Low-wage work Morgan Jones, Kelsey Huang, Natalie Hubert, Andrew Stafford

Definition and Characteristics ●A job paying less than two thirds the median wage or ●A full time, year round worker earns less than the poverty threshold for a family of four o in in 3 jobs were considered low-wage ●Generally o low skill o less hours or non-standard hours o lack of benefits offered o little opportunity for advancement o requiring few credentials and limited education o at risk for poverty

Reasons for Low-Wage Work ●Involuntary Part-Time o Workers who prefer full time employment  cut labor costs  accounts for most of part-time growth since 1969  scheduling flexibility (employer perspective) o Part time workers made 58% of full timers in 1989 o Shift from manufacturing to service jobs  low wage, low skill, high turnover o Deunionization

Involuntary Part-Time

Significance ●Driving Income inequality ●Disconnect between pay and productivity

What we know ●Increase in the federal Minimum wage from $5.15 in 2006 to $7.25 in 2009 ●Nearly 41% increase in the minimum wage in 2009 ●In 2009 the federal minimum wage is suggested to be 7.8% less than its value in 1967 ●In 2011 the minimum wage was calculated to be 37% of what an average worker earned per hour ●This is a major factor in the rising inequality in the United States

Possible Solutions ●Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 by 2017 ●Tax penalties for companies who have low wage workers

Rising Inequality

Raising the Minimum Wage ●Provide a boost in income to low-wage with small increase to $10.10 by 2017 ●A moderate increase to the minimum wage o About 17 million workers would receive a wage boost  About 8 million children are in families that would be affected o Mostly Adults would be affected  84% over the age of 20  47% over the age of 30

Research on Raising the Minimum Wage ●Hasn’t been raised in over 5 years ●Mens average wage has decreased over the last thirty years ●Small to moderate increases to the minimum wage o Evidence points to little or no employment response o Likely has no effect on prices rising such as in 1991

Tax Penalty to Companies ●Employees living in poverty o better pay/benefits or tax o pay for government coverage

Young’s Research -Young, Alford “The Work-Family Divide for Low-Income African Americans.” - Work/family conflict has even worse effect on low-income families (4 different African Americans discussed in the book) - jobs only for fulfilling basic needs and interest of family members;

Research *Henly, Julia R. and Susan Lambert “Nonstandard Work and Child-Care Needs of Low-Income Parents.” ●Low income workers often experience volatile and non standard scheduling challenges ○ Low- skilled jobs have non standard features ○ About half of low-wage hourly workers have nonstandard schedule ●Child care issues ○Parents with fluctuating or nontraditional job schedules have difficulty accessing licensed child care ○Nonstandard schedules impact children's behaviors, educational outcomes, parent-child interaction.

Thank you for your time and consideration On low-wage work

Citations Bernstein, Jared, and Maury Gittleman. "Exploring Low-wage Labor with the National Compensation Survey." Monthly Labor Review /12 (2003): Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. 25 Feb Bernstein, Jared, and Sharon Parrott. "Proposal to Strengthen Minimum Wage Would Help Low-Wage Workers, With Little Impact on Employment." Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (2014): n. pag. Web. 25 Feb BivensBivens., Elise Gould., Lawrence Mishel., Heidi Shierholz, “Raising America’s Pay Why-It’s Our Central Economic Policy Challenge, “Economic Policy Institute, June 4, 2014, Elise GouldLawrence MishelHeidi Shierholzhttp:// Boushey, Heather, Shawn Fremstad, Rachel Gragg, and Margy Waller. "Understanding Low-Wage Work the United States." The Mobility Agenda (2007): n. pag. Web. 25 Feb Cooper, David. "Raising the Federal Minimum Wage to $10.10 Would Save Safety Net Programs Billions and Help Ensure Businesses Are Doing Their Fair Share." Economic Policy Institute (2014): n. pag. Web. 25 Feb Damaske, Sarah. For the Family?: How Class and Gender Shape Women's Work. New York: Oxford UP, Print. Elise GouldElise Gould, “Why America’s Workers Need Faster Wage Growth—And What We Can Do About It,”Economic Policy Institute, August 27, 2014, Gerstel, Naomi, and Harriet Gross. Families and Work. Philadelphia: Temple UP, Print.

"Involuntary Part-time Work on the Rise." Issues in Labor Statistics (2008): 1-4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dec Web. 26 Feb Lawrence Mishel, “ Union, inequality, and faltering middle-class wages,” Economic Policy Institute, August 29, Pager, Devah, Bruce Western, and Bart Bonikowski “Discrimination in a Low-Wage Labor Market: A Field Experiment”, American Sociological Review 74: Richard C. Kearney, Labor Relations in the Public Sector ( New York, New York: CRC Press, 2009), 14Josh Bivens., Elise Gould., JoshJosh BivensElise Gould Josh Tilly, Chris. "Reasons for the Continuing Growth of Part-Time Employment." Monthly Labor Review (1991): HeinOnline. Web. 25 Feb. 201 Lambert, Susan, and Julia Henly. "Nonstandard Work and Child-Care Needs of Low-Income Parents." (2005): n. pag. Print.