4 ways to improve America’s labor market
A 30-year backlog of policies has created staggering income inequality. Here's how we can address them
By Annette BernhardtTopics: Labor Market, 1 percent, Next New Deal, Occupy Wall Street, Unemployment, Business, Barack Obama, Business News, Politics News
Now that the election is over, our hope is that we can finally move beyond the vacuous invocations of an imaginary middle class where everyone is in the same boat. It’s time to get real about the concrete policies needed to take on the multiple inequalities that run deep through the U.S. labor market. And we’re not talking about the “skills mismatch,” another red herring routinely flung into this debate by both sides (including by President Obama as recently as the last week of the campaign).
What we’re talking about is a broad, multi-year agenda to give America’s workers a living wage and voice on the job and to take on the continuing exclusion of workers of color, immigrants, and women from good jobs. The media may have discovered inequality last year with the surprise emergence of Occupy Wall Street, but in truth, there is a 30-year backlog of policies to fix the extreme maldistribution of wages and opportunity in the labor market.
First, we have to make our core workplace standards much stronger – whether it’s in terms of wages, health and safety, or voice on the job. That means raising the minimum wage so that it’s a meaningful floor again (some good news: voters in Albuquerque, San Jose, and Long Beach raised theirs last week). It means updating health and safety regulations written in the 1970s. And it means restoring the right to organize, because at this point, virulent employer opposition and retaliation has rendered U.S. labor law obsolete. Fifty-eight percent of U.S. workers say they would like to be represented by a union, but only 11.8 percent actually are. This is what happens when one out of four workers is fired illegally for attempting to organize a union while employers face minimal penalties.
Second, we have to take on the profound reorganization of the American workplace. The poster child for precarious work is temp jobs – but subcontracting has had a much broader impact, as janitors, laundry workers, warehouse workers, security guards, food service workers, and millions of others have been outsourced to low-wage firms. A good model for a solution is California’s recent law making companies liable for minimum wage and overtime violations by their subcontractors, recognizing that end-user firms such as Walmart exert considerable control over working conditions down their supply chains.
Third, we have to double down on enforcement. A 2008 study of Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York found that 26 percent of low-wage workers were paid less than the minimum wage and 76 percent were underpaid or not paid at all for their overtime hours. Yet the number of federal wage and hour inspectors is still below 1980 levels, and it would take 131 years for OSHA investigators to inspect each workplace just once. Until employers face substantial costs to their bottom line (as is true in other bodies of law, such as environmental regulation and employment discrimination law), practices like wage theft, retaliation against workers trying to organize a union, and independent contractor misclassification will continue unabated.
Fourth, we have to do a better job of leveraging the government’s capital. Public money touches millions of private-sector jobs, whether by purchasing goods and services for the government or by funding everything from schools and bridges to health care and social services. There are plenty of innovative models to ensure that this money results in good jobs, whether it’s responsible contracting policies (in California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Illinois), living wage laws (in more than 140 cities and counties), or accountable economic development policies (in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and New York City, among others).
Fifth, we have to explicitly break down systemic labor market exclusions of people of color, immigrants, women, the unemployed, and people with criminal records. For example, advocates are pushing the U.S. Department of Labor to finally end the exemption of home care workers from minimum wage and overtime protection, and cities across the country are passing “ban the box” policies to reduce hiring barriers for people with arrest or conviction records.
