• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Supply Chain Has a Labor Abuse Problem

Supply Chain Has a Labor Abuse Problem

Supply Chain Has a Labor Abuse Problem
December 4, 2019
Helen Atkinson, SCB Contributor

You’d be forgiven for believing that low-paid, non- or modestly skilled jobs in the supply chain are on the verge of being phased out by automation — especially the boring and repetitive ones.

In theory, the dirty, dangerous and demanding jobs within supply chains should soon be a thing of the past. But as we enter the maw of the holiday retail season, it seems that more warehouse and other retail-related staff are calling out bad treatment by their employers than in a good long while. Amazon, in particular, has been coming under fire lately for a troubling track record of injuries in its fulfillment centers. The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health has included Amazon on its 2019 “Dirty Dozen” list of the most dangerous employers in the U.S.

There are bright spots in the gloom. The Los Angeles City Council and other municipalities around the U.S. are currently considering or have already passed fair work-week laws that require employers to give workers predictable schedules. The Business Roundtable, consisting of 181 CEOs who together represent 30% of U.S. market capitalization, stunned the world with an announcement in August that corporations should benefit not just shareholders, but also customers, the community and workers.

However, there’s an underlying problem that only politicians can fix. Many U.S. industries — particularly hospitality, construction and agriculture, but also wholesale, retail and transportation — continue to rely on undocumented workers who can be exploited in myriad ways, not least by being overworked, underpaid and exposed to unsafe working conditions. Workers under constant threat of arrest and deportation are unlikely to demand effective labor reform. This, in turn, sets a low bar for the treatment of workers overall. Sadly, attempts at bipartisan immigration law reform, balancing economic necessity and the rule of law, have consistently failed for the last 30 years.

Most predictions put the full impact of automation on low-skilled jobs in the U.S. at sometime around 2030. That means we still have a decade, at least, of figuring out how to make the wheels of the supply chain turn ever faster, without consigning millions of workers to misery and danger. While we await the political logjam to break, social media seems the best bet for holding huge employers such as Target and Home Depot to account.

Helen Atkinson is a contributing writer for SupplyChainBrain.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

HR & Labor Management Regulation & Compliance Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility Retail
KEYWORDS HR & Labor Management Regulation & Compliance Retail Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Related Articles

    Labor Abuse in Asia: A Problem That Won't Go Away

    Podcast | The Fashion Apparel Supply Chain Has a Visibility Problem

Helen Atkinson, SCB Contributor

Walmart to Debut Amazon Prime Challenger This Month

More from this author

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • silicon wafer

    Fate of U.S. Chipmaking Looks More Like Fantasy

    Technology
  • Warehouse worker

    Why Higher Wages Alone Won’t Solve the Supply Chain Labor Shortage

    Warehousing
  • Mobile App

    Podcast | Companies Are on a Shopping Spree for Supply Chain Software

    Technology
  • Adidas

    From Sneakers to Teslas, China Lockdowns Upend Global Supply Chains

    Coronavirus
  • gas

    Supply Worries Send Gasoline Prices to Record Highs

    Global Supply Chain Management

Digital Edition

Scb feb 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Management Resource Guide

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • 3PL Doubles Productivity With Robots to Fulfill Medical Supply Orders

  • E-Commerce Company Cuts Order Fulfillment Time by 40%

  • Fashion Retailer Halves Fulfillment Time With Omichannel Automation

  • Distributor Scales Business by Integrating Warehouse Automaton Software

  • Fast-Growing Fashion Brand Scales E-Commerce Fulfillment With Whiplash

Visit Our Sponsors

Yang Ming Alithya Barcoding
Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics Generix
GEP GIB USA GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated Inmar
Keelvar Kinaxis Korber
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Lucas Systems
Nvidia Old Dominion Parsyl
Redwood Logistics Saddle Creek Logistics Schneider Dedicated
Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD Shipwell
Tecsys TGW Systems Thomson Reuters
Tive Trailer Bridge Vecna Robotics
Whiplash    
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2022 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing