For Many, Uncertainty Laces the Labor Day Festivities : American workers find themselves hurting in a time of change

The view of the American workplace on Labor Day, 1995, is unsettling. Despite a big expansion in August payrolls, especially in California, other indicators point to economic uncertainty. At the same time, jobs are being reshaped by technology, the global economy and corporate mergers and restructuring. Wages are stagnating, there’s little job security and the gap between rich and poor is widening. The cherished gold watch for service--the equivalent of a Super Bowl ring for longtime employees--may soon be a quaint relic. Americans entering the work force today probably will have to move from one job to another many times during their careers.

While this is a nerve-racking state of affairs for some workers, it means corporate America is leaner than ever, well-positioned to compete at home and abroad. But as Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich points out in his Commentary article today, another result is that Americans are working harder than ever. As of last May, nearly 8 million people were holding two or more jobs.

And more often now, employees find themselves replaced by cheaper workers overseas, not just in blue-collar jobs but in white-collar work too. For example, because of technological developments, designers and engineers for U.S.-based firms need not be on American soil, where wages are higher. The decline in California’s unemployment rate to 7.8% in August is heartening, as is the fall of the nation’s jobless rate to 5.6%. Clouding the good news is that Los Angeles County’s unemployment rate increased to 8.6%. In addition, the federal government’s leading economic indicators fell in July, the fifth drop in six months. And other indicators suggest that manufacturingis slowing too.

No wonder Reich worries. He has called the working class the “anxious class.” In his Labor Day article he aptly describes most blue-collar workers and overworked lower-level white-collar managers as “frayed-collar” workers and he asks “who will buy the goods and services our companies churn out” if the middle class has less to spend because of eroding wages.

What are we to do to enhance our standard of living? How do we help today’s workers, and the next generation, adapt to the technological changes sweeping through our lives, altering the way we learn, communicate, work and even entertain ourselves?

Knowledge--education and training--is the key to having a competitive work force. Do we have the skills to produce better goods and services than those of other countries, or to produce in a more cost-effective way? Not yet. That takes institutional and attitudinal changes. Yet the politics of education, such as within the Los Angeles Unified School District, get in the way of meaningful reform. Consequently, too many students leave the district’s schools poorly prepared to take a job.

Continuing disagreement about the value of vocational education and budget cutbacks for such training reduce the opportunities of potential workers who are not college-bound but are highly motivated to learn a trade or skill.

The end of World War II and the rise of the Cold War provided an economic framework as well as a stable foreign policy. The government helped GIs returning from the war to get an education, buy a home and cash in on the U.S. economy. The Cold War meant we had an industrial base in defense, especially in California. Now there are new realities. The First World economy of the United States is still the world’s biggest, but the global marketplace has given birth to fast-developing economies, especially in Asia. The end of the Cold War has meant downsizing in defense and other industries. Old enemies now are trade partners.

On this holiday, which traditionally marks the end of summer vacation, the American worker enjoys the beach or back-yard barbecues as in years past. But the smoke of uncertainty lies heavy on this year’s festivities.

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Falling Wages

Real average hourly earnings of production and non-supervisory workers in the private non-farm industries (includes service workers but excludes government)

YEAR HOURLY WAGE

1987 $7.73

1988 7.69

1989 7.64

1990 7.52

1991 7.45

1992 7.41

1993 7.39

1994 7.41

Source: Labor Department, 1982 dollars