But we also have to challenge de facto exclusions. A good example is targeted hiring and training programs on publicly funded projects, which in our mind will be crucial to solving the escalating (and chronically under-reported) economic crisis in communities of color. A great example is Portland’s 2009 residential retrofitting program, which mandated living wages and local hiring from designated training programs. As of last year, the program’s workers earned median wages of $18 per hour; fully 84 percent were local residents, nearly half of them people of color. While unemployment is still at Depression-era levels in many black communities, we know what works to employ those still excluded from access to the labor market.
A final word on why we think these policies (and many others; see the long-form version here) are politically viable. In communities across the country, there is an undeniable thirst for justice on the job and investment in local communities. This is true not just for raising the minimum wage, which consistently polls in the 70-80 percent range, but also policies such as paid sick days, increased funding for elder care and child care, cracking down on wage theft, using taxpayer money to create living wage jobs, and restoring the right to organize.
(If you doubt support for organizing, consider the recent wave of strikes by Walmart workers, or New York’s taxi workers organizing for better pay even though they are independent contractors, or Palermo’s pizza workers in Wisconsin staying out on strike for three months and now pressuring Costco to boycott their employer.)
The real question is whether President Obama and Democrats in Congress understand that raising taxes on the top 2 percent is only the first step on a long road toward building a sustainable living wage economy in the U.S. Our hope lies in the growing recognition among progressives that it will take the pressure and power of social movements to convince him to walk that road with us.
You Might Also Like
More Related Stories
-
White House delays key component of healthcare overhaul
-
Hummus: The yummy Middle Eastern invasion
-
BART strike snarls traffic for second straight day
-
Uber presses the class-warfare button
-
13 facts about tax-dodging corporations that will blow your mind
-
How epic GOP bumbling could inadvertently save food stamps
-
Economic inequality was created
-
Why "real journalists" hate Sean Parker's wedding
-
Dark money group lies to IRS about being dark money group
-
Zynga CEO to step down
-
Tribune Co. to acquire 19 TV stations in billion-dollar deal
-
Be employable, study philosophy
-
How do you like my money now, liberals?
-
3 biggest myths about immigration reform
-
We must hate our children
-
How Humboldt became America's marijuana capital
-
Taming mother nature, one flight at a time
-
Neo-Nazi group to receive million-dollar coin collection
-
New York legislation will never be progressive
-
Why is the Department of Justice not paying its assistant attorneys?
-
Top 5 investigative videos of the week: Female farmworkers sexually abused
Featured Slide Shows
7 motorist-friendly camping sites
close X- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 9
- Previous
- Next
Sponsored Post
-
White River National Forest via Lower Crystal Lake, Colorado For those OK with the mainstream, White River Forest welcomes more than 10 million visitors a year, making it the most-visited recreation forest in the nation. But don’t hate it for being beautiful; it’s got substance, too. The forest boasts 8 wilderness areas, 2,500 miles of trail, 1,900 miles of winding service system roads, and 12 ski resorts (should your snow shredders fit the trunk space). If ice isn’t your thing: take the tire-friendly Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway — 82 miles connecting the towns of Meeker and Yampa, half of which is unpaved for you road rebels. fs.usda.gov/whiteriveryou
Image credit: Getty
-
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest via Noontootla Creek, GeorgiaBoasting 10 wildernesses, 430 miles of trail and 1,367 miles of trout-filled stream, this Georgia forest is hailed as a camper’s paradise. Try driving the Ridge and Valley Scenic Byway, which saw Civil War battles fought. If the tall peaks make your engine tremble, opt for the relatively flat Oconee National Forest, which offers smaller hills and an easy trail to the ghost town of Scull Shoals. Scaredy-cats can opt for John’s Mountain Overlook, which leads to twin waterfalls for the sensitive sightseer in you. fs.usda.gov/conf
Image credit: flickr/chattoconeenf
-
Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area via Green Road, Michigan The only national forest in Lower Michigan, the Huron-Mainstee spans nearly 1 million acres of public land. Outside the requisite lush habitat for fish and wildlife on display, the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area is among the biggest hooks for visitors: offering beach camping with shores pounded by big, cerulean surf. Splash in some rum and you just might think you were in the Caribbean. fs.usda.gov/hmnf
Image credit: umich.edu
-
