TY - JOUR T1 - Low-Wage Workers and Organizing JF - WorkingUSA Y1 - 2015 AB -

[Excerpt] Over the last forty years, changes in the structure and function of the labor market and the demographic composition of the labor force have reshaped patterns of economic opportunity in the United States. Changes in the structure of the economy and increasing globalization have facilitated the integration of capital, labor, production, and consumption markets, and systems of production and labor procurement are now characterized by global chains, corporate net-works, and transnational labor recruitment regimes. As global firms have increased in power, broader macro processes of outsourcing and subcontracting have induced trends in employment flexibility, resulting in the increased demand for temporary and contingent workers and a reliance on labor market intermediaries to supply and secure labor. These trends have occurred in connection to declining rates of union participation and density, the practical breakdown of labor protections, and the erosion of employment standards that are associated with increased labor market segmentation and growing economic inequality

VL - 18 L2 - eng UR - http://www.researchgate.net/publication/274141709_Low-Wage_Workers_and_Organizing CP - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Worker Centers, Worker Center Networks, and the Promise of Protections for Low-Wage Workers JF - WorkingUSA Y1 - 2015 AB -

Over the last two decades, a number of community-based and community-led organizations—known as worker centers—have been engaging in organizing, research, direct service provision, policy analysis and development, and advocacy with low-wage workers in the most marginalized sectors of the labor market. Worker centers and worker center networks engage in a broad range of labor market activities, including worker-based programs, services, and campaigns; labor market intermediation; employer-focused strategies; and a range of consumer and community education and engagement campaigns and initiatives. Worker centers and worker center networks play an essential role in low-wage labor markets by identifying key sectors in the low-wage economy where there are large numbers of vulnerable workers and labor violations; by organizing workers, developing and managing campaigns, and providing access to legal remedies for labor violations; and by developing strategies to improve pay, working conditions, and other aspects of job quality in low-wage occupations. Any strategy designed to reduce labor violations and improve working conditions for low-wage workers should take into account the functions and roles of worker centers and worker center networks in articulating the needs of workers and devising strategies, programs, campaigns, and initiatives designed to address them.

VL - 18 L2 - eng ER -