History Of Low Wage Work
For generations, Americans shared
a tacit understanding that if you worked hard, a livable income and
basic securities would be yours. That promise has been broken. Today,
more than 30 million men and women in this country work in jobs that pay
poverty wages and provide few if any benefits.
A large body of research amassed over the past decade
clearly demonstrates that the structural changes to the U.S. economy
over the past 20 years resulting from globalization, industry
deregulation and the computerization of the workforce have led to harsh
working conditions, reduced benefits, and fewer opportunities for
advancement for workers in low-wage jobs.
Workers in low-wage jobs are the least likely to be
provided health care coverage for themselves and their families; they
cannot afford the premiums on their own, so most do without. Sick pay,
family leave and retirement benefits are virtually nonexistent. Their
jobs leave these workers little flexibility to care for their children,
quality childcare during "regular" business hours is unaffordable for
most, and finding childcare during their many nighttime shifts is an
even greater challenge.
Low-wage workplaces are often physically damaging and
emotionally degrading. High injury rates and unsafe conditions plague
these locations, compounding the risks for workers without health
insurance. With few opportunities for training or advancement, most are
locked into these low-wage jobs. That these conditions continue to erode
Americans' most cherished values of fairness, personal responsibility,
hard work and perseverance, and sends the message that work does not
pay. Failure to address this issue not only hurts these workers'
families, it erodes the functioning of American's communities, its
economy and our very notion of what democracy can achieve.
The
Story of Low-Wage Work
Following World War II, economic
growth in the United States meant a shared prosperity as tens of
millions of American workers moved into an emerging middle class.
Starting in the mid-1970s, however, real wages stopped growing and even
declined for certain groups in the labor force. This was a marked
reversal from the postwar economic boom. In fact, the fortunes of those
in the bottom rungs of the labor market declined drastically. Between
1973 and 1993, the real income of the lowest 20th percent of workers
fell nearly 12 percent.
Today, one out of four workers in the United States
holds a job that pays less than $8.70 an hour (around $18,100 per year
working full-time), which is the official poverty line for a family of
four. Most experts estimate that it takes double that amount for
families to make ends meet. Although the United States still leads the
world in overall prosperity and productivity, the American way of
organizing work and rewarding workers no longer provides many
hardworking families a piece of the American dream.
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