This document outlines Chris Benner's presentation on analyzing labor processes spatially and temporally. It discusses how labor processes have changed from industrial to informational economies, with work becoming more networked, unpredictable, and mediated through multiple employers. It argues for analyzing the key dimensions of work, space, time and employment across different contexts. The document then discusses potential solutions like developing regional worker organizations that focus on issues beyond individual jobs like healthcare, housing and governance to promote community-based careers and economic stability.

1. Opening the Black BoxSpace, Time and the Geography of the Labor Process Presentation to Geography Seminar What’s Space Got to Do With It? Making Geography Relevant in the 21st Century September 21, 2011 Chris Benner University of California, Davis ccbenner@ucdavis.edu

2. Outline The Job Crisis Geography to the rescue!?! Towards a new social compact?

7. Typical proposed solutions

12. Walt, Carmen De Navas, Bernadette Proctor and Jessica Smith (2011) Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010, p60-239, Current Population Reports, Consumer Income (U.S. Census Bureau), http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p60-239.pdf

17. http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/01/art3full.pdf

20. Pittsburgh steel work in the 1950s Steel-production, material transformation Work, job, career and generational stability Single employer largely controlled labor process Union—clear role in negotiating work and employment conditions

21. Silicon Valley in the 1990s Information transformation 87% of all job growth 1990-2001 in firms that didn’t exist in 1990. In driving industry clusters, newly established firms accounted for 260,000 new jobs, while firms that existed in 1990 lost 120,000 Top 100 “half-life” of about 7 years. Median job tenure: 30 months, Market-mediated “employability” management; networked production

22. ISP Customer Service in 2006 Information Processing Agents in South Africa, interacting with internet service provider customers across the U.S. Five corporate ‘employers’ in two countries ISP-US SA Computer Company 2 different temporary help firms 1 joint venture ‘legal employer’ Labor process driven by real-time benchmarking across at least 6 more companies and 4 countries 0  1,500  0 in 3 years

23. Rethinking economic institutions Geographic analysis of informational cities & economies Networked infrastructures, technological mobilities and splintering urbanism Corporations ≈ legal entities and flexible platforms for organizing temporary production systems Networks and value chains Clusters, relational assets, untraded interdependencies, communities of practice… Networked spatial processes and evolution over time are key! Geographical analysis of informational labor process …?

24. Labor process Labor Process WORK SPACE TIME EMPLOYMENT

25. SWET-Dimensions of labor process WORK SPACE TIME EMPLOYMENT

30. Analyzing the labor process THE STATE Infrastructure, Regulation and Enforcement (Scale) Dynamics of Competition & Cooperation (Sector, Territory, Networks, Governance,…) Dynamics of Competition & Cooperation (Race, Class Gender, Age, Networks Territory, Governance,…) Labor Process WORKERS FIRMS W T S E Labor Market Intermediaries

31. SWET Analysis of Labor Process Silicon Valley and Milwaukee labor markets Quality of intermediaries in career outcomes Guilds as soft-infrastructure in innovation Regional leadership and governance South Africa tele-mediated work Industry strategy versus job attraction Career ladders and upgrading U.S. newspaper journalists and sales staff Disconnection between quality and revenue Hierarchical management and stagnation Transferable skills and associate membership

32. Job Crisis solution? The old social compact Workplace compromise—work control versus employment stability Nationalist Keynesianism—labor stability and macro-economic demand New social compact? Must ensure economic growth and social stability Must solve dilemmas of multiple stakeholders Likely to emerge out of existing experimental initiatives

33. Globalized regions as the new workplace Important spatial dimension of critical labor process activities Lifelong learning and innovation Untraded inter-dependencies Production and social reproduction U.S. metros: 84% of population, 91% of GDP Regional innovation systems around the globe

34. Workplace (regional) governance Employer associations shaping collective work processes Innovation systems Social and physical infrastructure investment Quality of life initiatives/creative class Some public sector engagement Public/private partnerships Governance collaboration

36. Building stability through regional, occupationally-based communities

37. Improving employment outcomes through building common mobility channels Building power in the regional labor market, in both formal and informal ways Face serious challenges in reaching truly disadvantaged workers Limited power and bargaining ability

38. Regional worker organizations… Regional unionism—SBCLC/Working Partnerships Community/social movement unionism focused on region Social reproduction Health Care Housing Public Investment Governance Labor Community Leadership Institute Boards, commissions, elected officials Agenda, not individuals

39. Regional worker organizations… Many other examples around the country WRTP-PEO LAANE “Building a City of Justice” Denver/FRESC Georgia STAND-UP ……

40. Regional worker organizations… Community unionism and workers centers Community-based and community-led organizations that engage in a combination of service, advocacy, and organizing to provide support to low-wage workers.

41. New employment policies and practices…? Stock-options and residuals Individual wage versus social wage Problems of socialized work and individualized employment Need to focus on livelihoods, not jobs Single-payer universal health Pension reform Life-long learning—e.g. LILAs Skills mismatch or institutional failure? Re-employment insurance Restructure UI

42. What’s space got to do with it? The notion of a ‘job’ is an a-spatial, static conception that hinders our ability to promote economic innovation or social well-being Spatio-temporal analysis pushes us instead to think about promoting community-based careers in the regional workplace, with win-win-win opportunities

43. Thank you!!