The Big SqueezeWhy, in the world's most affluent nation, are so many corporations squeezing their employees dry? In this fresh, carefully researched book, New York Times reporter Steven Greenhouse explores the economic, political, and social trends that are transforming America's workplaces, including the decline of the social contract that created the world's largest middle class and guaranteed job security and good pensions. We meet all kinds of workers—white-collar and blue-collar, high-tech and low-tech, middle-class and low-income—as we see shocking examples of injustice, including employees who are locked in during a hurricane or fired after suffering debilitating, on-the-job injuries.
With pragmatic recommendations on what government, business and labor should do to alleviate the economic crunch, The Big Squeeze is a balanced, consistently revealing look at a major American crisis. |
Contents
| 3 | |
| 15 | |
Chapter Three The Vise Tightens | 35 |
Chapter Four Downright Dickensian | 49 |
Chapter Five The Rise and Fall of the Social Contract | 71 |
Chapter Six Leaner and Meaner | 98 |
Chapter Seven Here Today Gone Tomorrow | 117 |
Chapter Eight WalMart the LowWage Colossus | 135 |
Chapter Thirteen The State of the Unions | 241 |
Chapter Fourteen Starting Out Means a Steeper Climb | 263 |
Chapter Fifteen The NotSoGolden Years | 276 |
Acknowledgments | 305 |