Say goodbye to full-time jobs with benefits

Say goodbye to full-time jobs with benefits

money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Jobs may be coming back, but they aren't the same ones workers were used to.

Many of the jobs employers are adding are temporary or contract positions, rather than traditional full-time jobs with benefits. With unemployment remaining near 10%, employers have their pick of workers willing to accept less secure positions.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Now this something that is a growing reality and it's spreading fast. Contract employees, which I've been, are replacing full-time positions in nearly every industry. Not only does this increase the profits for corporations and reduce the salary and stability of jobs, but it can also directly affect family and the quality of life.
Prime example is the 4 year career which I just recently lost, as a contract employee I would be sent all over the U.S. for various time frames and I spent 6-8 months on the road a year. Sure, I was able to stomach this up until the point when my "handler" demanded that I go to places like Nigeria for an "undisclosed" amount of time for no added incentive. When I rejected, immediately my contract was terminated and I was sent packing just to replaced by another contract employee.
That all being said, it's apparent that we are now fully considered as a commodity or a "human resource" and this has been in the works for quite some time. Brave New World here we come...

money.cnn.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I am not sure about the rest of the country but here in NY, that story is at least a decade late.

That is all I have to say about that.

reply to post by UndergroundMilitia


For added displeasure, check out this thread----> www.abovetopsecret.com... The unemployed need not apply???!!

Said that a year ago. Even those jobs will not last. Soon you can say good bye to most jobs! Also the real numbers are up over 20%. The 10% figure is due to government fuzzy math.

They never factor in under-employment.

I have known quite a few people working in retail over the years. The wages are the same as they were 20 years ago. And on average, most people work maybe 20 hours a week, not 40 anymore.

Not to mention, most people I know in retail today get "assigned" different shifts every week. They never know when they are going to be working or how many hours they will get. It's absolutely bizarre.

Originally posted by K J Gunderson
I am not sure about the rest of the country but here in NY, that story is at least a decade late.

That is all I have to say about that.

True, I'm from NY and the workforce is heavily contracted, especially in the trade unions. Problem is though, now even companies like Dollar General are doing this. Ever hear of a company (one of many) called Market Force? This company hires people to actually go to various stores and complete tasks that the traditional employee would do, like stock shelves, conduct inventory or put up displays. They usually pay a contracted person $6 to drive (no gas or mileage) to the location and perform the task. I know it sounds crazy but it's true.

www.marketforce.com...

Originally posted by hawkiye
Said that a year ago. Even those jobs will not last. Soon you can say good bye to most jobs! Also the real numbers are up over 20%. The 10% figure is due to government fuzzy math.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. What a BS number that is. I guess they do their math the same way BP calculates oil flow...

reply to post by UndergroundMilitia


Yes. I've seen the contractor positions being offered on Careerbuilder. I thought contractor for tech support ... how odd.

reply to post by UndergroundMilitia


We said goodbye to this a long time ago where I lived.

Sad, isn't it?

Now we can live the dream, where we are responsible for ourselves. Survival of the fittest.

The only thing is that my parents got above this in their time. They thought it would never end, and so told me this was the way it always would be.

And I believed. And found out the truth long ago. It didn't make sense at all. It surely couldn't continue.

The hope and change, where have I heard that recently, that my grandparents struggled for and were able to give, they thought, to their kids, went only so far.

Just like in the 1950's and I was sitting in the car while my dad was filling up the tank with 13 cents a gallon gasoline, and cursing the price. lol And I asked my mom, "What will happen when the gas runs out?" And she told me to not be stupid. The gas will never run out.

The "gas" does run out. The retirement packages do run out. As I remarked to my dear sister about 12 years ago, the income does get lower, especially as we try to raise the income of those less than us. We, all of us, who are not in the loop of the big money, will have to give up things. She found my remarks shocking, What? "I barely make enough to get by now. How am I going to live in retirement?" You aren't I said, you will work until you are dead or can no longer move, and then you will be poorly taken care of by the state.

Impossible, she thought. Democrats wouldn't do this to us. They have the solutions to take the money from the rich and give to the poor. But, you are not the poor, I said. You have more than others, and yours will be taken to give to others, both rich and poor.

As Barak Obama once said while on the campaign trail, "We all must give up a little skin."

And I add, "But some will give up more skln than others."

And it ain't Obama giving up any skin. He's gaining skin, although it seems a bit thin.

Animal Farm anyone? "All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others." Hey! Who and when did someone add that last bit of the sentence?

I adored Snowball. But he lost out to human/animal nature.

Damn that Napolean!

I just wanted to add. It's not left/right, Dems/Pubs, but that is the way my sister views it. Thus the remark about Dems from my sister. But, we here on ATS know better than this, right?

