SHIFTING ECONOMIES

Questions

1. Are teachers workers? Why have many teachers formed unions? Do teachers' unions help or harm education?
2. What dangers were there in places you or your parents or friends have worked? What hazards are there in jobs typically held by teenagers? Are there jobs you would not take because of their danger, no matter how badly you needed the work or how well it paid?
3. Why is the number of part-time jobs in the U.S. increasing? Why do 90% of U.S. businesses use temps? How might this trend impact the quality of life of workers? The economy?

Activities

1. Each year 60,000 US workers are killed on the job and nearly 7 million are injured. Ask family members if their workplaces are safe. What hazards, if any, do they encounter and what safety measures are taken? Report your findings to the class.
2. Research Rochester employers who have relocated jobs to the South or to another country. What was the impact on local workers and the local economy?
3. Look at the application form for a fast-food franchise. Does it contain employment-at-will language? Why do you think the employer wants to impose these conditions?

Vocabulary downsize

benefits

contract out

boycott

Glossary

employment-at-will: workers unprotected by collectively bargained agreements may be fired for any reason or for no reason, at any time.

Resources

Map/Guide # 40
New York Committee on Occupational Safety and Health website: www.nycosh.org
New York State United Teachers website: www.nysut.org
Barbara Ehrenreich, Nickel and Dimed. (2001)