their early to mid 20’s, and older adults who are in their 50’s with lots of skills but many hiring companies dismiss as being “too old” or overqualified.
One person whom I will call Trisha does warehouse work early in the morning working at a fast- paced, physically demanding job for several hours. Then Trisha is off to work at a local fast-food restaurant in Uvalde. Trisha also cleaned vacation rentals in Concan but had to recently quit that job.
On any particular day of her shift, Trisha may have a blank expression on her face while working,
When asked if she is OK, she said, “I’m just tired.”
Others may supplement their income with a side hustle doing Door Dash or Favor delivering food or groceries to customers hoping the tips are good that day.
The working poor sometimes have 2-3 part time jobs and take care of their children. Other family members may help care for underage children.
Some go from place-to-place catching rides from others, riding a bicycle or e-bike or nurse along a truck with the check engine light on and hope the empty fuel alert means there is enough fuel to make it to work or back home.
Oftentimes Trisha’s second job ends at 10 PM she goes home and collapses onto her bed before the next day’s 5AM shift begins
During the summer, the working poor hope and pray their A/C unit that is well past its replacement age doesn’t stop working.
Donna, a clerk at a popular convenience store, when selling a Lotto Texas Extra lottery ticket to a customer, was asked, “What would you do if you won the lottery?”
Donna says, “I’d like to buy my own house in Midland, Texas; nothing too fancy.”
Energy Drinks are often a necessity to wake up and keep going and sleep deprivation is a normal part of life.
Some may mark their calendar for the food distributions that occur a few times each month.
One couple said they try to make time to take their children to the river on a Sunday afternoon for some summer fun.
Paying the bills is a constant challenge,
Restaurants, convenience stores and other places that hire a lot of people have a high turn-over rate so keeping a job can be a bit of a challenge as quixotic management and toxic work environments can make it difficult for many employees.
Many who are past the age of 45 face the hard reality of age discrimination. While it’s illegal to discriminate on the basis of age, companies do it all the time often with no consequences.
At the warehouse, older workers share the workload along with recent high school graduates.
Kevin, who just turned 65, has worked at a warehouse in San Antonio for about 8 years. He used to own two retail, brick and mortar stores at two shopping centers but had to file bankruptcy during the Retail Apocalypse of about 10 years ago. With help, Keven started an Ebay store and works from home. Single and divorced, you can find Keven most afternoons at a nearby Starbucks where he keeps track of his Ebay orders and plans the next day’s packing and mailing of products sold.
Keven’s living room at his home in Live Oak has boxes of merchandise he used to sell at his retail stores.
On most days, Kevin keeps a positive attitude thankful he can still keep up with the physically demanding work at the warehouse where he works with over 100 other employees.
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