How are things different today for working class people and unions Essay

How are things different today for working class people and unions than in the days of Working Class New York - Essay Example In the United States, for instance, the working class people are mainly employed in jobs that do not require a lot of skills like clerks, retailers, and blue collar or manual jobs. Some white collar jobs like secretaries and call center employees also fall under the category of working class jobs (Shipler, p.36) For many years, New York City has been a working class city. During the period of the working class in New York, most people were employed in the manufacturing sector since there were many industries then. However, this is not the case today. Today there are fewer workers working in the manufacturing sectors in New York than during the period of working class in New York. Most people are employed in the service sector (Freeman, p.30) During the working class era in New York, workers were assured of the job security. They were not subjected to being laid off as a result of hard economic times. However, today’s working class face the challenge of ‘irregular employment’ since they are fired every now and then and hired again due to economic changes. It mainly affects workers in weak labor markets and those employed on a part-time basis. The economy of many nations all over the globe has continued to face stagnant growth unlike the period of the working class in New York. This has in turn slowed down creation of job opportunities and retrenching of many people who are in the working class category. Therefore, unlike in the past, many people in the United States and other parts of the world are unemployed. The unemployment rate in the United States in 2003 was at around 7%. Real wages for all workers have continued to decline due to inflation and other economic factors. Today, even when workers ar e employed they still continue to get by as compared to the period of Working Class Period in New York. During the period of working class New York, workers’ rights were protected by strong trade unions. In the United States, trade unions experienced many