A Nation Of Temps.

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Jobs-data-likely-to-show-apf-573465896.html?x=0&.v=10

I've been prediciting that America is moving away from full-time employment to part-time and, soon, temp workers.

Years ago, when I was a college student, I carried a union card and worked temp jobs when school was out. There was plenty of temp work at industrial sites but no one wanted it cuz it lasted a day or a week or a month and moved you to the bottom of the hiring list at the union hall. But it was excellent for me.

But this is where we're headed. You'll sign up for WAL-MART or McDONALDS or the local hospital, and they'll call you when they need a body.

 

[The_Fool]

It's been predicted for a long time that there would be a substantial increase in contract type work where one is hired for the duration of a project. See it a lot in Aircraft, but those contracts run for years. Aircraft companies like it because there are no benefits to pay. Workers like it because the base pay is higher. The age of the 30 year retirement is almost gone.

 

[xssve]

Nothing new, this is a routine way corporations and firms avoid having to furnish bennies: stock options, health insurance, etc. Microshaft was infamous for it, a ridiculous percentage of their workers were temps, some had been temping there for Five years or more - in fact there was a new word coined for it: permatemp.

Then Gates turns around and gives a bunch of money to Africa - a real humanitarian - not that they don't need it, but, in some sense, it was money earned by shafting his own employees.

That's why everybody worked Two or Three jobs in the Eighties, you couldn't find a full time job, nobody would give you 40 hours.

Universal health care would actually mitigate some of the motive for firms to avoid hiring full time employees.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Temp could be okay if companies compensated you with enough money to squirrel some away for the winter; but it aint gonna happen.

I expect the situation to deteriorate to the point where it was when I was a kid: Blacks loitered at a street corner waiting for farmers or housewives or construction companies to send pickups by for a few day workers. Then six or so would hop in the back to pick melons or shovel shit.

 

[Handley_Page]

some had been temping there for Five years or more - in fact there was a new word coined for it: permatemp.

In the UK, this was a good scheme for computer contractors. Then the Tax people decided that if you were on a year-long contract (for example), you could not be considered as "self-employed" (unless you had your own company name), so putting us into the higher tax payable bracket.

I hope the rising your executive who dreamed that one up is now a road-sweeper or worse.

 

[sr71plt]

This move toward temping and lessening employer loyalty to the employee is one reason I gave up spying. When the edict came out to try hiring foreign assets on an hourly, no-protections basis, I told them they were idiots and would only be getting disinformation back on such a nonsense approach--and that they could forget about extension talks on my current overseas tour.

You get what you pay for--even in employees.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Ultimately the Penny-pinching is self-defeating because, as you say, there's no incentives to produce quality wares. 'They pretend to pay us, and we pretend to work'.

Years ago I paid folks good money to fetch genealogical records for me; usually $100 per document. So in 1992 it was worth an old girl's while to hop in the Merc and drive to the state archives to photocopy something and stick it in the mail. Quite often they found other information, and I made the reward sweeter. Cuz $200 was a lot cheaper for me than driving 700 miles or 1200 miles to get the stuff myself.

When you pay some gofer $10 to go look you often get nuthin.

 

[Loring2]

What used to be is

Temp could be okay if companies compensated you with enough money to squirrel some away for the winter; but it aint gonna happen.

I expect the situation to deteriorate to the point where it was when I was a kid: Blacks loitered at a street corner waiting for farmers or housewives or construction companies to send pickups by for a few day workers. Then six or so would hop in the back to pick melons or shovel shit.

We've got that situation all over Califirnia right now

 

[Loring2]

Yes

This move toward temping and lessening employer loyalty to the employee is one reason I gave up spying. When the edict came out to try hiring foreign assets on an hourly, no-protections basis, I told them they were idiots and would only be getting disinformation back on such a nonsense approach--and that they could forget about extension talks on my current overseas tour.

You get what you pay for--even in employees.

A lot of disinformation is spread that way SR. You were working for the wrong org. Maybe even the wrong country.

 

[sr71plt]

A lot of disinformation is spread that way SR. You were working for the wrong org. Maybe even the wrong country.

I don't think so. Most everything I saw on the inside was working to figure out actualities, not pet prejudices. And it's the objective perspective that will keep it all on keel.