Posted January 7, 2008 to Career News | Section Home | Print

New Book Examines Future of the Massachusetts Workforce

Globalization, an increasing shortage of good jobs and a lack of family friendly policies among employers pose major challenges for the Massachusetts economy and the state's labor force, according to a new book edited by Tom Juravich, professor of labor studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Published by the University of Massachusetts Press, "The Future of Work in Massachusetts" takes a hard look at the state's economy and the forces and factors shaping its labor market.

To help promote the public debate around the issues highlighted by the book, the state Legislature allocated funds to distribute copies of the "The Future of Work in Massachusetts" to every high school and public library in the commonwealth. Copies have also been sent to each state representative and senator, said Juravich.

"We need this information not only to inform political and policy debates but to be able as citizens to make informed decisions about our jobs, our work, and our future --to help us have the right dreams," writes Juravich in his introduction to the book.

Juravich says several important issues emerged from the essays:

* The major employment issue facing Massachusetts is not job training or a mismatch of skills, but a shortage of well-paid jobs. Job growth in the high-tech and information technology areas has not met expectations and most new jobs are low-wage positions in the service sector, particularly in retail

* One in five women in Massachusetts is a low-wage worker and women account for 59 percent of the low-wage workforce

* Outsourcing has moved beyond manufacturing to a wide range of industries, including those that are supposed to be part of the state's "new economy"

* In the health care sector, workers in the long-term care industry have few opportunities for advancement and job mobility

* Without formal policies governing childbirth and the transition back to work, the mental health of working-class couples who are parents is affected by job autonomy, the urgency of their jobs and supervisor support

"The Future of Work in Massachusetts" is the result of a project undertaken in 2004 by the labor studies programs at the UMass campuses in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell. With legislative funding, the programs solicited proposals for research on the future of work in the state. The preliminary findings from the selected projects were presented at a conference at UMass Boston in April, 2005. According to Juravich, a number of themes emerged from the studies and formed the framework of the book.

Most of the chapters in the volume were written by UMass system faculty and graduate students, but the contributors also include a labor studies professor from Cornell University, and labor development specialists and economists. Along with an overview of the Massachusetts economy and its workforce, the book also examines the impact of the global economy, the future of the high tech industry, conditions within the health care industry, and family and work issues.

Two chapters deal with specific case studies: the deindustrialization of Springfield and the transition of high-tech workers who were laid off from Lucent's Merrimack Valley Works in 2001 as the Internet boom faltered. In the Springfield chapter, UMass Lowell's Robert Forrant suggests that the stabilization of the city's financial base will require well-paid, stable jobs. The authors of the Merrimack Valley study, William Lazonick and Steven Quimby, conclude that low-skilled and uneducated workers affected by the Lucent layoffs were also adversely affected by a lack of good jobs in the region.

The UMass Press distributed the books to libraries and schools in November, according to its director, Bruce Wilcox. In a letter accompanying the books, Thomas W. Cole, Jr., interim chancellor of UMass Amherst, said, "The distribution of this volume represents the partnership of the University and our state leaders and demonstrates our commitment to education in the Commonwealth."