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 percentile of workers fell nearly 12 percent.
Today, according to the statistics put out by the United States Census Bureau, one out of four workers in the United States holds a job that pays less than $10.20 an hour (around $21,386 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.
The Betrayal of Work examines the plight of one-quarter of the U.S. workforce, some 30 million workers, who are stuck in low-wage, low-benefit jobs. These jobs are described as low-skill jobs, but as Shulman aptly points out, all these jobs require skills, whether the job is as a retail clerk or a hotel maid. This text is about the workers who earn less than the federal poverty level, currently about $10 an hour for a family of four.
This book is a comprehensive collection of all the studies on the working poor. The Betrayal of Work is a far from dry, scholarly reading. It’s provocative and just a bit chilling, a myth-busting examination of how we allow employers to treat these under-educated, under-skilled, and under-valued members of the workforce. Interwoven with the facts and figures are some real-life tales of the working poor. And after reading these accounts, you may never eat poultry again, never take for granted the aide who watches over your mother in assisted living, never treat the housekeeping staff in your office as if they were from a different planet.
Why should we care? We should care because fairness and equality are at the heart of this country’s beginnings. Shulman notes that “Without change, a growing gap between the haves and the have-nots will continue to challenge our national solidarity and stability and will strain an already divisive America” (p. 12).
Shulman goes on to give facts and figures on the types of jobs most typically low-wage (such as retail clerks, home health aides, child-care workers, call-center operators, security guards, janitors, agricultural workers, meat processors, and more) as well as the demographic profile of low-wage workers - typically white, female, little formal education, and with family responsibilities. But most compelling is her review of the vicious cycle of low-wage workers whose children are more likely to also fall into poverty and low-wage jobs. This is a problem still evident today in the country. Lee Rainwater and Timothy Smeeding also allude to this fact in their writing titled, Is There Hope for America’s Low-Income Children when they state, “When we found ourselves discussing the large federal and states surpluses at the beginning of the twenty-first century that was a period when we could have made a serious commitment to child poverty in the United States. This opportunity was missed” (Eitzen, p. 27).
Shulman also discusses the four myths that dominate the debate about low-wage work:
- Myth: Low-wage jobs are merely a short-lived step on a ladder to a better job. The reality? “Low-wage jobs, historically, have had few career ladders. Today they offer even fewer” (p. 102)
- Myth: Improving worker skills is the primary solution to problem of low-wage work. The reality? “The ‘skills mismatch’ theory is a significant overstatement of the demand for high-skilled workers… The overwhelming majority of occupations require only a high-school education or less” (p. 104).
- Myth: Because of global competition, U.S. companies are unable to do anything to improve the lives of low-wage workers. The reality? “Very few low-wage jobs are now in globally competitive industries… most lower-wage jobs are and will continue to be in the non-tradable service and retail sectors” (p. 110).
- Myth: Volunteerism is a substitute for social policy. The reality? We wouldn’t need so many volunteers working in shelters and soup kitchens if jobs actually paid a living wage.
By far, Shulman’s greatest feat, and one I agree with wholeheartedly, in The Betrayal of Work is her last chapter in which she discusses a compact for working Americans. She states;
This society needs to agree on a new set of principles - a compact with working Americans -- that establishes obligations and responsibilities of employers and government to workers. This compact has a simple and clear purpose: workers should be assured that if they work hard they will be treated fairly and have the resources to provide for themselves and their families (p. 149).
Shulman’s Compact with Working Americans includes but is not limited to the following:
- Providing a sufficient income to meet a family’s basic needs
- Affordable healthcare coverage
- Flexibility and support for family issues
- Opportunities to gain new skills
- Affordable and safe housing
- Safe and healthy work environment
- Security in times of economic adversity and retirement
- The right to organize and collectively bargain
- Fair trade and immigration policies
Bottom line advice: some may see this book as just another liberal spouting liberal doctrines and policies that will unfairly burden employers, but if you put aside the politics and focus on the people, the 30 million low-wage, near-poverty workers, you come away with the idea of this book as the textbook for changing how we view and treat these vital members of the workforce, these vital humans and fellow citizens. This book should be a must-read for all students, business leaders, and politicians alike.
Today, Americans can make different choices. Politicians should call for a compact with working Americans that establishes the mutual obligations and responsibilities of employers, workers, and government. The compact would have a simple and clear purpose: It would insure that if you work hard you will be treated fairly and have the resources to provide for yourself and your family.
One place to start is raising the minimum wage to at least $8.00 and indexing it to inflation. The compact should require that industries receiving public funds through contracts, tax abatements or other subsidies provide quality jobs with benefits and living wages. Access to affordable healthcare must be provided to all workers and their families. This in itself will be a monumental undertaking. Jerome Skolnick, author of Crisis in American Institutions, describes the reason why America’s healthcare system is substandard because of our “extreme reliance on the private market to deliver medical care” (p. 288). Workers need to know they can get time off to be with a sick child or an elderly parent without fear of losing their jobs or a day's pay. Quality childcare and early education should be made available to their children. And workers must have the right to organize without fear of intimidation, harassment, or being fired.
In the past, we have established standards and rights to insure that older Americans would not be impoverished or go without healthcare, to prevent young children from working and to insure equal opportunity in employment regardless of race, religion, national origin, sex, or age. Now we must set standards to protect the well-being of all working families and the integrity of the nation. It is urgent, both morally and politically, for all political candidates to confront this critical issue.
Beth Shulman stumbled upon one simple fact. Low wage workers’ jobs fail them. A basic American understanding exists in “…if you worked hard, a livable income and basic securities were to be yours,” but if we still believe in this idea, “we are living a lie” (p. 13).
References
Eitzen, D. S. (2006). Solutions to social problems: Lessons from other societies. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Skolnick, J. & Currie, E. (2006). Crisis in American institutions (13th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Shulman, B. (2003). The Betrayal of Work: How Low-Wage Jobs Fail
30 Million Americans. New York, NY: The New Press
United States Census Bureau (n.d.). Poverty Thresholds 2007.
Retrieved 11 March, 2008 from the U.S. Census Bureau Web site: http://www.census.gov
United States Department of Labor (n.d.) Labor Force Statistics
from the Current Population Survey: Retrieved 10 March, 2008 from the US Department of Labor Bureau of labor Statistics Web site: http://www.bls.gov/cps/
