The temporary help supply (THS) industry is an ideal prism through which to view the labor market. As one of the fastest growing industries in the United States it is an important phenomenon in its own right. As a labor market intermediary which weakens the attachment between employer and employee the industry is indicative of larger changes in the organization of labor relations. Finally, as an industry two thirds of whose employees are female, it captures some of the dynamics of the way in which gender operates in the labor market. The dissertation considers three aspects of the temporary help industry. First, the relationship between the temporary help industry and the increase in female labor force participation rates is considered. A common argument in the literature is that women with family responsibilities choose THS employment because of the flexibility it affords. Using Current Population Survey microdata tapes, this hypothesis is tested and rejected. Instead, I argue that the gender of the worker is a salient feature in the determination of occupational characteristics. This is in contrast to other political economy models which view the labor market as divided into good jobs and bad jobs, with workers then allocated according to their position in a social hierarchy. Second, if growth in the industry is not being driven by employee preferences, what is driving it? Explicitly incorporating conflict into the labor market, I argue that part of the markup, i.e. the difference between what the THS firm pays the worker and what it charges its client firms, is the cost of disciplining a worker who otherwise has little stake in the company's future and therefore might incur productivity problems for the client firm. Finally, I discuss the conditions under which reliance on a temporary help firm is a viable option for employers. Using annual data from County Business Patterns I demonstrate that neither cyclical nor secular variability in demand nor the growth of service employment fully explain the growth of THS employment. Rather, THS employment reflects structural change in the system of labor relations.

How have the neoliberal concept of "comparative advantage" and the neostructuralist concept of "systemic competitiveness" interacted with State and capitalist efforts to exert control over labor during the transition from ISI to export-oriented accumulation? How have neoliberal and neostructuralist modes of conceptualizing export competitiveness impacted upon the organization of production, the labor process and the reproduction of labor power in Chile? Grounded on these questions, this dissertation examines how these two schools conceive export-competitiveness and make it operational through different export-promotion policies. Particular attention is placed on the neostructuralist claim that there exist two distinct and separate paths to reach competitiveness: a spurious form attained at the expense of workers' wages and a genuine form rooted in the absorption of technical change. Based on aggregate macroeconomic and macrosocial data, ISIC data at the 3 digit level for manufacturing, as well as three case studies--in textile and metal-working--this dissertation examines whether productive efficiency and export-competitiveness has been attained through a reduction of labor costs, technological innovation, or a combination of both that defies the clear-cut dichotomy posited by neostructuralism. Based on the study of manufacturing exports--where allegedly a 'virtuous circle' would allow for concomitant increases in wages, productivity and the establishment of social accords at the enterprise-level--this dissertation concludes that export competitiveness is rooted in socially constructed relations of power ignored by both neoliberal and neostructuralist theories.

American companies have experimented with "employee involvement" (EI), also referred to as "workplace democracy," "quality of worklife," and "participatory decision making" since the late 1960's. Results are mixed but interest remains high because organizations that have adapted to this new form are industry leaders. Research of the literature suggested (and this research agrees) that EI will be a long term success when management: (1) shares information and power at all levels of the organizational unit, (2) emphasizes cooperative problem solving to meet organizational goals, and (3) engenders a sense of dignity, meaning and community in every employee in the organizational unit. This study at four manufacturing sites investigates the link between the process of change to EI management and managers' beliefs. In-depth interviews of 25 managers and 8 hourly employees (plus printed matter) provide data for this qualitative research. "Grounded theory" from the data generated five Management Characteristics and seven Antecedents for Change which provide a framework for further analysis of managers' beliefs related to EI. Research sites had different types of manufacturing, different organizational histories, and EI programs were at different stages of development, but 13 themes emerged which were highly consistent (and two themes that were dissimilar were still clearly significant to the change process). The study establishes that both the organizational change process and Antecedents affect a manager's response to EI. Some experiences and beliefs make it easier for a manager to adapt to EI management and some make it more difficult. Antecedents that were shown to have both positive and negative affects on the process include self confidence, family, education, and work experiences, mentors, organizational culture, and personal characteristics, beliefs and values.

