Download or read book The Social Cost of Low Wages written by Carla Cassandria Campbell and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction: Living wage ordinances require city-contracted firms to pay their workers a wage that is set above the state's minimum wage. The first ordinance was implemented in Baltimore in 1994, in recognition that workers earning close to the minimum wage do not earn enough to be able to meet their basic needs and support their families. Community leaders in Baltimore began a living wage campaign to place pressure on firms to pay higher wages. They focused their efforts on city-contracted firms as they believed that firms receiving taxpayer dollars should be held accountable to the public. Since the enactment of Baltimore's Living Wage ordinance, over 120 municipalities across the United States have also implemented ordinances with the goal of reducing poverty levels. The economic impact of living wage laws is still not completely understood which has lead to the emergence of a field of living wage research. Living wage studies have primarily focused on the affects of living wage laws on economic indicators such as employment levels, wages, poverty rates, prices and business growth. To capture the affects of ordinances, researchers typically examine how firms and workers affected by living wage laws have faired compared to those who are unaffected. Other studies attempt to contrast the experiences of workers and employers within a city before and after an ordinance is implemented. However, there has been limited research on how low wages impact workers and have ripple affects on the economy. Although it is generally accepted that low wages can lead to higher poverty rates and can have adverse impacts on families and communities, these affects are not often measured in substantive ways. Developing research methods that lead to more concrete measurements of how families and communities are affected by low wages, can strengthen the living wage movement and help policymakers design more effective anti-poverty and living wage laws. Additionally, measuring the cost of supporting poor working families through the use of public subsidies can serve to measure the magnitude of externalities. The purpose of this thesis is to expand the analytical scope of living wage research by illustrating the importance of analyzing the effects of low wages on families and taxpayers. To accomplish this, I conduct a qualitative study of two poor working families to depict how their lives are impacted by low wages. I then discuss how data on working families using public subsidies can be collected and reported for the purposes of living wage research. It is important to note that the research presented in this report is not necessarily intended to advocate for living wage laws but to strengthen and expand the scope of living wage research so that living wage laws can be more accurately evaluated. Overview of Chapters: -- In chapter one, I first explain the Boston Living Wage Ordinance in order to provide an example of the policy structure of living wage ordinances. Additionally, I discuss the scope of living wage studies and discuss the importance of measuring externalities. -- The second chapter explains the methodological approach that was used to select participants and conduct interviews. -- The third chapter describes who are Boston's low wage workers and the role they play in the economy and the occupations and industries that are most affected by low wages. -- Chapter four provides a summary of the qualitative study conducted with two low wage workers and how they manage to support their families on a limited income. -- In chapter five, an in-depth analysis of their budget is conducted to determine the costs of the public subsidies they use and how they manage to reduce their household expenditures. -- The sixth chapter discusses how researchers and administer of public subsidies can better track and report data that demonstrates the magnitude of worker dependency on public subsidies and its implication for tax payers. -- The final chapter focuses on key findings of this study and recommendations for the future.

Download or read book Low Wage Work in the Wealthy World written by Jerome Gautie and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2010-03-01 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As global flows of goods, capital, information, and people accelerate competitive pressure on businesses throughout the industrialized world, firms have responded by reorganizing work in a variety of efforts to improve efficiency and cut costs. In the United States, where minimum wages are low, unions are weak, and immigrants are numerous, this has often lead to declining wages, increased job insecurity, and deteriorating working conditions for workers with little bargaining power in the lower tiers of the labor market. Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World builds on an earlier Russell Sage Foundation study (Low-Wage America) to compare the plight of low-wage workers in the United States to five European countries—Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom—where wage supports, worker protections, and social benefits have generally been stronger. By examining low-wage jobs in systematic case studies across five industries, this groundbreaking international study goes well beyond standard statistics to reveal national differences in the quality of low-wage work and the well being of low-wage workers. The United States has a high percentage of low-wage workers—nearly three times more than Denmark and twice more than France. Since the early 1990s, however, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany have all seen substantial increases in low-wage jobs. While these jobs often entail much the same drudgery in Europe and the United States, quality of life for low-wage workers varies substantially across countries. The authors focus their analysis on the "inclusiveness" of each country's industrial relations system, including national collective bargaining agreements and minimum-wage laws, and the generosity of social benefits such as health insurance, pensions, family leave, and paid vacation time—which together sustain a significantly higher quality of life for low-wage workers in some countries. Investigating conditions in retail sales, hospitals, food processing, hotels, and call centers, the book's industry case studies shed new light on how national institutions influence the way employers organize work and shape the quality of low-wage jobs. A telling example: in the United States and several European nations, wages and working conditions of front-line workers in meat processing plants are deteriorating as large retailers put severe pressure on prices, and firms respond by employing low-wage immigrant labor. But in Denmark, where unions are strong, and, to a lesser extent, in France, where the statutory minimum wage is high, the low-wage path is blocked, and firms have opted instead to invest more heavily in automation to raise productivity, improve product quality, and sustain higher wages. However, as Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World also shows, the European nations' higher level of inclusiveness is increasingly at risk. "Exit options," both formal and informal, have emerged to give employers ways around national wage supports and collectively bargained agreements. For some jobs, such as room cleaners in hotels, stronger labor relations systems in Europe have not had much impact on the quality of work. Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World offers an analysis of low-wage work in Europe and the United States based on concrete, detailed, and systematic contrasts. Its revealing case studies not only provide a human context but also vividly remind us that the quality and incidence of low-wage work is more a matter of national choice than economic necessity and that government policies and business practices have inevitable consequences for the quality of workers' lives. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Case Studies of Job Quality in Advanced Economies

