The Big Rig

Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream
1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-0-520-27812-7
Verlag: University of California Press

Buch, Englisch, 284 Seiten, Trade Paperback, Format (B × H): 154 mm x 228 mm, Gewicht: 404 g

Long-haul trucks have been described as sweatshops on wheels. The typical long-haul trucker works the equivalent of two full-time jobs, often for little more than minimum wage. But it wasn’t always this way. Trucking used to be one of the best working-class jobs in the United States.  

The Big Rig explains how this massive degradation in the quality of work has occurred, and how companies achieve a compliant and dedicated workforce despite it. Drawing on more than 100 in-depth interviews and years of extensive observation, including six months training and working as a long-haul trucker, Viscelli explains in detail how labor is recruited, trained, and used in the industry. He then shows how inexperienced workers are convinced to lease a truck and to work as independent contractors. He explains how deregulation and collective action by employers transformed trucking’s labor markets--once dominated by the largest and most powerful union in US history--into an important example of the costs of contemporary labor markets for workers and the general public.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Viscelli, Steve

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Wirtschaftssoziologie, Arbeitssoziologie, Organisationssoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftswissenschaften Wirtschaftsgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wirtschaftsgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments

Introduction. Where Did All These Bad Jobs Come From? 

1. The CDL Mill: Training the Professional Steering-Wheel Holder
2. Cheap Freight, Cheap Drivers: Work as a Long-Haul Trucker
3. The Big Rig: Running the Contractor Confidence Game
4. Working for the Truck: The Harsh Reality of Contracting
5. Someone to Turn To: Managing Contractors from an Arm’s Length Away
6. “No More Jimmy Hoff as”: Desperate Drivers and Divided Labor

Appendix A. Data and Methods
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Steve Viscelli is a political sociologist and lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also a senior associate at the Center on Wisconsin Strategy. In addition to his academic research, he works with a range of public and private stakeholders to make the trucking industry safer, more efficient, and a better place to work. To learn more, please visit: http://www.steveviscelli.com/.