Looking for jobs on CL, I remember vividly the day I chose to no longer be anyone’s employee.  I had worked in landscaping and as a handyman/laborer in the summertime when out of school.  I had also worked on and off as a technology contractor since 1997. So I was familiar with the idea of making things happen for myself.  I was a student of radical political economy arrived at the crossroads.  I realized that though I needed to survive, I did not share the job dream of living to be fat and lazy in exchange for a boss up my ass.  I was not willing to suck corporate dick for dollars.   I was not willing to settle for a mindless menial job. 

Our contemporary economy is dominated by transnational corporate megalopolies.

Lulling us to sleep with a sweet siren song of employment and an elusive promise of financial security.  We’re all hoping to find a job (or a better job) – and this is a dream that demands playing along and staying in line. My point here is that an “employee mentality” limits our imagination and ability.  Instead of figuring out how I could be rewarded for making money for other people, I was ready to discover how I could maintain myself by leveraging my skills and those within my community to pursue artistic endeavors and community projects.  I was excited at the challenge of creating opportunities for myself and others.  

I was also inspired by what my friends were doing.  Having cut their teeth on warehouse projects, they had gone on to bid other handyman, landscaping and renovation jobs.  Via CL, chance or luck it seemed they could always come up with a mellow and good paying client somewhere close in Berkeley or the Oakland hills.  They had experience, contacts, tools and a vehicle.  I had none of these.  

I got a little day or project work here and there off CL, so I started posting ads offering labor services.  Upon analyzing the postings and responses, I realized that there was a steady demand for movers at $15/hour and up.  I did a few day jobs but it was quickly clear that as a sole laborer I was the smallest fish in the pond.  I found out that a team of licensed movers (providing a truck and equipment and carrying insurance) could charge between $60 and $120 an hour for a team of two.  Others charged between $40 and $80.  I talked to my buddies and they offered to let me use their vehicle (an old Ford Bronco with the back chopped off and sporting a welded lumber rack) and would help out with a job.