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Alternative Visions – Verizon Workers’ Strike and How Corporations Are Destroying US Jobs – 04.15.16
Jack Rasmus discusses the strike of 36,000 communication workers that
began this week at Verizon Communications and how it reflects the
radical destruction by corporations of decent jobs in the US that has
been occurring since the 1990s. Jack calculates 52 million of the total
157 million jobs in the US labor force today are some form of
‘contingent’ or so-called ‘alternative work’ arrangements, paying
substandard wages and few if any benefits. The Verizon strike represents
worker-union efforts to stop corporate conversion of full time regular
jobs to ‘contingent,’ outsourced, contract work. Jack discusses a recent
Princeton Univ. study that shows temp and independent contract jobs
have risen by 9.4 million just since 2005—i.e. more than the total
increase in new jobs (9.1m) over the same period. Full time contingent
jobs now total 23.6m, according to the Princeton study. Add to that 26 m
more in part time contingent employment, plus another 8.2m unemployed
and more than 60 million US workers now earn less than full time wages
and virtually no benefits. And more if the ‘Uberization’ of work
underway is considered. Median earnings for the 50m barely exceed $30k a
year. Jack explains this is at the core of the growing working class
discontent in the US that is fueling both the Trump and the Sanders
candidacies. Jack speculates on the possibility of a 4-way race for the
presidency in this year’s elections. The show concludes with a review of
the global economy, including the IMF’s recent lowered forecast,
China’s recent GDP stats, and Jack revisiting his prior forecast the US
economy would again stagnant and approach zero GDP growth for the first
quarter 2016 in stats out in a couple of weeks.
View all episodes
By Progressive Radio Network
4.8
2525 ratings
Jack Rasmus discusses the strike of 36,000 communication workers that
began this week at Verizon Communications and how it reflects the
radical destruction by corporations of decent jobs in the US that has
been occurring since the 1990s. Jack calculates 52 million of the total
157 million jobs in the US labor force today are some form of
‘contingent’ or so-called ‘alternative work’ arrangements, paying
substandard wages and few if any benefits. The Verizon strike represents
worker-union efforts to stop corporate conversion of full time regular
jobs to ‘contingent,’ outsourced, contract work. Jack discusses a recent
Princeton Univ. study that shows temp and independent contract jobs
have risen by 9.4 million just since 2005—i.e. more than the total
increase in new jobs (9.1m) over the same period. Full time contingent
jobs now total 23.6m, according to the Princeton study. Add to that 26 m
more in part time contingent employment, plus another 8.2m unemployed
and more than 60 million US workers now earn less than full time wages
and virtually no benefits. And more if the ‘Uberization’ of work
underway is considered. Median earnings for the 50m barely exceed $30k a
year. Jack explains this is at the core of the growing working class
discontent in the US that is fueling both the Trump and the Sanders
candidacies. Jack speculates on the possibility of a 4-way race for the
presidency in this year’s elections. The show concludes with a review of
the global economy, including the IMF’s recent lowered forecast,
China’s recent GDP stats, and Jack revisiting his prior forecast the US
economy would again stagnant and approach zero GDP growth for the first
quarter 2016 in stats out in a couple of weeks.
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