The vast majority of warehouse workers in Will County, Illinois – a huge hub for the logistics industry near Chicago – are temps who are paid poverty wages and receive no benefits. Those are among the findings in an eight-month study and survey of those workers on their economic status and working conditions conducted by Warehouse Workers for Justice (WWJ). The findings of that study were released by WWJ on August 16, in a report titled “Bad Jobs in Goods Movement: Warehouse Work in Will County.”
Warhouse Workers for Justice is a workers’ center initiated by UE which is fighting for living wages, good jobs and human rights for workers in Illinois’ warehouses. Will County, located southwest of Chicago, has seen significant growth in development around the goods movement industry, based on the county’s access to railroads, highways, and airports and abundance of undeveloped land.
The report “Bad Jobs in Goods Movement” is the result of more than eight months of planning, researching, and data collection. A sample of 319 workers was surveyed, representing over 150 different warehouses. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with ten workers on specific topics that arose in the standard survey. (Read the full report here.)
The survey, along with data gathered from federal government sources, reveals that there is a range of jobs in warehouses, including well-paying managerial positions. Yet the proportion of good jobs to low-paying positions and, more strikingly, direct hire to temporary positions, reveals that this industry is heavily reliant on a large low-wage labor force. Specifically, the report found that the majority of warehouse workers were temps earning wages below the federal poverty level. Many of these are in reality “perma-temps” – people who work in the same warehouse for years but receive none of the benefits normally associated with “permanent” employment.
The study was undertaken by WWJ with technical assistance from researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Center for Urban Economic Development. It is the first large-scale study of workers in warehousing in the country.
The survey found:
- Among warehouse workers, 81 percent of initial hires and 63 percent of all workers were temps.
- The majority of warehouse workers made poverty-level wages, and temps had it worse than direct hires. The median hourly wage for a temp was $9 an hour –$3.48 an hour less than direct hires.
- One in four warehouse workers had to rely on government assistance in order to make ends meet for their families
- Temps were far less likely to receive sick days, vacation time, or health insurance benefits. Only 5 percent of temps received sick days and 8 percent received vacation time.
- One in five warehouse workers had been hurt on the job and only a third received workers compensation.
Rev. Craig Purchase, pastor of Mt. Zion Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Joliet (county seat of Will County) and a supporter of WWJ, said elected officials had asked to see hard data before taking any action to help warehouse workers. “These are facts, it’s not just emotions,” he said.
CALL FOR CHANGE
The study recommends legislation and policy changes to improve the lives of warehouse workers.
Warehouse operators should be required to provide stable, permanent jobs with regular hours. Incentives (including government development aid) should encourage employers to employ warehouse workers directly, and to pay a living wage, rather than employing through temporary agencies at rock-bottom wages.
Labor, anti-discrimination, wage and hour and health and safety laws should be strictly enforced. Illinois’ Day and Temporary Labor Services Act should be strengthened to provide more severe penalties against temp companies that abuse workers’ rights. Anti-discrimination laws should be amended to provide greater penalties against employers who discriminate on the bases of race, gender and national origin.
Policy makers should address the barriers faced by temp workers who want to unionize in order to improve their working conditions. The public benefits of collective bargaining should be publicized among warehouse workers and resources should be made available to assist workers in learning their rights under current law.