There I am, 16 years old and full of nerves and excitement. It’s the first day of my new job. I’m starting at the ice cream shop in Schuylerville, about 15 minutes from my house. I didn’t even know they were hiring, my friend Caroline had also just started there and told her manager about me. No interview, no experience, I was going in blind. I later found out my “qualifications” to get the job included my friend showing our boss a photo of me, and him deciding that I was pretty enough to work there. Great start, right? That was sort of a red flag, but I was 16 and had just gotten my working papers and let me tell you, in my town it is extremely hard to get hired somewhere as a 16 year old, plus I’d be working with my friend, so I jumped at the idea.
I walk in, and it is just my manager. A mean older girl who decided to take advantage of her ability to boss me around, because I was young and she could. She later got fired for stealing from the register, so who really wins? The answer is no one that was working at this place. Anyway, I walk in, she barely introduces herself, and tells me that the walls behind the ice cream machines need cleaning, and to take a wet rag and get to work. A giant wall covered in dried up, old crusty ice cream. Yum, right? Okay, so it’s not great, but hey it’s my job. Or is it? Did I forget to mention that the wall was covered in wires and electric cords, all still plugged in, including frayed, barely hanging on wires that were just an electric shock waiting to happen. However, I did it, no complaints, no comments. I needed the money. And who was I to decide what was unfair treatment? I was a young and naive girl, and this place took advantage of that.
Did I forget to mention we got paid $7.25 an hour, and also worked overtime and way later than the legal allowance of 16 year olds? Just because our bosses said we had to. We were told minimum wage was made up in our tips, but I now think that was rarely the case. After a whole summer of working there, my parents started to catch on to the abuse. Mostly my dad. He would go over my paychecks with me. I was young and excited about all the money I had worked hard to earn all by myself. Little did I know my dad would find countless discrepancies in my checks, little things they’d subtract money for, things that didn’t make sense. They’d take $15 out here and there for “side order of fries” or something small. Not to mention those fries were offered to us by our boss after working 12+ hour shifts and not working. Although my dad was skeptical, I loved my job. I loved working with my best friend, my boss seemed cool, and I loved having my own money. We even got raises at the end of the summer! Then we closed for the winter. My dad was reluctant to let me, but I went back the next summer. On my next paycheck, I was back to $7.25. When I asked my boss about it, I was told that my raise must be re-earned. That was when my dad had had enough. He made me quit, and now I don’t blame him. I had one check left, my boss said it would get mailed to me. It never did. My boss told me it kept coming back in the mail.
It’s unfortunate, but I think situations like this are not that uncommon. As young children enter the workforce, we know nothing. We enter in good faith hoping we will be treated equally and with fairness. That is not always the case, as I learned. Would I do it over again? It’s hard to say. I am glad however I learned my worth and can pass it along to my younger sisters and cousins. No one should be treated unfairly just because they are young and inexperienced. First jobs should be a learning experience for sure, but one to prepare you for future jobs, not tear you down.
