It is expected that an employee will always receive compensation for doing a job, but this is not always the case. The controversy surrounding workers and their lack of compensation is discussed in depth by Rebecca Galemba.
The focus of this TED talk was aimed at day laborers and how they are taken advantage of by the people that employ them.
Day laborers are typically people of Latin American descent without careers. These men wait at the side of the street for work. Typically, somebody in a truck pulls up to request working hands, so of course, these day workers bombard the vehicle in search of work.
These day laborers will work for almost any wage. There is no interview and no wage negotiation, considering they need to compete with the other people willing to work for less.
This heightened competition and desperation for a low-paying job allow for the employer to take advantage of the day laborer.
In some cases, the employer will strand the laborer hours from their home to be sure that the employee will never be able to see the employer again.
The employers also write checks that cannot be cashed in. Now the day laborer did not only work for free, but they also have to pay a bounced check fee.
The paradigm shift or solutions anthropologist Rebecca Galemba discusses are that we must stand up for these day laborers in the courts.
These day laborers are, for the most part, undocumented immigrants or green cardholders. They feel that if they take this crime to a legal battle that they will lose and perhaps be persecuted for being an illegal alien.
Rebecca Galemba believes that it is not the undocumented immigrant that deserves to be punished. It is the employer who is exploiting them that deserves to be punished.
Rebecca Galemba also discusses how these day laborers must unify to single out the employers who do not pay. This way the employers who take advantage of people, will not have any working hands to hire.
One thing that was problematic with this TED talk was the way the woman was standing. She seemed very stiff and was reading off of a teleprompter. It was distracting and it took away from the purpose of the talk.
Her voice was also bland with little inflection. As an audience member, it was tough to stay engaged.
Besides Rebecca Galemba’s quirks in her delivery, the sheer content in her presentation was engaging. If I had to describe this presentation it would be informational.
Overall the speech was not necessarily inspirational or empowering; however, it contained a variety of statistics that kept the audience engaged and informed throughout.