Download or read book The effects of major corporations paying low wages written by Oliver Tumbo and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2018-06-15 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Academic Paper from the year 2017 in the subject Business economics - Personnel and Organisation, grade: 6.3, , language: English, abstract: Prime companies, unlike what most many of us believe, are responsible for underpaying workers even as they manage superb profits and healthy balance sheets. A report by the National Employment Law Project has shown that about two-thirds of all American low-wage earners are employees of companies that have more than 100 employees. Such companies include McDonald’s and Wal-Mart. In today’s economy, some corporations have discovered that employees are willing to work not only for lesser pay but little benefits if any since the economy is not attractive. More than 90 percent of the top 50 largest employers of these workers were profitable in the last economic year, and more than half of these companies are now enjoying even greater profits than they did before the recession hit, which is a suggestion that they could stomach a raise in the employees’ minimum wages.

Download or read book Working and Poor written by Rebecca M. Blank and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2007-01-09 with total page 447 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last three decades, large-scale economic developments, such as technological change, the decline in unionization, and changing skill requirements, have exacted their biggest toll on low-wage workers. These workers often possess few marketable skills and few resources with which to support themselves during periods of economic transition. In Working and Poor, a distinguished group of economists and policy experts, headlined by editors Rebecca Blank, Sheldon Danziger, and Robert Schoeni, examine how economic and policy changes over the last twenty-five years have affected the well-being of low-wage workers and their families. Working and Poor examines every facet of the economic well-being of less-skilled workers, from employment and earnings opportunities to consumption behavior and social assistance policies. Rebecca Blank and Heidi Schierholz document the different trends in work and wages among less-skilled women and men. Between 1979 and 2003, labor force participation rose rapidly for these women, along with more modest increases in wages, while among the men both employment and wages fell. David Card and John DiNardo review the evidence on how technological changes have affected less-skilled workers and conclude that the effect has been smaller than many observers claim. Philip Levine examines the effectiveness of the Unemployment Insurance program during recessions. He finds that the program's eligibility rules, which deny benefits to workers who have not met minimum earnings requirements, exclude the very people who require help most and should be adjusted to provide for those with the highest need. On the other hand, Therese J. McGuire and David F. Merriman show that government help remains a valuable source of support during economic downturns. They find that during the most recent recession in 2001, when state budgets were stretched thin, legislatures resisted political pressure to cut spending for the poor. Working and Poor provides a valuable analysis of the role that public policy changes can play in improving the plight of the working poor. A comprehensive analysis of trends over the last twenty-five years, this book provides an invaluable reference for the public discussion of work and poverty in America. A Volume in the National Poverty Center Series on Poverty and Public Policy

Download or read book The High Cost of Low Wages and how to Prevent it written by and published by . This book was released on 1939 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Low wage Workers in an Affluent Society written by Charles T. Stewart and published by Chicago : Nelson-Hall. This book was released on 1974 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monograph on the employment problems of low wages unskilled workers in the USA - assesses the labour markets structures and economic structures involved, etc., and includes a wide variety of economic policy and employment policy proposals aimed at increasing employment opportunities. References and statistical tables.

