The "Good Old Days?" Well, not so much, really.

[Fla Dem]

128. I started work late 1965 just out of high school.

I was an entry level clerical worker for a major life insurance company in one of their regional home offices. Worked 37.5 hrs per week and my starting salary was $57.50 per week, so about $1.50 per hour. Had good benefits though. Got a 6 month raise for 2 years and then annual salary raise after that. Got an hour for lunch in their free cafeteria. Later years you had to pay. Got health care insurance and life insurance. One weeks paid vacation the 1st year then 2 weeks with 5 paid sick days. But, most supervisors and all the managers and upper level management/execs were male.

A couple of years after I started there was a union movement in the big cities to increase salary and benefits for non-management workers. They were targeting the several big insurance companies who had regional or corporate home offices in the cities. I think the movement was nationwide in major cities, but at the time I was only aware of what was happening locally.

The company I worked for increased the salary levels for each clerical position within the year. They made no bones about wanting to do it to avoid the clerical staff becoming unionized.

Within a short period of time, Gloria Steinem and her woman's movement became very influential in getting major companies to start advancing women into executive and managerial positions. I remember how excited we were when the 1st female was promoted to an Assistant Manager's position.

I lived at home and commuted by train and subway each day to work. But I was able to buy a brand new 1968 Ford Mustang (Lime Gold) for about $2000 after only 3 years of work on a clerical salary.

I was fortunate. I started at a major corporation in a major city just when there was a movement to improve working conditions for all non-management employees, increase pay and include women in managerial positions.

I'm sure others struggled in low paying jobs My parents couldn't put me through college because they were already putting my older brother through. My Dad was working 2 jobs to support a family of 6. He would get home from his day job just long enough to have some dinner and then go to his night job 3 days a week, sometimes 4. I actually paid my Mom and Dad rent; $25 a month and when my salary went up my rent would go up a couple of dollars a week. We lived in a house I loved, which would now probably be called a bungalow. One Bath 3 bedrooms. The bedroom I shared with my sister, barely had room for 2 bunk beds.

I do think there were situations where life was easier (not for minorities) for middle class Americans in the 60's, just as now there are middle class families doing well, just look at the airports and families headed for Disney World/Land, the Carribean and European vacations, or flying cross country to visit family or go to the Grand Canyon. I'm happy for them to be able to do that. There will always be disparities between the comfortable middle class and the struggling middle class.