Download or read book Workplace Education for Low wage Workers written by Amanda L. Ahlstrand and published by W.E. Upjohn Institute. This book was released on 2003 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examins a catagory of education and training that is not frequently put under the magnifying glass: employers practices and decision-making processes with regard to workplace education and training for lower-wage workers. It is hoped that the results of the study will both inform public policy and be of use to employers interested in enhancing the education and training that they provide to lower-wage workers.
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 On the Clock written by Emily Guendelsberger and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2019-07-16 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Nickel and Dimed for the Amazon age," (Salon) the bitingly funny, eye-opening story of finding work in the automated and time-starved world of hourly low-wage labor After the local newspaper where she worked as a reporter closed, Emily Guendelsberger took a pre-Christmas job at an Amazon fulfillment center outside Louisville, Kentucky. There, the vending machines were stocked with painkillers, and the staff turnover was dizzying. In the new year, she travelled to North Carolina to work at a call center, a place where even bathroom breaks were timed to the second. And finally, Guendelsberger was hired at a San Francisco McDonald's, narrowly escaping revenge-seeking customers who pelted her with condiments. Across three jobs, and in three different parts of the country, Guendelsberger directly took part in the revolution changing the U.S. workplace. Offering an up-close portrait of America's actual "essential workers," On the Clock examines the broken social safety net as well as an economy that has purposely had all the slack drained out and converted to profit. Until robots pack boxes, resolve billing issues, and make fast food, human beings supervised by AI will continue to get the job done. Guendelsberger shows us how workers went from being the most expensive element of production to the cheapest - and how low wage jobs have been remade to serve the ideals of efficiency, at the cost of humanity. On the Clock explores the lengths that half of Americans will go to in order to make a living, offering not only a better understanding of the modern workplace, but also surprising solutions to make work more humane for millions of Americans.
Download or read book Low wage Work in the Wealthy World written by Jérôme Gautié and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 485 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Career Path Training for Low skill Low wage Workers written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Subcommittee on Employment, Safety, and Training and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
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 Workplace Safety and Health for Immigrants and Low Wage Workers written by United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Subcommittee on Employment, Safety, and Training and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Low Wage Work in the United Kingdom written by Caroline LLoyd and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2008-04-03 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United Kingdom's labor market policies place it in a kind of institutional middle ground between the United States and continental Europe. Low pay grew sharply between the late 1970s and the mid-1990s, in large part due to the decline of unions and collective bargaining and the removal of protections for the low paid. The changes instituted by Tony Blair's New Labour government since 1997, including the introduction of the National Minimum Wage, halted the growth in low pay but have not reversed it. Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom explains why the current level of low-paying work remains one of the highest in Europe. The authors argue that the failure to deal with low pay reflects a policy approach which stressed reducing poverty, but also centers on the importance of moving people off benefits and into work, even at low wages. The U.K. government has introduced a version of the U.S. welfare to work policies and continues to stress the importance of a highly flexible and competitive labor market. A central policy theme has been that education and training can empower people to both enter work and to move into better paying jobs. The case study research reveals the endemic nature of low paid work and the difficulties workers face in escaping from the bottom end of the jobs ladder. However, compared to the United States, low paid workers in the United Kingdom do benefit from in-work social security benefits, targeted predominately at those with children, and entitlements to non-pay benefits such as annual leave, maternity and sick pay, and crucially, access to state-funded health care. Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom skillfully illustrates the way that the interactions between government policies, labor market institutions, and the economy have ensured that low pay remains a persistent problem within the United Kingdom. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Case Studies of Job Quality in Advanced Economies
Download or read book Not Just Getting by written by Mary Lizabeth Gatta and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2005 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Not Just Getting By chronicles groundbreaking thinking and research on new and innovative workforce development initiatives to create flexible and collaborative programs and policies. Author Mary Gatta builds on extensive interviews and focus groups with 128 women enrolled in a U.S. Department of Labor pilot program in New Jersey focusing on how they attain education through online courses while working, raising their children, and dealing with the many demands on their lives. The book addresses three main areas: It engages current policy debates demonstrating how online learning and other forms of flexible learning opportunities will reorganize the way federal and state governments deliver skills training, especially working poor single mothers, within the context of Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and other legislated workforce development programs in the 21st century. It explores the development of the program and qualitatively details the experiences of the women as they spend a year receiving online learning courses. It explores how to rethink workforce development so that online learning for low wage workers and other innovative programs can be successful. As both a piece of scholarship and a case study in successful policy development, this text will be a useful supplement for courses in the sociology of labor, women's studies, or adult education. It will also serve policymakers and others who are looking for a model of training and skills delivery that actually works.
