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JACQUES LOVEALL, President, Intl. Vice President Main Office 2200 Professional Dr, Roseville, CA 95661 (916) 786 - 0588 (888) 8 E I G H T |
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JACQUES LOVEALL, President, Intl. Vice President Main Office 2200 Professional Dr, Roseville, CA 95661 (916) 786 - 0588 (888) 8 E I G H T |
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SECRETARY-TREASURER’S REPORT Service jobs and hopesfor prosperity
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S ince the 1930s, unionized manufacturing jobs were the surest and fastest pathways to middle-class prosperity for blue-collar workers.Unfortunately, as former Clinton Administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote in the Financial Times, “middle-class jobs that do not need a college degree are disappearing.” The recent bankruptcy of General Motors is the latest symptom of this phenomenon. It wasn’t long ago that GM was the nation’s largest employer. Its network of manufacturing plants, car dealerships and parts suppliers opened the door to prosperity for hundreds of thousands of working people.
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Entire cities and suburbs prospered in an economy driven by the automotive industry. Times have changed. Today, the biggest employer in the nation is Wal-mart, which provides low pay and meager benefits to its 1.4 million employees. The vast majority of these workers can not be considered middle class.Many, in fact, rely on publicly supported programs for their health care, adding to the burdens of taxpayers. For everyone’s sake, we need to en sure that more workers in our country have the opportunity to reach and remain in the middle class, but how can we do that? As outsourcing and foreign competition continue to eat away at our manufacturing base, |
the American economy is shifting heavily toward what is called the “service sector.” About three-quarters of Americans now work in this sector, which consists of all the ways people make money outside of manufacturing, agriculture and mining. Included in this category are retail, entertainment, medicine, law, real estate, insurance, government, tourism, banking, education, social services, transportation and many other industries.The bad news is that most Americans in the service sector, especially those who stock shelves for Wal-mart, sweep floors in office buildings and change bed linens for the elderly, make far less money than the men and women who used to build automobiles for General Motors.The good news is that most service jobs can’t be sent overseas. As long as people live in this country, they will need to buy food and clothes, seek. (Please see page 8) |
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Official publication of UFCW 8-Golden State Jacques Loveall, President |
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