A Day's Work, A Day's Pay

In 1996 Bill Clinton and Congress signed into law a sweeping welfare reform act aimed at radically reducing government support to the poor. In the wake of that legislation, New York mayor Rudy Giuliani similarly vowed to end welfare in New York (the city with the largest welfare roll in the U.S.) by the year 2000. Giuliani's strategy to achieve these ends was to require all able-bodied welfare recipients to work in city agencies and non-profit organizations as part of a Work Experience Program (WEP) that would promote “dignity” and end dependence on welfare. In filmmakers Kathy Leichter and Jonathan Skurnik's A Day's Work, A Day's Pay, however, WEP workers themselves often have a considerably different take: we learn that they are frequently paid a quarter the salary of city employees doing basically the same jobs, that there are no benefits or allowances for work clothing or equipment, no provisions for workers to attend continuing education classes, no childcare, and that grievances are met with sanctions that threaten to throw the worker out of the program altogether. Following three WEP participants as they work with various community organizations to achieve reforms in the program, this is a well-shot, nicely edited piece of documentary journalism that effectively manages to convey both the frustrations of individuals caught in the web of welfare and their growing political empowerment through grassroots activism. Recommended for collections with interests in political science, labor studies, or social issues in general. Aud: C, P. (G. Handman)