The Way We Work Now
I’m an NYC Mover Packing Up People’s Personal Belongings Over FaceTime
The Way We Work Now is a series chronicling how people’s lives and careers have fundamentally changed because of the pandemic.
Louis, 22, works for a moving company based in Brooklyn. After Covid-19 spread to New York, he worked seven days a week, moving up to four apartments a day as people fled the city. Louis spoke with Mai Tran about returning to work after he and his family, all essential workers, believed they caught Covid.
I joined the moving company three years ago. I needed to make extra money because I was going to Kingsborough Community College to study accounting. The managers gave me the name Louis because customers didn’t understand my real name, and I looked a little Spanish. To make it easier for myself and for others, I got an English name. My first position was as a helper — I just listened to the foreman and did whatever they said as efficiently as possible, without breaking any items. After one year I got promoted to being a foreman driver.