Download or read book Low Wage America written by Eileen Appelbaum and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2003-09-04 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: About 27.5 million Americans—nearly 24 percent of the labor force—earn less than $8.70 an hour, not enough to keep a family of four out of poverty, even working full-time year-round. Job ladders for these workers have been dismantled, limiting their ability to get ahead in today's labor market. Low-Wage America is the most extensive study to date of how the choices employers make in response to economic globalization, industry deregulation, and advances in information technology affect the lives of tens of millions of workers at the bottom of the wage distribution. Based on data from hundreds of establishments in twenty-five industries—including manufacturing, telecommunications, hospitality, and health care—the case studies document how firms' responses to economic restructuring often results in harsh working conditions, reduced benefits, and fewer opportunities for advancement. For instance, increased pressure for profits in newly consolidated hotel chains has led to cost-cutting strategies such as requiring maids to increase the number of rooms they clean by 50 percent. Technological changes in the organization of call centers—the ultimate "disposable workplace"—have led to monitoring of operators' work performance, and eroded job ladders. Other chapters show how the temporary staffing industry has provided paths to better work for some, but to dead end jobs for many others; how new technology has reorganized work in the back offices of banks, raising skill requirements for workers; and how increased competition from abroad has forced U.S. manufacturers to cut costs by reducing wages and speeding production. Although employers' responses to economic pressures have had a generally negative effect on frontline workers, some employers manage to resist this trend and still compete successfully. The benefits to workers of multi-employer training consortia and the continuing relevance of unions offer important clues about what public policy can do to support the job prospects of this vast, but largely overlooked segment of the American workforce. Low-Wage America challenges us to a national self-examination about the nature of low-wage work in this country and asks whether we are willing to tolerate the profound social and economic consequences entailed by these jobs. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Case Studies of Job Quality in Advanced Economies

Download or read book What Works for Workers written by Stephanie Luce and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2014-01-31 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The majority of new jobs created in the United States today are low-wage jobs, and a fourth of the labor force earns no more than poverty-level wages. Policymakers and citizens alike agree that declining real wages and constrained spending among such a large segment of workers imperil economic prosperity and living standards for all Americans. Though many policies to assist low-wage workers have been proposed, there is little agreement across the political spectrum about which policies actually reduce poverty and raise income among the working poor. What Works for Workers provides a comprehensive analysis of policy measures designed to address the widening income gap in the United States. Featuring contributions from an eminent group of social scientists, What Works for Workers evaluates the most high-profile strategies for poverty reduction, including innovative “living wage” ordinances, education programs for African American youth, and better regulation of labor laws pertaining to immigrants. The contributors delve into an extensive body of scholarship on low-wage work to reveal a number of surprising findings. Richard Freeman suggests that labor unions, long assumed to be moribund, have a fighting chance to reclaim their historic redistributive role if they move beyond traditional collective bargaining and establish new ties with other community actors. John Schmitt predicts that the Affordable Care Act will substantially increase insurance coverage for low-wage workers, 38 percent of whom currently lack any kind of health insurance. Other contributors explore the shortcomings of popular solutions: Stephanie Luce shows that while living wage ordinances rarely lead to job losses, they have not yet covered most low-wage workers. And Jennifer Gordon corrects the notion that a path to legalization alone will fix the plight of immigrant workers. Without energetic regulatory enforcement, she argues, legalization may have limited impact on the exploitation of undocumented workers. Ruth Milkman and Eileen Appelbaum conclude with an analysis of California’s paid family leave program, a policy designed to benefit the working poor, who have few resources that allow them to take time off work to care for children or ill family members. Despite initial opposition, the paid leave program proved more acceptable than expected among employers and provided a much-needed system of wage replacement for low-income workers. In the wake of its success, the initiative has emerged as a useful blueprint for paid leave programs in other states. Alleviating the low-wage crisis will require a comprehensive set of programs rather than piecemeal interventions. With its rigorous analysis of what works and what doesn’t, What Works for Workers points the way toward effective reform. For social scientists, policymakers, and activists grappling with the practical realities of low-wage work, this book provides a valuable guide for narrowing the gap separating rich and poor.