Inner-city economic development as well as educational reform is essential for empowering poor urban residents to compete in the economy and polity. Increasingly, the notion of local control over economic development, and education to that end, has arisen as a critical concern among theoreticians and practitioners. A model that inextricably entertwines economic control with education is worker-controlled and -owned enterprise. Such enterprises can provide jobs and income for often-unemployed urban residents who have been particularly hard-hit by economic restructuring, recession, and racism. Within such enterprises, poor and low-skilled workers are challenged by and imparted dignity through participation in policy decision-making and work design. A focus on economic development moves the civil rights agenda of the 1960's and '70's to confrontation with contemporary economic and racial realities, while collective (albeit private) control of enterprise challenges conservative, traditional approaches to community economic development. A highly successful home-health care enterprise in New York City which has created a substantial number of high-quality, low-skilled jobs for inner-city residents utilizing the worker-controlled and -owned model was studied. A case-study approach to determine the historical sequence of events was employed. A qualitative methodology involving interviews with individual workers and managers as well as statistically-compiled responses from virtually all workers to determine worker participation and satisfaction was utilized. The enterprise was compared with other traditionally-structured New York City home health care agencies as well as with another worker-controlled and -owned enterprise which was not a home health care agency. The study concluded that the worker-controlled and -owned model can be effective in addressing both urban poverty and poor education. Six essential elements for achieving democratic urban economic development are: (1) job creation; (2) service to local low-to-moderate income constituency; (3) design of challenging, full-time, tenured work; (4) democratization of workplace decision-making and profit; (5) payment of reasonable wages and benefits; and (6) contribution to further community economic development. The model studied introduced worker-ownership only after the enterprise had stabilized out of consideration for poor workers' financial limitations as well as a need for managerial control in establishing a viable enterprise. A nonformal educational method proved highly effective with low-skilled workers.

<p> Intimately interwoven in American culture is the unquestioned notion of paid labor as a personally gratifying moral and civic responsibility. Yet, of the 46 million Americans living in poverty in 2010, 23% held jobs (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). The U.S. fast food industry employs 4 million workers (Statista, 2014) and &ldquo;pays the minimum wage to a higher portion of its workers than any other American industry&rdquo; (Schlosser, 2001). </p><p> The research methodology for this study was critical ethnography, which explores a cultural phenomenon and attempts to provoke social change by giving voice to marginalized communities (Thomas, 1993). A New York City&ndash;based nonprofit organization working to organize fast food workers was the field site for the study. The mining of empirical material involved multiple qualitative research methods, including observation, document and artifact analysis, and interviews with 25 fast food workers who participated at one or more strikes. This study addressed a single research question: What role does work ethic as a legitimizing myth play in the work lives of New York City fast food workers who live and work in New York City and who have participated in work actions or demonstrations? Sidanius (1999) defined legitimizing myths&mdash;an element of his social dominance theory&mdash;as &ldquo;values, attitudes, beliefs, causal attributions, and ideologies providing moral and intellectual justifications for social practices that either increase, maintain, or decrease levels of social inequality among social groups&rdquo; (p. 104). </p><p> The study found that the role of work ethic as a hierarchy-enhancing legitimizing myth appeared to depend upon what the individual was fighting to achieve when she or he joined the Fight for $15, i.e., emancipation, reciprocity, worker solidarity, or personal development. Stigma and stigmatization appeared to act as a mechanism to maintain group-based social hierarchy and thereby reinforce the legitimization of the work ethic myth. In addition, the research participants had low expectations of escaping poverty in the future and experienced anxiety about the temporal nature of a future positive financial situation, further legitimizing the work ethic narrative. Recommendations based on these findings are offered for theory and research, and policy and practice.</p><p>