With some 40 percent of U.S. workers in long-term temporary employment, or “gig” jobs, the idea of a “social contract” in which an individual receives benefits over a lifetime working for a single firm seems antiquated. But, says U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), the proliferation of gig work that doesn’t provide vital employment benefits shows that the concept, in some form, needs revitalizing.
“We need to create a 21st-century social contract so these benefits start accruing from day one and are portable,” he said in a livestreamed conversation with Washington Post economics correspondent Heather Long on December 3.
Warner, a former wireless entrepreneur, continued: “Companies have decided that anyone who’s not essential gets outsourced. It’s happened to janitorial staff, and to cafeteria workers. Oftentimes they come with no benefits. I think that’s wrong. I think we’ve seen the vulnerabilities of when something like Covid happens.”
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