Frightening workplace statistics from the book "The Big Squeeze":

[HughBeaumont]

Steve Greenhouse, the labor and workplace correspondent for the New York Times, wrote what I feel is a book every American should read: The Big Squeeze. Although not a surprise to many of us, the testimonials in this book would throw more than a pound of disgust in the consciences of the average reader. Backed up by several hundred sources from surveys, think tanks, interviews and statistics, The Big Squeeze puts the kibosh once and for all on the myth that America is the greatest place in the world to work. Among the sobering statistics:

· Since 1979, hourly earnings for 80% of American workers have risen by just 1 percent (all stats factor inflation). The average wage was 17.71/hr in 2007, falling by 5 percent compared to 1979.

· If wages kept pace with productivity, the average full time worker would be earning 58,000/year. Instead, he/she earns 36,000/yr.

· 20% of families with children under 6 live below the poverty line.

· The typical American worker puts in 1804 hours a year. That's 135 hours more than the average British worker, 240 more than the French worker and 370 more hours than the German worker. That could be because we’re also the only industrialized nation that has no mandates regarding a minimum number of vacation days per year (unlike the Swedish and the French, who mandate 5 and 6 weeks, respectively). The good ol' Yew Ess Ay is also one of four countries (out of 173 nations surveyed) that do not provide paid maternity leave.

· Almost ¼ of the American workforce (33 million workers) earn less than 10 dollars an hour, which is less than poverty for a family of four.

· Just one third of laid off workers receive unemployment benefits, down from 50 percent a generation ago, and the federal program for UI and retraining has been de-funded by more than 10 billion dollars in the last quarter century.

· The typical CEO in 1976 earned (use that term loosely) 36 times what their average worker did. In 1993, it rose to 131 times more. Today, that disparity is now at 369 times more their average worker’s salary, down from 441 times more five years ago, but still lousy nonetheless.

· The American economy has lost one in five factory jobs since 2000.

· One out of six managerial employees worked more than 60 hours a week, according to a 2004 BLS survey. This statistic doesn’t include commute time.

· A Pew Charitable Trusts survey from 2004 found that men in their 30s had a median income of 12 percent less than their fathers did at the same age.

Brutal and downright despicable stories of workplace abuse are also depicted here:

· A chapter devoted to the horrible practices of the retail world, such as managers illegally shaving hours off of employee time slips (and when called on it, threaten the employee with violence), forcing employees to work at night with fire exit doors chained shut, harassment from managers and co-workers on employees who try to organize unions, and managers who force employees to work off the clock under the threat of being fired.

· WalMart’s utterly greedy and insufferable managerial practices; from not permitting overtime to forcing employees under threat of write-up to perform trivial tasks off the clock, from shaving hours to stiffing their employees on health care coverage. All the while, the ChinaMart family’s fortune is now at a combined $100 billion dollars, making them the wealthiest family on earth.

· The screwing of new workers by many companies via revised tier systems, where the most they can earn would be 20 to 40 percent less than the workers of a previous generation earned doing the same job.

· A whole chapter devoted to the odious practice of offshore outsourcing, which is destined to get worse as time goes on. According to various studies, globalization is destined to threaten between 11 million and 42 million white-collar jobs in the coming decade. Forrester research estimates at least 6 percent of America’s service sector jobs will be sent offshore by 2015.

· Chronicled in detail is the story of Myra Bronstien, a former software tester who did everything the company asked of her; literally sacrificing every ounce of her free time to get product out the door and putting in regular 70-80 hour weeks. Not only was she downsized, but forced to train her overseas replacements (if she didn't, she'd receive no severance pay). Her ex-Human Resources manager's comment: "I'd like our new team to meet our old team." :grr: :grr: :grr:

I could list far more, but it’d be overkill at this point.

I mean, what do we do to stop unbridled corporatism? Is mass starvation the only thing that will get people off their asses? Poverty? That's happening now and the rich seem to just plow ahead unabated and unopposed, because enough is simply never EVER enough. Politicians are the last people to ask; most are hand-in-hand with Big Business to take any real action and those that aren't are dismissed as "lunatic fringe communists" . . . in 2008.

I fear that something drastic is GOING to happen. Think about the fact that this book was finished and printed several months before all of the economic horridity we're seeing now; we're back to thousand-plus layoff announcements almost weekly. Americans in general are overloaded, fearful, undereducated and sick of it all. Yet, just enough of us are employed that we collectively view this all as a "correction". At the same time, however, stores and factories nationwide are shutting their doors for good. Companies that used layoffs as a last resort rather than the only one are cutting as much as 7-10% of their workforce.

When was the last time this economy created enough jobs to meet the incoming/outgoing worker quota (around 150,000 new jobs/month)? I can't even remember. Next week's Unemployment Report will surely bring more bad news.

If anyone ever needed a reason enough NOT to vote Repuke, it'd be this one. It's been proven on here that Obama will finally do what needed to be done eight years ago - tax the people who aren't paying their fair share - and ease the burden on middle class taxation. Sorry, wealthy and you Republicans who apologize for them, but you can't have low taxation for long periods of time and expect there to be no bill in the form of a fat Reality Check come due.

It DOES boil down to "It's the Economy, Stupid" once again. And as much as the collective media and the corporations that own them will fight tooth and nail for McCain, deep down they all know they're screwed. They've run out of name brands, now that their once-ace-in-the-hole turned out to be the biggest disaster this country has ever seen.

