The Welfare Assembly Line: Public Servants in the Suffering CityDespite claims that we live in a "post-welfare society," welfare offices remain vital not only for those who depend on them for benefits but also for those who depend on them for a paycheck. This book, a theory-driven case study of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, examines how welfare work has transformed to allow a department of just 14,000 to serve more than a third of the county. Josh Seim argues that frontline workers at this agency—who are mostly Black and Brown women—have become increasingly proletarianized. Their work is defined less by their discretion and more by a lack of control over the productive process. This is enabled by a "welfare assembly line," where a high division of labor and heavy use of machinery resemble production regimes in factories and fast-food restaurants. With implications beyond the welfare office, The Welfare Assembly Line is a crucial addition to the broader national conversation about work, social policy, and poverty governance. |
Other editions - View all
The Welfare Assembly Line: Public Servants in the Suffering City Josh Seim No preview available - 2026 |
Common terms and phrases
administrators AFDC agency Alicia Escalante Angeles County Department Archives assistance automation benefits Board of Supervisors bureaucracy CalFresh California State Senate CalSAWS CalWORKs Camila Carmen caseloads casework cash aid chapter clients county job cubicle customer service Department of Public disciplinary power discretion district offices domestic violence DPSS eligibility workers employees employment focused Folder food stamps frontline labor frontline welfare frontline workers GAIN workers Gloria Molina housefare increased Industrial Relations Records interview Kayla labor market labor power labor process Latina Latino Lipsky Los Angeles County Maximus medfare Medi-Cal ment mental health noted paperwork participants people-changing people-processing percent poverty Public Social Services recipients referrals relative Relief Rosa runaround schoolfare Senate Industrial Relations Social Services Records social workers Sofia South Los Angeles street-level bureaucrats tasks taskwork tion told Tracy union Vanessa Watkins-Hayes welfare assembly line welfare offices welfare workers welfare-to-work welfare-to-work programming Wendy workfare WTW workers Yvonne Brathwaite Burke