Download or read book Raising Lower Level Wages written by Tomas Hellebrandt and published by Peterson Institute for International Economics. This book was released on 2015-04-06 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the United States emerges from the Great Recession, concern is rising nationally over the issues of income inequality, stagnation of workers' wages, and especially the struggles of lower-skilled workers at the -bottom end of the wage scale. While Washington deliberates legislation raising the minimum wage, a number of major American employers—for example, Aetna and Walmart—have begun to voluntarily raise the pay of their own lowest-paid employees. In this collection of essays, economists from the Peterson Institute for International Economics analyze the potential benefits and costs of widespread wage increases, if adopted by a range of US private employers. They make this assessment for the workers, the companies, and for the US economy as a whole, including such an initiative's effects on national competitiveness. These economists conclude that raising the pay of many of the lowest-paid US private-sector workers would not only reduce income inequality but also boost overall productivity growth, with likely minimal effect on employment in the current financial context. "It is possible to profit from paying your employees well…and increasing lower-paid workers' wages is the way forward for the United States," argues Adam S. Posen in his lead essay (reprinted from theFinancial Times). Justin Wolfers and Jan Zilinsky argue that higher wages can encourage low-paid workers to be more productive and loyal to their employers and coworkers, reducing costly job turnover and the need for supervision and training of new workers. Tomas Hellebrandt estimates that if all large private sector corporations in the United States outside of sectors that intensively use low-skilled labor increased wages of their low-paid workers to $16 per hour, the pay of 6.2 percent of the $110 million private-sector workers in the United States would increase on average by 38.6 percent. The direct cost to employers would be $51 billion, only around 0.3 percent of GDP. Jacob Kirkegaard and Tyler Moran explore the experience of employers in other advanced countries, with its implications for international competitiveness, and Michael Jarand assesses the impact of a wage increase on the near-term development of the US macroeconomy. Data disclosure: The data underlying the figures in this analysis are available for download in links listed below.

Download or read book The Effects of the Minimum Wage on Employment written by Marvin H. Kosters and published by American Enterprise Institute. This book was released on 1996 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Clinton administration has claimed its proposal to increase the minimum wage would not affect employment; other research supports that a higher minimum wage means fewer jobs.

Download or read book Low Wage Work in the Wealthy World written by Jerome Gautie and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2010-03-01 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As global flows of goods, capital, information, and people accelerate competitive pressure on businesses throughout the industrialized world, firms have responded by reorganizing work in a variety of efforts to improve efficiency and cut costs. In the United States, where minimum wages are low, unions are weak, and immigrants are numerous, this has often lead to declining wages, increased job insecurity, and deteriorating working conditions for workers with little bargaining power in the lower tiers of the labor market. Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World builds on an earlier Russell Sage Foundation study (Low-Wage America) to compare the plight of low-wage workers in the United States to five European countries—Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom—where wage supports, worker protections, and social benefits have generally been stronger. By examining low-wage jobs in systematic case studies across five industries, this groundbreaking international study goes well beyond standard statistics to reveal national differences in the quality of low-wage work and the well being of low-wage workers. The United States has a high percentage of low-wage workers—nearly three times more than Denmark and twice more than France. Since the early 1990s, however, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany have all seen substantial increases in low-wage jobs. While these jobs often entail much the same drudgery in Europe and the United States, quality of life for low-wage workers varies substantially across countries. The authors focus their analysis on the "inclusiveness" of each country's industrial relations system, including national collective bargaining agreements and minimum-wage laws, and the generosity of social benefits such as health insurance, pensions, family leave, and paid vacation time—which together sustain a significantly higher quality of life for low-wage workers in some countries. Investigating conditions in retail sales, hospitals, food processing, hotels, and call centers, the book's industry case studies shed new light on how national institutions influence the way employers organize work and shape the quality of low-wage jobs. A telling example: in the United States and several European nations, wages and working conditions of front-line workers in meat processing plants are deteriorating as large retailers put severe pressure on prices, and firms respond by employing low-wage immigrant labor. But in Denmark, where unions are strong, and, to a lesser extent, in France, where the statutory minimum wage is high, the low-wage path is blocked, and firms have opted instead to invest more heavily in automation to raise productivity, improve product quality, and sustain higher wages. However, as Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World also shows, the European nations' higher level of inclusiveness is increasingly at risk. "Exit options," both formal and informal, have emerged to give employers ways around national wage supports and collectively bargained agreements. For some jobs, such as room cleaners in hotels, stronger labor relations systems in Europe have not had much impact on the quality of work. Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World offers an analysis of low-wage work in Europe and the United States based on concrete, detailed, and systematic contrasts. Its revealing case studies not only provide a human context but also vividly remind us that the quality and incidence of low-wage work is more a matter of national choice than economic necessity and that government policies and business practices have inevitable consequences for the quality of workers' lives. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Case Studies of Job Quality in Advanced Economies