It's really horrendous that the middle, working and poor classes have to suffer so greatly in the waning months of this coup. I wonder what it would be like to not worry so much. I wonder how long it's going to be before this ship is righted again and we can look back on these years as something to be learned from and never again have happen.

We can only help ourselves so much, though.

[HughBeaumont]

1. Shameless Kick for the morning crowd.

:kick:

[kimmylavin]

2. Thanks for the rec!

Have to check this book out...

My family keeps asking me why my husband and I haven't started having kids yet.
And I tell them that while in their day, a single earner could support a family of four AND pay for a house, those times are long gone.
This book might give me some more ammo against my conservative kin...

[HughBeaumont]

3. Same here.

Until last October, when I "sealed the deal" on baby-making for good, it was literally once or twice a month when I would have some wistful sage bother me about having more kids. My favorite gem was "You're never going to be financially ready, no one is! Children are a blessing, not a cost". Oh, so the WISE thing to do if you're in an insurmountable hole is to dig deeper? Yeeaaaaah.

You know what everyone should do, to put things in perspective? Bookstores or tourist shops sometimes sell these "yearbook" pamphlets, which are pretty much collections of stats and culture items from the year you were born. Pick up one from your birth year. It's an eye-opener. For instance, back in 1969, the average price of a home was 16,000 dollars and the average household income was about 8,000 dollars (non-inflation adjusted) . . . a 2:1 ratio. What are those numbers today? I'm willing to bet it's anywhere from 3:1 to 6:1 on average.

[marions ghost]

4. peopel need to know these statistics

Americans put up with far too much as corporate slaves.

[dmr]

5. Tragic times

My son is making about $7.50 an hour. 31 years ago, in 1977, my starting pay was $6.08 an hour. 31 years ago!

The other night he told me about a game they have at work that was started and is maintained by their corporate office. (This is a large, well-known, and respected company) For each day without an injury they toss a dollar into a pot, and it continues until there is a winner. My son says it's just a way to NOT report an on-the-job injury; because if you do, you end up "screwing" your co-worker's chances of winning the pot. That explains why my son didn't report an injury he got a few weeks ago. Despite my urging to tell his boss. Thankfully his injury healed and thankfully he was wearing the steel-toed shoes I got him for his birthday.

A few Sundays ago he had to report to work at 6 am for a meeting of all employees of all shifts. The meeting lasted an hour and a half. Then they all went home. If he hadn't shown up, he was subject to disciplinary action. They have these meetings every 4 to 6 weeks.

Most employees are part-time. Full-time employees cost too much. Yet, they have a high employee turn-around, poor continuity of work, and terrible morale.

I am amazed at how many employees (usually new employees) don't call in or show up to work. I think about the poor job market, and wonder how these people can do this to themselves. In my day, we just didn't up and quit - burn your bridges, as they say. Then I think of how my son describes his work-day, and I can see how their frustrations might lead them to not care. If they only knew that this corporation which owns many other companies black-balls their SSNs, so if they ever apply for a position within any of these other companies, their goose is cooked.

Two employees resigned this spring because their work hours and gasoline prices were incompatible. They asked to work an eight hour day in lieu of 2 four hour days. This would decrease their round trips to work by 2 per week. All the employees thought this was a good energy saving idea. The boss said it made no sense, and said no. My son thinks the boss is just too afraid of corporate to propose it. Who knows? But they ended up losing 2 of their better employees.

Throughout my working career I've encountered problems. We all do. But they were of a totally different sort. I listen to my son, and I scratch my head and fear for his future, and that of America. My son has strong work ethics, but it is getting more and more difficult for him to even care if his job is done well. I tell him to do it for himself. That when he finishes his day he knows he did his best.

He dreads going into work. He is pulled every which way because he is doing the work of 3 or 4 people. When he arrives to work, he arrives already knowing he is assigned to two jobs, but then the boss comes in and assigns even more. Most of the employees do what they see as important. My son strains to do as much as he can just to keep the boss off his back.

Last week my son went to an Air Force recruiter. I've always believed military service to be honorable. Yet, I'm a mom, and I'm afraid. I'm afraid of the world today - in the military and out. He's a smart young man. I trust him, and will support whatever decision he makes.

I've never been afraid before. How sad is that?

Thinking about all you wrote in your OP ... if something isn't done soon, there won't be enough tax-paying people working to sustain this country and it's massive debt.

Several months ago I was reading in my local paper about a neighboring town that was going to eliminate it's police department (staff of 3) because they could no longer afford it. As it turned out, the police chief agreed to stay on with a substantial reduction of pay and the elimination of benefits, including health care/sick time. That story has preyed on my mind for the longest time. Sure, it's a little town, and they still have the county to watch over them, yet, to come to this point in the great United States of America?

Once prosperous. Now dismal. I realize I'm rambling here. It's all just so damn frustrating ...

[kimmylavin]

6. I work for the city of Palmdale, CA.

Part time while I go to school.

They recently laid off 70 people, 5 from my staff of 26.
Then they cut all of our hours to "save money."
But there's still all that work to be done, and we all had to "pick up the slack", as it were: more work in less time for the same amount of money. And if you have the nerve to complain that this wasn't really the job you signed on for, they either tell you: A) You're lucky to still have a job - think of those people who were laid off, or B) question your loyalty. (Why they have the nerve to question the loyalty of people they couldn't care LESS about is beyond me, as to why they imagine any of us HAVE any loyalty...)

The only reason I'm still there is because every other job out there is offering a salary designed to take advantage of desperate economic times...