The Proliferation and Consequences of Temporary Help Work: A Cross-Border Comparison

Authors

  • David Van Arsdale
  • Michael Mandarino

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/1705-1436.58

Abstract

In the summer of 2008, we set out to hear from Ontario’s growing population of temporary help workers, also known as, temporary service workers. Having already conducted studies of temporary help workers in the United States, we sought to compare the working conditions of temporary workers in Ontario to those of workers south of the border. We visited temporary agencies in Toronto and conducted in-depth interviews with over a dozen temporary help workers. Their circumstances are not unlike those of their U.S. counterparts — they are not adequately rewarded for their vital on-call role in contemporary capitalism and they become “stuck” in this relatively new type of work, unable to find and secure full-time employment.

References

Business and Company Resource Center, "Largest Companies in the U.S. by Employees, 2000 and 2008." D & B Business Rankings Annual, Thompson Gale, 2008, pp. II-1

Marcello Estevao and Saul Lach, “The Evolution and Demand for Temporary Help Supply Employment in the United States,” in Francoise Carre (et. al), Nonstandard Work: The Nature and Challenges of Changing Employment Relations, Industrial Relations Research Association Series, Urbana Illinois: University of Illinois, 2000 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3386/w7427

Mack Moore, “The Temporary Help Industry: Historical Development, Operation, and Scope,” Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 1965 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2520428

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Lewis M. Segal and Daniel G Sullivan, “The Growth of Temporary Service Work,” Journal of Economic Perspective 11 (1997) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.11.2.117

Vicki Smith and Esther B. Neuwirth, The Good Temp (Cornell University Press, 2008).

Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, June 2008

David Van Arsdale, “The Recasualization of Blue-Collar Workers: Industrial Temporary Help Work’s Impact on the Working Class,” Labor: Studies in Working Class History of the Americas, 5 (Spring 2008) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/15476715-2007-056

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Published

— Updated on 2009-10-01

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  • 2009-10-01 (2)
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How to Cite

Van Arsdale, D., & Mandarino, M. (2009). The Proliferation and Consequences of Temporary Help Work: A Cross-Border Comparison. Just Labour, 14. https://doi.org/10.25071/1705-1436.58

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