A Sign Of The Times….Hundreds Camp Out For Job Opportunities In Queens
Posted By thestatedtruth.com on April 27, 2010
 Apr 27, 2010
By KATHRYN BROWN, CBS 2 HD News
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
- An application to work for the Joint Apprentice & Training Committee of the Elevator Industry was handed out to hundreds of people seeking jobs who camped out for days in the rain in Queens on April 26, 2010.
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Hundreds of job-seekers did just that in Queens in the hopes of landing a coveted union job.
Construction workers, engineers, electricians — hundreds spent the weekend right here. Many left with a job application, while many others walked away empty-handed.
“The sky’s the limit after this!” said Aaron Johnson of Mount Vernon.
Johnson is living month-to-month, struggling to pay the bills, with a 4-year-old daughter to support — and he was one of the lucky ones.
After three days of sleeping on the street, he left with one of just 750 job applications handed out for a position as an elevator technician apprentice — a secure job with pension and benefits and an earning potential up to $40 an hour.
“You don’t wanna keep working these dead-end jobs, check to check to check to check. I don’t want to do that anymore,” Johnson said.
More than 1,000 eager applicants began lining up as early as Friday morning armed with a variety of skills — and warm blankets.
Though many near the end of the line knew they probably wouldn’t even get an application, desperation to land a job fueled their determination to stand on line anyway — and hope for the best.
http://wcbstv.com/local/jobs.employment.queens.2.1657008.html
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