[edit on 4-6-2010 by kyred]

I live in the Midwest and recently I have noticed the job ads are for contract workers also. Thankfully I have a FT job w/ benefits, but this sounds like a very disturbing trend....

The problem lies in the illegal immigration and it's long term effect. We now have people willing to work in these parameters and so why would an employer go the old route since the job can be done effectively for less money, the company is there to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible, after all.

some may not realize but, if a worker is earning say $12.00 per hour ,the employer actually pays out around $14.00 per hour to benefits etc.. now add in the benefits such as health life and disability ins. which the employers matches $ for $ and you can start to understand why contracting makes more economical sense.

Human Resources, yes in so far as the people are the resources that lets me run my business but it's a business none the less and it needs to be as viable as possible.

S for OP,

So bring the U.S. down to lower standards, then introduce the Amero while the playing field is more equal. This is also why our Gov. doesn't give a crap about ILLEGALS. I will continue to fight as long as I can for how things used to be.

reply to post by kyred


Four legs good, two legs bad! Thanks for your comment.

Employment is becoming a real big problem all over the world. Europe and the US are too costly in comparison to cheap labor countries. This isn't going to get any better. Asia seems to have all the blue collar jobs right now and All the World Executives are reaping the rewards from this recent advantage. I'm tired of this bleak outlook. Something needs to change now.

The problem is coming from the business executives and the governmental leaders. These two have their own agenda which doesn't include people's lives. Profit and Power seem to be the root of this evil. These two entities bent over backwards to get their Global Economy set up. It's working for them but it is not working for us.

Since this has become a Global issue then I believe the people need to give a new power to a World Governing Body. Employment needs to be regulated on a international scale in order to make the competition fair. Right now Asia could be considered a Monopoly for manufacturing jobs. All Monopolies need to be broken up for fair business. I guess all currencies need change to make this sort of thing happen.

Lets bring to life the United Employment Organization - UEO. Let it set up fair trading and world employment and a number of other factors to secure employment for each country as its member. A country or business who violates its prime directives will get an Embargo and a Boycott from the member countries.

Boycott all businesses who outsourced their manufacturing. Here's an example of what could be done.

Microsoft invented the XBOX. Microsoft is a US company so XBOX has to be manufactured in the US. Sony Playstation is a Japanese company so Japan has to manufacture Playstations. China would need to invent their own game consoles to compete with XBOX and Playstation. Once they invented their own then they could build it on their soil. You get my drift. You invent it, you make it and you sell it where it originated from. If you want to sell it internationally you have to pay a tariff. This is the only way to fix this problem.

The reason why the housing market crashed is because everyone was loosing their jobs and no one could pay the mortgages anymore. Protectionism can come back as long as it is governed by an international body whose interests are for the People. Corrupt business men and country leaders will be thrown into the Gulf of Mexico to help soak up the oil. Sucking up that oil with be a better service to mankind than their greedy profit agenda.

You can thank the CGI industry for that crap. No company such as EA or Pixar ever have permanent jobs. they offer contracts and once your job is done they let you go. America has gone down the toilet.

Originally posted by 5 oClock
S for OP,

So bring the U.S. down to lower standards, then introduce the Amero while the playing field is more equal. This is also why our Gov. doesn't give a crap about ILLEGALS. I will continue to fight as long as I can for how things used to be.

Currently, I have a full-time job with pretty nice benefits. True, we haven't had a raise in two years but the status-quo is holding for now.

We all like to think that our employers can't do without us but I've been around long enough to know that's bull.

reply to post by UndergroundMilitia


We have pretty much already said goodbye to jobs with benefits around here. There aren't many industrial jobs left here, thanks to Nafta, and most all the construction industry are using immigrant workers, illegal and legal, it leaves stores, restraunts, entertainment industry and none of those will provide insurance or paid vacations

My late Father was a Trade Union Leader for fifteen years.
I once whined to him about my working conditions when I was a part time Cab driver whilst studying.
He just laughed at me, and said"You have no power you have no union , no solidarity in the industry so what do you expect?
I now know how right he was.
No power ....no gain.
The reason we are all getting a smaller slice is because we have forfieted power?
Power.... nothing is won without it?

Originally posted by Dr Expired
My late Father was a Trade Union Leader for fifteen years.
I once whined to him about my working conditions when I was a part time Cab driver whilst studying.
He just laughed at me, and said"You have no power you have no union , no solidarity in the industry so what do you expect?
I now know how right he was.
No power ....no gain.
The reason we are all getting a smaller slice is because we have forfieted power?
Power.... nothing is won without it?

You are correct!! The American worker whether union or non union began losing power as unions lost their power. Now its an employers market and they treat you as crappy as they want. First thing that should be done is get rid of the illlegals/cheap labor.........