Bill Moyers: The New Temp Economy

[marmar]

http://vimeo.com/73487553


The New Temp Economy
September 2, 2013


When we think of temp workers, the image that comes to mind for many Americans is “Kelly Girls” — post WWII-era women, mostly young housewives, doing light office work like filing and bookkeeping for a little extra cash around the holidays.

But low-wage, temporary work is becoming a new normal in post-recession America, and today’s temp workers are no longer in it temporarily. Big corporations like Walmart, Nike and Frito-Lay have recognized that the temp system saves them money on things like health care, workers’ compensation claims and unemployment taxes, and they’ve started using temp agencies to fill traditional factory jobs. These blue-collar temp workers are mostly immigrants and minorities driven into the temp system due to a lack of options in an economy that increasingly favors corporations over workers. They rise early each morning to sit in a temp agency waiting room and hope that their name is called. The United States now has more temporary workers than ever before. And, while temporary work often increases during recessions, it usually goes down as the economy improves. But this time, economists predict that temp work will remain high.

In this report, producer Karla Murthy visits a temp agency in Chicago, where she speaks to both workers who have suffered abuses on the job and members of the Chicago Workers Collaborative, an organization that advocates for workers’ rights. She also speaks with Michael Grabell, a ProPublica reporter whose reporting for the recent series, “Temp Land: Working in the New Economy” is featured in this piece.


http://billmoyers.com/content/the-new-temp-economy/

[woo me with science]

1. K&R

[xchrom]

2. du rec.

[bluestate10]

3. It is always elegant to write about a problem without proposing solutions.

The solution boils down to us and the buying decisions we make everyday. How many people reading my post would buy a $70 or $170 dollar USA made shirt with USA made raw materials? How many of you would? Would you try to understand those USA made shirts will last for 3-5 years and even be in good enough condition to donate to charity afterward? How many of you think that way? How many of you look at the price of the shirts and don't understand that if more of you purchased, the prices would drop due to volume and more Americans will get permanent jobs because of volume? Moyers won't focus on the problem because the problem is his listeners and admirers buying decisions. Big corporations are greedy, but there are a myriad of small companies in this country that CARE about their workers and MAKE decisions everyday to produce products with USA labor and USA made raw materials. Why don't you support labor friendly companies instead of reading elegant bullshit that provides no workable solutions?

[marmar]

4. "Why don't you support labor friendly companies instead of reading elegant bullshit"

Who are you talking to? ..... And at least Moyers is talking about the 'elegant bullshit' when few others are.

The stridency around here is off the charts sometimes.

[CanSocDem]

5. The "solution" isn't easy.

You have to listen to Bill Moyers more often to get beyond what you think is "elegant" posturing. He has a thousand essays supporting economic sustainability including I'm sure, a high quality American-made shirt.

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