On the Job

On the Job
Author: Celeste Monforton
Publisher: The New Press
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2021-05-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1620976633

The inspiring story of worker centers that are cropping up across the country and leading the fight for today's workers For over 60 million people, work in America has been a story of declining wages, insecurity, and unsafe conditions, especially amid the coronavirus epidemic. This new and troubling reality has galvanized media and policymakers, but all the while a different and little-known story of rebirth and struggle has percolated just below the surface. On the Job is the first account of a new kind of labor movement, one that is happening locally, quietly, and among our country's most vulnerable—but essential—workers. Noted public health expert Celeste Monforton and award-winning journalist Jane M. Von Bergen crisscrossed the country, speaking with workers of all backgrounds and uncovering the stories of hundreds of new, worker-led organizations (often simply called worker centers) that have successfully achieved higher wages, safer working conditions and on-the-job dignity for their members. On the Job describes ordinary people finding their voice and challenging power: from housekeepers in Chicago and Houston; to poultry workers in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Springdale, Arkansas; and construction workers across the state of Texas. An inspiring book for dark times, On the Job reveals that labor activism is actually alive and growing—and holds the key to a different future for all working people.

Work Won't Love You Back

Work Won't Love You Back
Author: Sarah Jaffe
Publisher: Bold Type Books
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2021-01-26
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1568589387

A deeply-reported examination of why "doing what you love" is a recipe for exploitation, creating a new tyranny of work in which we cheerily acquiesce to doing jobs that take over our lives. You're told that if you "do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." Whether it's working for "exposure" and "experience," or enduring poor treatment in the name of "being part of the family," all employees are pushed to make sacrifices for the privilege of being able to do what we love. In Work Won't Love You Back, Sarah Jaffe, a preeminent voice on labor, inequality, and social movements, examines this "labor of love" myth—the idea that certain work is not really work, and therefore should be done out of passion instead of pay. Told through the lives and experiences of workers in various industries—from the unpaid intern, to the overworked teacher, to the nonprofit worker and even the professional athlete—Jaffe reveals how all of us have been tricked into buying into a new tyranny of work. As Jaffe argues, understanding the trap of the labor of love will empower us to work less and demand what our work is worth. And once freed from those binds, we can finally figure out what actually gives us joy, pleasure, and satisfaction.

To Be a Worker

To Be a Worker
Author: Jorge Parodi
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2003-06-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 0807860905

A contemporary classic in Peru, where it was first published in 1986, this book explores changes in the political identity and economic strategies of the Peruvian working class in the 1970s and 1980s. Jorge Parodi uses a case study of Metal Empresa, a large factory in Lima, to trace the surge and decline of the labor movement in Peru--and in Latin America more generally--through the successes and frustrations of the members of a once-powerful union as they coped with the nation's deteriorating economic situation. By the early 1970s, Metal Empresa was the site of one of the most radical and aggressive unions in Peruvian industry. But as the decade drew to a close, political and economic crises soured the environment for trade unionism and rendered unions less able to produce palpable benefits for their members. Through in-depth, often poignant interviews, including an extensive oral history of one of the workers, Jesus Zuniga, Parodi shows how workers desperate to support themselves and their families were increasingly forced to seek opportunities outside the industrial sector. In the process, he shows, they began to question their very identities as workers.

The World of the Worker

The World of the Worker
Author: James R. Green
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 294
Release: 1998
Genre: Labor unions
ISBN: 9780252067341

The Mismatched Worker

The Mismatched Worker
Author: Arne L. Kalleberg
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2007
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780393976434

In this provocative new study, Arne L. Kalleberg examines how the now-common expectation that a career should at once provide fulfillment, challenge, meaning, and financial success is creating a growing number of “mismatched” workers--workers who fit poorly with their employers or careers. Each chapter frames a different type of mismatch and explores how each mismatch affects workers and their families. In addition to providing new insights into contemporary labor, The Mismatched Worker also suggests social strategies that might alleviate worker dissatisfaction while making organizations more efficient.

