In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

46 Chapter 2 Jobs, Opportunities, and Fairness: The Stakes of Equal Opportunity If I had worked every day and my job was constant and I didn’t . . . I had one steady job, I think my life would be a lot less complicated, and my goals would be pretty much set, because my goal in life is just to live comfortably and take care of my children. —A union painter from New Jersey (D012 NJ M WC) I think the average working guy in the United States should be able to have his own home paid for. He should be able to have some money in the bank when he retires. . . . Now granted, I’ve told you, I’ve had a lot of help, but a lot of other people have had help too. . . . I witnessed a lot of change in my lifetime. . . . When I graduated from high school, there were any number of companies in this area that paid a competitive wage. There aren’t now. You know, there’s nineteen or twenty people out there would take my job in a heartbeat, because they’re working for a company that’s even meaner, that’s paying them $7 an hour, is less concerned about their health and safety on the job. . . . About the ’80s, things got grim around here. Companies folded, moved south. A lot of people were shafted. . . . I’m glad I’m not a kid trying to get started today. —A factory worker from Ohio (E307 OH M WC) T hese working-class men told important stories that revealed a great deal about what is at stake for those who are subjected to the uncertainties of the labor market. Further, the contrast in their life situations highlights both what being protected from market competition means for many white workers and how difficult it is sometimes to hold on to a middle-class lifestyle for workers who cannot find a stable job protected from the market. Both men were union members, but neither of them was in ideal circumstances. The New Jersey man belonged DiTomaso.indb 46 12/12/2012 7:28:36 AM Jobs, Opportunities, and Fairness 47 to a union, but he could not get jobs that paid union wages. In contrast, the Ohio man, also a union member, had a steady work history, but faced constant challenges in an aversive work environment and had to deal with the downsides of labor-management relations. In this chapter, I explore what is at stake for workers who are vulnerable to the vagaries of the job market, what workers think of as the appropriate goals for them to pursue, and how opportunity hoarding works as a strategy for obtaining their goals. In the next chapter, I discuss the extensiveness of opportunity hoarding and its limitations. The work history of the New Jersey man quoted at the beginning of the chapter illustrates how precarious life can be for some workers. Although this interviewee was able to obtain a number of unionized jobs in different firms, he suffered the consequences of companies attempting to undermine or remove themselves from paying union wages and to circumvent safety rules and regulations to save costs. Some of the companies he worked for closed or moved elsewhere (often to the South). Other former employers went out of business after safety violations were found and the government moved in. A number of the jobs that he had held were extremely dangerous, especially in terms of exposure to chemicals, and yet he often dismissed or set aside his concerns about safety because he needed a job that would allow him to support his family. This New Jersey man started out in a job he obtained with the help of his brother, but that first employer closed because of safety violations. Unfortunately, his initial experience was not unique. Throughout a history of holding low-skilled factory jobs, this interviewee faced losing his job to plant closings, being laid off, and being fired. His best job was as a unionized truck driver, but he lost that job after being caught with drugs. With the help of his brothers and friends, he found a series of new jobs, but again experienced plant closings and other forms of job instability. At the time of the interview, he explained, yet another brother had helped him get into the painters’ union (which involved paying a substantial entrance fee and yearly dues), but he and many other painters could not make ends meet...

Share