Good Jobs America : Making Work Better for Everyone

Debates in which moral imperatives run up against finite economic resources and the pragmatics of policy-making are rarely productive. Each side arrives armed with studies and statistics to support their own position—this thing must be done at all costs; this thing costs too much to do; this thing cannot realistically be done—and each usually departs with those same beliefs intact. To move beyond this impasse requires careful analysis of the assumptions and evidence, in all their varied forms, each group brings to the table. With their book Good Jobs America, Paul Osterman and Beth Shulman hope to do just that for discussions around lowwage work. They make a smart and complex case that creating good jobs does not necessarily entail sacrificing other worthwhile goals such as low prices, a healthy economy, and global competitiveness, and that when tradeoffs are necessary, the benefits ultimately outweigh the costs. (Although Osterman and Shulman conceptualized the book together, Shulman unfortunately passed away before the writing began.) The book’s greatest contribution is its clear elucidation of the myths shaping most debates and policies around low-wage work (jobs paying below poverty wage or less than two-thirds of the median wage). Following an informative and wide-ranging first chapter on the state of low-wage work in America today, the authors spend Chapter Two debunking misconceptions around lowwage work: (1) low-wage jobs are temporary positions people move through as they progress up the career ladder; (2) most bad jobs disappear when the economy improves; (3) the low-wage labor market is populated by immigrants who push down wages; (4) better jobs lead to unmotivated workers who produce less; and (5) policies around lowwage work are ineffective if not detrimental. One by one, each contention is briefly disputed by an assortment of statistics, case studies, and international comparisons. For example, the authors note that the United States lags behind comparable countries in intergenerational mobility, and few adult low-wage workers ever escape into better-paid positions. Charts demonstrate that the percentage of low-wage positions remained relatively constant throughout the boom-and-bust 1990s, disproving the claim that a strong economy necessarily leads to better jobs. The link between immigration and lowwage work is challenged by evidence that increased immigration has not pushed down wages in any significant way, and even during periods of high immigration native workers hold the majority of lowwage jobs. To dispute the notion that raising wages decrease productivity, the United States is measured against European countries with much smaller fractions of low-wage jobs which nonetheless remain competitive in international markets. Finally, minimum wage laws, which contrary to predictions do not result in fewer jobs overall, are offered as examples of effective policy-making. Subsequent chapters continue the work of myth-busting. An especially strong chapter challenges the claim that better education and improved skills alone can prevent workers from falling into low-wage jobs. Another focuses on how employers themselves think about low-wage work, providing heartening evidence that most employers want to offer better jobs but are discouraged from doing so by a combination of fear, misinformation, and lack of managerial resources. Peppered throughout this chapter, and the rest of the book, are examples of firms that have managed, through a combination of dedication and innovation, to provide high-quality jobs in sectors dominated by low-wage work (e.g., healthcare, hotels, and manufacturing). These success stories offer tangible, tested strategies for turning bad jobs into good by providing fair wages, skills training, and opportunities for advancement without compromising— and sometimes even enhancing—profitability and competitiveness. Chapter Five laments the current system of inadequate and rarely-enforced employment standards, advocating for stronger regulations to be enforced by a coalition of 410 Reviews