Download or read book Making It Work written by Hirokazu Yoshikawa and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2006-12-07 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Low-skilled women in the 1990s took widely different paths in trying to support their children. Some held good jobs with growth potential, some cycled in and out of low-paying jobs, some worked part time, and others stayed out of the labor force entirely. Scholars have closely analyzed the economic consequences of these varied trajectories, but little research has focused on the consequences of a mother's career path on her children's development. Making It Work, edited by Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Thomas Weisner, and Edward Lowe, looks past the economic statistics to illustrate how different employment trajectories affect the social and emotional lives of poor women and their children. Making It Work examines Milwaukee's New Hope program, an experiment testing the effectiveness of an anti-poverty initiative that provided health and child care subsidies, wage supplements, and other services to full-time low-wage workers. Employing parent surveys, teacher reports, child assessment measures, ethnographic studies, and state administrative records, Making It Work provides a detailed picture of how a mother's work trajectory affects her, her family, and her children's school performance, social behavior, and expectations for the future. Rashmita Mistry and Edward D. Lowe find that increases in a mother's income were linked to higher school performance in her children. Without large financial worries, mothers gained extra confidence in their ability to parent, which translated into better test scores and higher teacher appraisals for their children. JoAnn Hsueh finds that the children of women with erratic work schedules and non-standard hours—conditions endemic to the low-skilled labor market—exhibited higher levels of anxiety and depression. Conversely, Noemi Enchautegui-de-Jesus, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, and Vonnie McLoyd discover that better job quality predicted lower levels of acting-out and withdrawal among children. Perhaps most surprisingly, Anna Gassman-Pines, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, and Sandra Nay note that as wages for these workers rose, so did their marriage rates, suggesting that those worried about family values should also be concerned with alleviating poverty in America. It is too simplistic to say that parental work is either "good" or "bad" for children. Making It Work gives a nuanced view of how job quality, flexibility, and wages are of the utmost importance for the well-being of low-income parents and children.

Download or read book Low Wage Work in France written by Eve Caroli and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2008-04-03 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In France, low wages have historically inspired tremendous political controversy. The social and political issues at stake center on integrating the working class into society and maintaining the stability of the republican regime. A variety of federal policies—including high minimum wages and strong employee protection—serve to ensure that the low-wage workforce stays relatively small. Low-Wage Work in France examines both the benefits and drawbacks of this politically inspired system of worker protection. France's high minimum wage, which is indexed not only to inflation but also to the average increase in employee wages, plays a critical role in limiting the development of low-paid work. Social welfare benefits and a mandatory thirty-five hour work week also make life easier for low-wage workers. Strong employee protection is a central characteristic of the French model, but high levels of protection for employees may also be one of the causes of France's chronically high rate of unemployment. The threat of long-term unemployment may, in turn, contribute to a persistent sense of insecurity among French workers. Low-Wage Work in France provides a lucid analysis of how a highly regulated labor market shapes the experiences of workers—for better and for worse. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Case Studies of Job Quality in Advanced Economies

Download or read book The High Cost of Low Wages and how to Prevent it written by United States. Women's Bureau and published by . This book was released on 1939 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The High Public Cost of Low Wages written by Ken Jacobs and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 9 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Minimum Wage written by Oren M. Levin-Waldman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-12-01 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unbiased look at the minimum wage debate in America traces the history of minimum wage policy at both the federal and state levels, discusses the controversies swirling around the issue, and examines the veracity of claims made by people on both sides of the debate. Minimum wage inspires debate among many Americans—from advocates who consider it beneficial to the poor and middle class to those who feel it leads to greater unemployment. This comprehensive overview examines the history, policies, and key players in the minimum wage arena and discusses the various controversies that have surrounded it. Author Oren M. Levin-Waldman presents a balanced approach to the topic, shedding light on legitimate evidence from both sides of the argument and debunking claims based on ideology, partisanship, and distortions of data. The book presents an historical overview from the early 20th century through the present day, exploring the various legal issues, benefits, and potential problems of low-wage labor markets. Contributions from key economists along with profiles of seminal figures and organizations present a variety of different perspectives and show the expanse of political, economic, and academic involvement in marshaling effective solutions. The content features informative data, resources for further action, a helpful chronology, and a thorough glossary.

Download or read book Low wage Workers in the New Economy written by Richard Kazis and published by The Urban Insitute. This book was released on 2001 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes the challenges facing the country's working poor, drawing lessons from practice and policy to recommend approaches for helping low-wage workers advance to better-paying jobs. Part I overviews the low-wage workforce and the employers who hire them, and Part II summarizes the evidence on strategies to improve workers' skills, supplement their wages, and provide greater support. Part III focuses on challenges encountered by groups such as women and immigrants, and Part IV assesses the potential contributions of community colleges, employers, and unions. Much of this material originated at a May 2000 conference held in Washington, DC. The editors are affiliated with Jobs for the Future. c. Book News Inc.