Canaan Mountain via Backcountry Canaan Loop Road, West Virginia A favorite hailed by outdoorsman and author Johnny Molloy as some of the best high-country car camping sites anywhere in the country, you don’t have to go far to get away. Travel 20 miles west of Dolly Sods (among the busiest in the East) to find the Canaan Backcountry (for more quiet and peace). Those willing to leave the car for a bit and foot it would be remiss to neglect day-hiking the White Rim Rocks, Table Rock Overlook, or the rim at Blackwater River Gorge. fs.usda.gov/mnf
Image credit: Getty
-
Mt. Rogers NRA via Hurricane Creek Road, North CarolinaMost know it as the highest country they’ll see from North Carolina to New Hampshire. What they may not know? Car campers can get the same grand experience for less hassle. Drop the 50-pound backpacks and take the highway to the high country by stopping anywhere on the twisting (hence the name) Hurricane Road for access to a 15-mile loop that boasts the best of the grassy balds. It’s the road less travelled, and the high one, at that. fs.usda.gov/gwj
Image credit: wikipedia.org
-
Long Key State Park via the Overseas Highway, Florida Hiking can get old; sometimes you’d rather paddle. For a weekend getaway of the coastal variety and quieter version of the Florida Keys that’s no less luxe, stick your head in the sand (and ocean, if snorkeling’s your thing) at any of Long Key’s 60 sites. Canoes and kayaks are aplenty, as are the hot showers and electric power source amenities. Think of it as the getaway from the typical getaway. floridastateparks.org/longkey/default.cfm
Image credit: floridastateparks.org
-
Grand Canyon National Park via Crazy Jug Point, Arizona You didn’t think we’d neglect one of the world’s most famous national parks, did you? Nor would we dare lead you astray with one of the busiest parts of the park. With the Colorado River still within view of this cliff-edge site, Crazy Jug is a carside camper’s refuge from the troops of tourists. Find easy access to the Bill Hall Trail less than a mile from camp, and descend to get a peek at the volcanic Mt. Trumbull. (Fear not: It’s about as active as your typical lazy Sunday in front of the tube, if not more peaceful.) fs.usda.gov/kaibab
Image credit: flickr/Irish Typepad
-
As the go-to (weekend) getaway car for fiscally conscious field trips with friends, the 2013 MINI Convertible is your campground racer of choice, allowing you and up to three of your co-pilots to take in all the beauty of nature high and low. And with a fuel efficiency that won’t leave you in the latter, you won’t have to worry about being left stranded (or awkwardly asking to go halfsies on gas expenses).
Image credit: miniusa.com
-
Recent Slide Shows
-
7 motorist-friendly camping sites
-
Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)
-
The week in 10 pics
-
Photos: Turmoil and tear gas in Instanbul's Gezi Park - Slideshow
-
- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 9
- Previous
- Next
-
The week in 10 pics
-
10 summer food festivals worth the pit stop
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
9 amazing drive-in movie theaters still standing
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
Netflix's April Fools' Day categories
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
Related Videos
Most Read
-
We must hate our children Joan Walsh
-
NSA reportedly has secret data collection agreement with several European countries Prachi Gupta
-
The best of Tumblr porn Tracy Clark-Flory
-
James Clapper is still lying to America David Sirota
-
Thanks for nothing, college! Tim Donovan
-
Before Edward Snowden: "Sexual deviates" and the NSA Rick Anderson
-
You are how you sneeze Ryan O'Hanlon, Pacific Standard
-
SCOTUS: No right to remain silent unless you speak up Christopher Zara, International Business Times
-
The smearing of Rachel Jeantel Mary Elizabeth Williams
-
Texas Senate meets, promptly votes to recess until July 9 Katie Mcdonough
Popular on Reddit
links from salon.com

403 points404 points405 points | 19 comments

255 points256 points257 points | 28 comments

68 points69 points70 points | 9 comments
From Around the Web
Presented by Scribol
-

Biggest Banks Have 'Little To Cheer' As U.S. Tightens Rules
-

State Senate Votes On Restrictive Abortion Measure Tacked On To Anti-Sharia Bill
-

(Water) Gun Enthusiasts March On Washington
-

Connie Pillich: Is Your Uterus a Budget Issue?
-

Charlotte Robinson: Exclusive: AFER Prop 8 Players Talk About U.S. Supreme Court Ruling (AUDIO)
-
Employer Health Care Mandate Pushed Back To 2015
-
Artist Nickolay Lamm Creates Barbie Doll Based On Measurements Of Real Women
-
Sidewalk Chalk Artist Acquitted After Facing 13 Years In Jail Over Vandalism
-
Bolivian Leader's Plane Diverted; Snowden 'Not Aboard'
-
Iran Cyber-Attack: Did Obama’s Favorite General Spill Secrets?








Comments
12 Comments