The End of Jobs?

[marmar]

from In These Times:


The End of Jobs?
BY SARAH JAFFE


In a major victory for a long-running campaign, port truck drivers at Pacific 9 Transportation in California have won the right to be considered employees under the National Labor Relations Act, and to form a union.

That ruling, by Region 21 of the National Labor Relations Board, that the truckers had been misclassified as “independent contractors” comes after months of sustained actions, including strikes, by port truckers. It comes in an industry where union jobs were the standard until deregulation turned all workers into “free agents.” Free agency, they quickly found, didn't come with much freedom, as they still had their hours and working conditions dictated by the company for whom they worked--but it came with a price tag. The cost of gas, truck maintenance and licenses landed on their shoulders instead of their employers'.

It's in this context that I'm thinking about the “end of jobs as we know them.”

.....(snip).....

In 2011, I wrote at AlterNet that a future beyond jobs, where we all work less, used to be a major goal of the U.S. labor movement. More freedom, less production for its own sake, would actually create a more sustainable world. (Alyssa Battistoni compellingly made this argument recently at Jacobin.) Lowering the amount of hours worked by each person would help distribute jobs better among the people who still don't have them, as economist Dean Baker has repeatedly argued.

But I noted that moving beyond jobs would necessitate tackling issues of inequality and concentration of power in the hands of the wealthy. At the moment, the “end of jobs” has meant sustained high unemployment and low wages, not more freedom. The disappearance of jobs in America has as much to do with the power of global capital to move where and when it wants and the ability, post-crisis, of businesses to squeeze more and more productivity out of the few workers they keep, as it does with technology making certain professions obsolete. And the rise of the “free agent” worker has at least as much to do with the desire of businesses to have an easy-hire, easy-fire, just-in-time workforce (as I wrote about in some detail recently) that absorbs—as the port truckers do—most of the labor costs, as it does with workers who simply enjoy the freedom of not having a boss. Power is as big or bigger a force as technology in shaping the labor landscape today. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/16472/the_end_of_jobs

[reformist2]

1. Capitalism turns a good thing - the reduced demand for labor - into a living hell.

Capitalism treats workers as commodities - if it doesn't need workers, it doesn't hire them. The problem is that there is no other way for people to make money - capitalism is the only game in town. And increasingly, it's starting to look like a game of musical chairs.

[RKP5637]

3. Definitely! "And increasingly, it's starting to look like a game of musical chairs."

Capitalism as it is now is obsolete, there are only so many seats at the dinning table! Transitioning to a better system for the 21st century will be a horrendous task. If this is not eventually accomplished the result will be extreme poverty and plagues for the masses. Many know this, problem is, money has captured the system and not humanity. The way the political system is now, individuals rally around those of the Gilded Age with the most cash like peasants.

Capitalism could be reworked into a sustainable system, but none want their money pots disturbed. And, we have a political system wherein those with money, power and influence have worked their way into the political system. So, we muddle in this rut!

[ctsnowman]

4. X 1000

Only some of us never have to fight for the chairs because they are given a seat at birth. Shrub comes to mind.

[surrealAmerican]

5. well stated!

In the long run, we may need to implement something like a guaranteed minimum income, but it's hard to see how that will become politically possible.

[reformist2]

6. I know, right? It's like we all know, deep down, that we don't really have a democracy!

We're afraid to ask for the one thing that will solve the economic problem - that is, basic income - because we're afraid the big money powers will slam any candidate who dares give voice to our wishes.

[mdbl]

9. We need guaranteed maximum wages/salaries as well as minimum

It's time to rescue what little good capitalism might have left by pulling in the reigns of unbridled greed which is destroying society and controlling our government. If this doesn't happen soon, it will all collapse again, maybe for good.

[ewagner]

7. ah, yes...

the conundrum of capitalism....

if the market doesn't demand labor; nobody hires

if nobody hires, nobody get paid

if nobody gets paid, there is no money to create demand

if there is no demand, the market doesn't produce.

if the market doesn't produce...got to the top and start over.

[kelliekat44]

10. Government had a real place in creating jobs under FDR. It still could have a place but the RW

corporatists will not have any of it because it really benefits too many people they only like as feudal customers and war chattel.

[Laelth]

2. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[lastlib]

8. K & R!! Every thinking American needs to read this and understand the implications of it!

[LongTomH]

11. People were anticipating this long before it started to happen.

When I started reading future studies back in the late 60s, a few people were bold enough to state that: "both capitalism and socialism as we know them are obsolete. Unfortunately, by the late 70s/80s, the political right were in control of our dialogue about the future and the message was just: "Don't worry, Be happy!"

Actually, back at the beginning of the computer age, cybernetics pioneer Norbert Weiner published a book title: "The Human Use of Human Beings." The premise was that computers and automation would free humans from drudgery, for "more creative pursuits."

That promise seems incredibly utopian in these dystopian times; but, it's still there, just not within our existing systems.