The Once and Future Worker

The Once and Future Worker
Author: Oren Cass
Publisher: Encounter Books
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2018-11-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1641770155

“[Cass’s] core principle—a culture of respect for work of all kinds—can help close the gap dividing the two Americas....” – William A. Galston, The Brookings Institution The American worker is in crisis. Wages have stagnated for more than a generation. Reliance on welfare programs has surged. Life expectancy is falling as substance abuse and obesity rates climb. These woes are not the inevitable result of irresistible global and technological forces. They are the direct consequence of a decades-long economic consensus that prioritized increasing consumption—regardless of the costs to American workers, their families, and their communities. Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency focused attention on the depth of the nation’s challenges, yet while everyone agrees something must change, the Left’s insistence on still more government spending and the Right’s faith in still more economic growth are recipes for repeating the mistakes of the past. In this groundbreaking re-evaluation of American society, economics, and public policy, Oren Cass challenges our basic assumptions about what prosperity means and where it comes from to reveal how we lost our way. The good news is that we can still turn things around—if the nation’s proverbial elites are willing to put the American worker’s interests first. Which is more important, pristine air quality, or well-paying jobs that support families? Unfettered access to the cheapest labor in the world, or renewed investment in the employment of Americans? Smoothing the path through college for the best students, or ensuring that every student acquires the skills to succeed in the modern economy? Cutting taxes, expanding the safety net, or adding money to low-wage paychecks? The renewal of work in America demands new answers to these questions. If we reinforce their vital role, workers supporting strong families and communities can provide the foundation for a thriving, self-sufficient society that offers opportunity to all.

Ask a Manager

Ask a Manager
Author: Alison Green
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2018-05-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0399181822

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together

Work without Jobs

Work without Jobs
Author: Ravin Jesuthasan
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2023-11-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0262545969

In this Wall Street Journal bestseller, why the future of work requires the deconstruction of jobs and the reconstruction of work. Work is traditionally understood as a “job,” and workers as “jobholders.” Jobs are structured by titles, hierarchies, and qualifications. In Work without Jobs, the Wall Street Journal bestseller, Ravin Jesuthasan and John Boudreau propose a radically new way of looking at work. They describe a new “work operating system” that deconstructs jobs into their component parts and reconstructs these components into more optimal combinations that reflect the skills and abilities of individual workers. In a new normal of rapidly accelerating automation, demands for organizational agility, efforts to increase diversity, and the emergence of alternative work arrangements, the old system based on jobs and jobholders is cumbersome and ungainly. Jesuthasan and Boudreau’s new system lays out a roadmap for the future of work. Work without Jobs presents real-world cases that show how leading organizations are embracing work deconstruction and reinvention. For example, when a robot, chatbot, or artificial intelligence takes over parts of a job while a human worker continues to do other parts, what is the “job”? DHL found some answers when it deployed social robotics at its distribution centers. Meanwhile, the biotechnology company Genentech deconstructed jobs to increase flexibility, worker engagement, and retention. Other organizations achieved agility with internal talent marketplaces, worker exchanges, freelancers, crowdsourcing, and partnerships. It’s time for organizations to reboot their work operating system, and Work without Jobs offers an essential guide for doing so.

Let's Meet a Construction Worker

Let's Meet a Construction Worker
Author: Bridget Heos
Publisher: Lerner Digital ™
Total Pages: 24
Release: 2017-08-01
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1512477613

Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and text highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! Let's Meet a Construction Worker! What do construction workers do? Some lucky kids are about to find out! They visit Mr. Moore, a construction worker who's helping to build a new school. He shows them machines that dig big holes. He explains how he follows the building plans. And he tells about different workers and how they stay safe. Hooray for construction workers! "Cartoon-style animated drawings in bright colors introduce diverse characters who will capture children's interest." —School Library Journal "In each book introducing a community-benefiting career, schoolchildren meet one adult to learn about his or her job; information includes the training required to become a firefighter, doctor, etc., daily routines, and primary responsibilities. The content is inclusive and up-to-date but delivered though vapid stories. Peppy computer-generated cartoons are amateur." - The Horn Book Guide Free downloadable series teaching guide available.