Book Event at AFL-CIO: ‘Love the Work, Hate the Job’

by James Parks, Jul 29, 2008

The United States has some of the most productive workers in the world. But in a short-sighted race for the bottom line, employers are cutting costs at the expense of workers, depriving businesses of their greatest asset—their employees.  

In his new book, Love the Work, Hate the Job:  Why America’s Best Workers Are More Unhappy Than Ever, author David Kusnet tells the stories of workers who like the content of their work—but not their working conditions—at four companies in the Seattle area:  Microsoft, Boeing, Kaiser Aluminum and Northwest Hospital. And they are turning to unions to improve the quality of their work.

Kusnet, a visiting fellow at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and former chief speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, will discuss his book tomorrow at the AFL-CIO in Washington, D.C.

Kusnet argues the best way for the United States to compete in the global economy is by improving quality and helping workers to do their jobs well. Yet when talking with workers, they told him the opposite is happening—and they’re fighting back. For instance, Boeing aircraft engineers and technicians conducted one of the longest and largest strikes in private industry history in 2000 and nurses at Northwest Hospital joined a union to stop short-staffing. Says Kusnet: 

[These workers] love their work…but they are beginning to hate their jobs and the conditions under which they do their work. Their thwarted desires to do their best work contributed to problems in the workplace. These events set the tone for a new kind of workplace conflict that will become increasingly common in the twenty-first century. Disputes will set workers who are concerned with quality against employers who are mainly motivated by their quarterly profit statements.

Paul Almeida, president of the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees (DPE), which is co-sponsoring the event along with EPI, knows from experience what Kusnet is saying. As president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) in 2000, he was a leader in the Boeing strike. Says Almeida:

Kusnet compellingly tells a crucial untold story that professional and technical workers know all too well. In company after company, professionals are struggling for a chance to do their work well. Only high quality will make their employers flourish and professionals are coming to unions for the power to make a future. That’s why, when the engineers at Boeing went on strike in 2000, they said they were striking for Boeing, not against it. 

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