Week 1-5 Intro Labor Notes PDF

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Lecture and Reading Notes for Spring 2020 Intro to Labor Studies up until Week 5, Taught by Professors Craig and Voos as an online course....

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Intro to Labor & Employment Sebastian Chiaramonte

37:575:100

Mapping the Contours of Work: [Week 2] Dam; Siegel, "Minimum Wage Increases Fueling Faster Wage Growth for Those at the Bottom," NYT, 2020. Florida, "The Rise of the Creative Service Worker," via Big Think [v] Pew Trust Article // Krugman,CNBC, April 22, 2019 interview [v]

// Crash Course, “Labor Markets” [v]

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Chapter 1 Text Old vs New Economy marked by shifts in tech, globalization, workforce, etc 1. Old Economy: c. industrial revolution until mid 1900s; shifts in culture based on work - mass production, factories; gender divisions; implement unions; US a dominant force, 2. New Economy: question if nature of work has changed.. and what extent; impact life? - ex: less unions, more education, etc // ie. Global Economy Culture and Work - labor perceived as a noble endeavor, esp. In US; constant improvement - ‘keeping up w jones’ capitalistic mentality; worthy of respect and important - other cultures see it as a need-based necessity; makes sense logically - many in US spend beyond needs bc they see others doing so - culture disparities between ppl paid to think (white collar) and paid to work (blue collar) - culture and structure related: social structure reflects cultural attitudes Class Structure - Marx argued that a capitalist society leads to polarizing future: “Proles vs. Top Hats” - in reality, much more complex: mobility, immigration, freelance - social class determines resources, employment opportunities; affected by race ____________ Minimum Wage and Wage Growth - Slow growth post recession now corrected by tight labor market and higher minimum wage - Currently lowest unemployment rate since 60s, minimum wage laws correlate - Some a result of gradual phases, other indexed to inflation - Assisted by hot labor market / increased competition, but laws primary - in 2017, wage growth difference seen in state legislation and data - Most growth by bottom 25%; not entirely partisan (arkansas) Effects of Lower Class - According to self reported stats, the lower class grew disproportionately for whites, hispanics, and young people - lower class tends to be less happy, less healthy, less family bonds, - age effects satisfaction in edu; younger dissatisfied bc of ed. Inflation - pessimism in social mobility and “american dream”

Factors of Study in Work 1. Culture: attach ppl to work, harness commitments, direct efforts - ppl without work feel unproductive, leads to worse problems than $

- work present in culture and significant to americanism 2. Structure: opportunities/restrictions determine jobs and rewards - Organization and hierarchy, gender roles, social class - social structure affects labor relations; maybe structured to have unions 3. Agency: personal effort; indiv/group effort for actions/decisions - choice on what to do/education; can petition or join unions - the ability to make choices as individuals or group Intersectional Interaction - structure has changed due to outsourcing so service jobs are now the “bad jobs” - strict unionization of manufacturing in 1930s also partly to blame for shift structure - no longer enough good jobs for all the unemployed due to economic crisis Classification of Unemployment - Cyclical: due to downturns and inevitable upturns of the economy - Structural: new structure of jobs as a result of external forces - Frictional: ppl change jobs, get educated, etc; not an issue (Teen McDonalds) Labor Market Breakdown - Laborers sell their labor as a commodity, with the price determined by supply/demand - top paying jobs often require specific training or skills, and are in short supply - Derived Demand: if pretzel sales are booming, store will need more workers - will thus increase wages; more demand and allows for efficiency of workers - Monopsony: when only one company is hiring, workers become immobile and settle - drives wages down, bc employers have the leverage and become more valuable - Efficiency wages: employers drive up wages to increase efficiency, morale, etc (Ford) - Unions achieve higher wages through collective bargaining and power of many Methods to Quell Inequality - increase minimum wage: prevent exploitation, butterflies to increase others’ wages - can only work on state level due to different costs of living; $10 acceptable fed - opposition to minimum wage: will choose only semiskilled, exacerbate issues - only increase inflation; rather focus on education/skill to add supply to labor demands - universal base income (UBI): be too costly or people will not receive enough money - rather, instill social programs such as childcare or food programs - labor economy depends on unionization, market power, bargaining - wealthy behavior lacks social cohesion, slows growth age distribution of workers over time

Corporations & Work in the "New Economy" [Week 3] The Corporation [v] // "A Job at Ford's" [v] // "The Employment System that Died" & "How the World Began to Change."

