Working in America : A Blueprint for the New Labor Market

The American labor market faces many deep-rooted problems, including persistence of alarge low-wage sector, worsening inequality in earnings, employees' lack of voice in the workplace,and the need of employers to maximize flexibility if they are to survive in an increasinglycompetitive market. The impetus for this book is the absence of a serious national debate aboutthese issues.The book represents nearly three years of deliberation by more than 250 people drawnfrom business, labor, community groups, academia, and government. It traces today's labor-marketpolicy and laws back to the New Deal and to a second wave of social regulation that began in the1960s. Underlying the current system are assumptions about who is working, what workers do, and howmuch job security workers enjoy. Economic and social changes have rendered those assumptions invalidand have resulted in mismatches between labor institutions and efficient and equitable deployment ofthe workforce, as well as between commitments to the labor market and family responsibilities. Thisbook should launch a national dialogue on how to update our policies and institutions to catch upwith the changes in the nature of work, in the workforce, and in the economy.