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.
Download or read book Workplace Safety and Health for Immigrants and Low Wage Workers written by United States Senate and published by . This book was released on 2020-03-11 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Workplace safety and health for immigrants and low wage workers: hearing before the Subcommittee on Employment, Safety, and Training of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, second session on examining workplace safety and health issues with respect to immigrants and low-wage workers, February 27, 2002.
Download or read book How the University Works written by Marc Bousquet and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uncovers the labor exploitation occurring in universities across the country As much as we think we know about the modern university, very little has been said about what it's like to work there. Instead of the high-wage, high-profit world of knowledge work, most campus employees—including the vast majority of faculty—really work in the low-wage, low-profit sphere of the service economy. Tenure-track positions are at an all-time low, with adjuncts and graduate students teaching the majority of courses. This super-exploited corps of disposable workers commonly earn fewer than $16,000 annually, without benefits, teaching as many as eight classes per year. Even undergraduates are being exploited as a low-cost, disposable workforce. Marc Bousquet, a major figure in the academic labor movement, exposes the seamy underbelly of higher education—a world where faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates work long hours for fast-food wages. Assessing the costs of higher education's corporatization on faculty and students at every level, How the University Works is urgent reading for anyone interested in the fate of the university.
Download or read book Work Appropriation of Low Wage Workers in the Service Sector written by Antonia Kupfer and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2024-03-14 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Work Appropriation of Low-Wage Workers in the Service Sector deftly explores how supermarket clerks perceive their work when faced with meagre pay and frequently precarious working conditions. Speaking substantively on current social problems within clerksÕ livelihoods, this essential book provides a fascinating comparison between German and US-based low-wage worker experiences.
Download or read book Jobs Aren t Enough written by Roberta Rehner Iversen and published by Temple University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Job opportunity is a myth for 25% of U.S. wage earners.
Download or read book Meeting the Challenges of Reaching Low wage Workers Using Community Health and Safety Trainings written by Allyson O'Connor and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Community-based occupational health trainings offer an innovative approach to reaching underserved populations who may have inadequate access to more traditional methods of health and safety education. The community-based organization (CBO) partners in this project maintain established connections to low-wage worker communities and are best suited to influence hard-to-reach workers. The goal of this collaboration between CBOs and the occupational health and safety expertise at the University of Washington (UW) was to design an interactive and innovative occupational health and safety training empowering low-wage workers in a wide array of industries to make improvements to their work situations. The curriculum, "Safety Strategies as Work: Job Hazards and Your Right to a Safe Workplace," concentrates on the connection between work and health, educates workers on their rights, introduces skills to identify job hazards and recognize effective safety strategies, and promotes resources for taking action to reduce harm. This training program focused on increasing low-wage workers' awareness and degree of concern surrounding the connections between workplace hazards and health, so they can take action and begin to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses. Through a community-engaged curriculum development process, this training applies occupational health and safety training principles with CBOs' intimate knowledge of community needs to meet the challenge of reaching low-wage workers through health and safety trainings.
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 Career Path Training for Low Skill Low Wage Workers written by Paul David Wellstone and published by . This book was released on 2002-09-30 with total page 79 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines how to make investments in programs & services that provide individuals with the skills & resources needed to succeed in the labor market. Focusses on the need to improve current workforce development & welfare programs, including exploring the intersections between the Workforce Invest. Act & the Temp. Assist. for Needy Families program. Witnesses: Sigurd Nilsen & Diane Blank, GAO; Stephen Wing, dir. of gov't. hiring prog., CVS; Steve Savner, att'y., Workforce Dev't. & Welfare Reform, Center for Law & Social Policy; Jan Mueller, MN Family Invest. Program Lifetrack Resources; Yvonne Shields, Community Voices Heard; & Steven Rothschild, Twin Cities Rise; Soc. for Human Resource Mgmt.; & Sen. Paul Wellstone, & Sen. Michael Enzi.