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Chapter 2 Text Notes New Economical Shifts - Post-Industrial Era: manufacturing economy of the past shifting to services - attributed to change of mass production/manufacturing, education reqs, culture shifts, fewer unions, more flexible work arrangements, and globalization - 35% jobs manufacturing in 40s-50s, now less than 10%; outsourcing, mechanization, efficient - STEM jobs, though increasingly important, have average salary growth.. Overhype - much of it subject to routine, mass production methods Mass Production Methods - supervised manager structure and repetitious specific work; successful domination // fordism - leads to unskilled labor, dissolution of craft skills, inability to control work - manufacture gone, methods persist; mcdonalds tasks, amazon fulfillment, UPS, etc - face to face service jobs (replace) cannot use these strategies; knowledge > labor Structure as Means of Control - landscape is shifting to include more educated, managers discouraged from micromanaging - low-level “associates” meant to make them feel important - workers have more responsibility for production but not control over decisions - recreate craft communities: control thru common culture when teamwork needed (silicon v) - all a facade to distract from megacorporations they work for: appl, microsoft, etc - “flexibility” often a means for managers to manipulate in their favor.. “can you stay late?” ____________ Corporation: meant to unite workers towards a common goal, operate w sense of community - in the past, they were rare and controlled; now they exist everywhere as legal entities - colonial, corpos seen as a tool for people and didn’t operate outside charters - consequence of 14 amend: state cannot deprive ppl natural rights; corp claims to be a person The Employment System That Died -early 20th century, Scientific management replaced “The Foremen’s Empire” - large corps dominate industry, owners and managers different people - needed bureaucratic balance of powers, done thru internal dev and promotion - post WWI, system shifts to increase manufacture.. methods to increase prod include education - scientific management: managers did “thinking work” and non did the labor of decisions - seniority becomes a form of mobility, rather than liability

Internal Labor Markets - Firm Specific Human Capital: knowledge and skills to do work learned “in house” - may lead in useless information and employee self-degradation: The Office - here, worker culture used to benefit of owners: less costly than subcontracting work - high cost of market-based, low-trust relationships; people are forced to say in sector Characteristics of Internal Arrangements - selection: new hires for the bottom of ladder; straight out of college entry level management - training/development: could learn skills on the job and bid for higher jobs - assists in making workers feel more pride in their jobs; foreman pay less at first; win-win - promotion: structure related to on-site training or seniority, not skills

- organizational structure: manager hierarchy for function, decisions from corporate - taylorized system: one person does a few specific things.. CAREERS not jobs - job security: manage high; decent for others, since temporary layoffs (not permanent) used - improves employee commitment and performance - wage: little association bw performance and compensation → seniority > efficiency - salary workers considered exempt from protective laws, weekly need overtime People Outside ILM System - people not in large corporations cannot have as many benefits: security, pay, career - secondary labor market w lower security, pay, and happiness - older corporate employees who lost jobs cannot get new jobs in secondary market - Women and minorities less likely to get into the primary labor market formed by ILMs - more commitments than work; lack of education in specific fields Shifting 1980s / 1990s - incentives for corporations to restructure: new organizations smaller & less hierarchical - fewer employees, less security; ppl now subcontract, contingent, leased employees - more autonomy for employees → less specific jobs but pay based on performance - caused by global economy and need to cut costs bc compete; non-union firms aids - laws to protect employees avoided w contracted work; paired w deregulation - new products for a cheap price now more important, finance restructure

Principles of Redesign - customer focused operating units; ‘re engineered’ processes - devolved decision-making authority - streamlined management but tighter financial control - ex: rather than many insurance agents, one contracted worker - figure: layoffs on all levels, but growth of those exempt from law Consequences of Redesign - ILM systems of early 20th now rare; if they exist (ex: Dunder Mifflin), they are much weaker - more movement between employers; jobs rather than loyal career - leads to new structure, lack of culture, but maximum agency - more contingent, part time work; employees less secure and less loyal - downsizes and focus on outsourcing increase income inequality - ^downward pressure on wages of many, alongside high corporate profits _____________

Social Class in the United States [Week 4/5] Widening Inequality - Pay for top CEOs has increased dramatically, while lower class grows increases - ex: walmart heirs own more wealth than bottom 30%; most of which work in their company - ~35% minorities live in poverty; highest inequality of all developed countries - due to a variety of factors: changing structures, cycle of education inequality, etc - globalization/outsourcing has caused changes in international structure - since 1970 upper 5% grew, bottom 95% stagnanted Lack of Mobility - research has shows flattened rate of mobility, possibly even reduced - notions of american ideals upended and contradictory given stats - no longer three large classes, but many microclasses of economic growth/development - poli ideas cross class boundaries; pop more mixed but more lower - opinion: inflation, minimum wage, lack of reliable careers - geography plays an effect: more education, role models Wealth is defined in terms of marketable assets, which is essentially anything that is liquid...