Cattle Call
As months of joblessness drag on — Washington's unemployment rate was 7.7 percent in June — many professionals are working their way down the employment chain. They're applying for everything from low-level service jobs to dubious multilevel marketing schemes, sectors where labor is cheap and workers are interviewed by the batch.Cattle calls.
And it's only going to get worse.
In the next 15 years, American employers will move about 3.3 million white-collar jobs and $136 billion in wages overseas, according to Forrester Research. That's up from $4 billion in wages in 2000.
Ten years ago a lot of people scoffed when manufacturing jobs started going to nations like Mexico and China saying sweatshop wages were good for developing nations while saying that workers in the U.S. would move into new fields. Does it seem so harmless now that it is white-collar jobs going too?
Also, Business Week asks, Outsourcing Jobs, Is It Bad? where some of those same defenses are re-aired.
originally posted by zagg
Comments
when poppy bush was prez, i recall applying for a job as cashier, coffee-pourer and cookie-dough-scooper at a small town bakery in the rockies. the pay was something slightly above minimum wage. the owner told me that about half a dozen applicants had shown up for their job interview in a suit and tie, carrying a leather briefcase, and offering a CV crediting them with an MBA at the top. whoa, deja vu...
Posted by: r@d@r | August 11, 2003 1:27 PM
Notice the article centers on data about CALL CENTER JOBS. Call center jobs are probably the most undesirable jobs around. I would sooner work in a factory of any type. I'd sooner work in a hospital laundry (jobs which won't be shipped overseas for reasons which might occur to you- heh).
They moved a call center to Wilkes-Barre PA, where unemployment was pretty high, and the average wage is pretty low. The city gave them some breaks, and helped build a brand new building downtown. Then it became clear that it was crappy work for people who thought it was their ticket out of retail, etc.
Absolutely no Saturdays off for any reason at all. Bad hours. Lower pay than they'd originally promised.
And they admitted that they were giving the w-b office the work that they couldn't get the people in the Maryland office to do.
Then that office went kaput, and another call center moved into the building.
Then that one moved out, and stuck the city of W-B for a bunch of taxes.
Mind you, I'm not saying we shouldn't worry about ANY JOBS (white collar or otherwise) moving over seas.
But maybe we should look at the shitty jobs some people have to do - and we'll see why many Americans don't want to do them, and why people stuck between a rock & a hard place will do them.
Working in a hospital laundry is good honest labour, doing a needed service.
Call centers are about giving unsatisfied customers the run-around for companies who don't want to give their customers proper service themselves.
Posted by: Chloe | August 11, 2003 2:07 PM
"Almost one in four U.S. workers who earn less than $40,000 has been laid off over the past three years, according to a study by Rutgers University."
Posted by: zagg | August 12, 2003 9:51 AM
how entirely depressing. i mean, reccessing.
Posted by: aldahlia | August 14, 2003 5:06 AM