Problems of the Workplace and Workforce

doi:10.1017/9781108656184.030

Chapter 29 - Problems of the Workplace and Workforce

from Part IV - Problems of Institutions

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 March 2018

Héctor L. Delgado

Edited by

A. Javier Treviño

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A. Javier Treviño: Affiliation:
Wheaton College, Massachusetts

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Summary

Few activities are as central in the lives of individuals and important to society than work. The problems workers face affect not only them and their families, but they affect and are affected by society in very profound ways. Work has become increasingly precarious for millions of workers, and economic inequality has increased markedly in the United States, as the country has shifted from a principally goods-producing to a mainly services-providing economy. Workers have seen millions of jobs outsourced to parts of the world where labor costs are much lower, worker protections fewer (if existent at all), and the possibility of worker resistance much less. The future of work and workers will depend on many factors, but a coordinated effort by labor and human rights and environmental advocacy groups will be essential to restore some of the balance lost since the 1950s.

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Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Handbook of Social Problems , pp. 531 - 550

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108656184.030 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2018

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