tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca-fr/topics/labor-costs-77567/articlesLabor costs – La Conversation2023-04-22T16:20:10Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2015382023-04-22T16:20:10Z2023-04-22T16:20:10ZFast fashion still comes with deadly risks, 10 years after the Rana Plaza disaster – the industry’s many moving pieces make it easy to cut corners<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522252/original/file-20230421-26-yyte0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C3%2C1019%2C679&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Activists in Dhaka demand safe working conditions in 2019, on the anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/industry-all-bangladesh-council-activists-protest-to-news-photo/1139075620?adppopup=true">Mamunur Rashid/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On April 24, 2013, a multistory garment factory complex in Bangladesh called Rana Plaza collapsed, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-22476774">killing more than 1,000 workers</a> and injuring another 2,500. It remains the worst accident in the history of the apparel industry and one of the deadliest industrial accidents in the world.</p>
<p>Several factories inside the complex <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/04/26/these-retailers-involved-in-bangladesh-factory-disaster-have-yet-to-compensate-victims/?sh=3444108c211b">produced apparel for Western brands</a>, including Benetton, Primark and Walmart, shining a spotlight on the unsafe conditions in which a sizable portion of Americans’ cheap clothing is produced. The humanitarian tragedy hit home as wealthy nations’ shoppers wrestled with their own complicity and called for reforms – but a decade later, progress is still patchy.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://michiganross.umich.edu/faculty-research/faculty/ravi-anupindi">a professor of operations and supply chain management</a>, I believe it is important to understand how the complex and fragmented supply chains that are the norm in the clothing industry create conditions where unsafe conditions and abuse can flourish – and make it difficult to assign responsibility for reforms.</p>
<h2>Shamed into action?</h2>
<p>Rana Plaza was <a href="https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2022/06/05/the-worst-industrial-disasters-in-bangladesh-since-2005">not the first garment industry accident in Bangladesh</a>. While the government had stringent building codes “on the books,” <a href="https://ces.ulab.edu.bd/sites/default/files/Building_Code_Analysis-hi.pdf">they were rarely enforced</a>. Most workers lacked the information and power to demand safe working conditions.</p>
<p>Yet the fact that the Rana Plaza collapse was not only a humanitarian crisis, but a public relations crisis, prompted swift action by international organizations and Western brands and clothing retailers. A campaign for <a href="https://ranaplaza-arrangement.org/">full and fair compensation</a> for families of victims was launched immediately, facilitated by <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/lang--en/index.htm">the International Labor Organization</a>, a U.N. agency. Within a few months, two initiatives were designed to bring garment factories in Bangladesh up to international standards: the European-led <a href="https://bangladeshaccord.org/">Accord for Fire and Building Safety</a>, and the American-led <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/bangladesh-alliance-for-bangladesh-workers-safety-announces-end-of-its-tenure/">Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Uniformed rescue workers stand on top of a slab on top of a collapsed cement building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Rescue and recovery personnel on the site of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BangladeshBuildingCollapse/7f235631839d40e4ad3cbba1e0825166/photo?Query=(renditions.phototype:horizontal)%20AND%20%20(%22rana%20plaza%22)%20&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=297&currentItemNo=295">AP Photo/Wong Maye-E</a></span>
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<p>While the two initiatives differed in some important ways, both shared the common goal: to improve building and fire safety by leveraging the purchasing power of the member companies. In other words, Western brands would insist that production partners get up to standard or take their business elsewhere.</p>
<p>Altogether, the two agreements covered about 2,300 supplier factories. The coalitions conducted factory inspections to identify structural and electrical deficiencies and developed plans for factories to make improvements. The initiatives also laid the groundwork to form worker safety committees <a href="https://iosh.com/news/bangladesh-project-success-story/">and to train workers</a> to recognize, solve and prevent health and safety issues. Member companies set aside funds for inspections and worker training, <a href="https://cleanclothes.org/issues/faq-safety-accord">negotiated commercial terms</a> and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/alliance-sets-plan-to-finance-bangladesh-factory-upgrades-1417791607">facilitated low-cost loans</a> for factory improvements.</p>
<p>Both were five-year agreements: the Alliance <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/bangladesh-alliance-for-bangladesh-workers-safety-announces-end-of-its-tenure/">was sunsetted in 2018</a>, whereas the Accord operated for a few more years before handing operations over to the locally created <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/bangladesh-rmg-sustainability-council-to-take-over-accord-operations-after-281-days/">Readymade Sustainability Council</a> in June 2020.</p>
<h2>The record since</h2>
<p>The onus and expense of making these improvements, however, were largely to be borne by the suppliers – a substantial financial burden for many factories, especially considering the low cost and slim profit margins of the clothes they were producing. </p>
<p>Under the Alliance and the Accord, thousands of factories were inspected for building and fire safety, identifying problems such as lack of fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems, improper fire exits, faulty wiring and structural issues. At the end of five years, both initiatives reported that <a href="https://issuu.com/nyusterncenterforbusinessandhumanri/docs/nyu_bangladesh_ranaplaza_final_rele?e=31640827/64580941">85%-88% of safety issues were remediated</a>. Around half of the factories completed more than 90% of initial remediation, while over 260 of the original 2,300 factories under the initiatives were suspended from contracting with member companies.</p>
<p>In addition, more than 5,000 beneficiaries, including injured workers and dependents of victims, were compensated <a href="https://ranaplaza-arrangement.org/">through the Rana Plaza Arrangement</a>, receiving an average of about US$6,500.</p>
<p>Overall, I believe that these initiatives have been successful in bringing safety issues to the forefront. In terms of infrastructure improvements, however, while there has been decent progress, much still needs to be done; for example, the initiatives covered just about <a href="https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/%7Etwadhwa/bangladesh/downloads/beyond_the_tip_of_the_iceberg_report.pdf">one-third of all the garment factories in Bangladesh</a>. Importantly, neither addressed company sourcing practices.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a pink shawl stares at the camera, with a green field amid tall buildings behind her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Family of Rana Plaza victims look at their relatives’ graves as they mark the disaster’s anniversary in 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/dhaka-bangladesh-april-24-2017-relatives-of-rana-plaza-news-photo/672595062?adppopup=true">Rehman Asad/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Clothes yesterday and today</h2>
<p>To understand why so much apparel manufacturing takes place in substandard conditions, we need to understand the underlying economic forces: extensive outsourcing to countries with low wages in the quest to meet demand for more – and cheaper – clothing to sell to customers in the West.</p>
<p>In the 1960s, the average American family <a href="https://www.kqed.org/lowdown/7939/madeinamerica">spent 10% of its income on clothing</a>, buying 25 pieces of apparel – almost all of it made in the United States. Fifty years later, around the time of the Rana Plaza disaster, the average household was spending only about 3.5% of its income on clothing – but buying three times as many items, 98% of which were imported.</p>
<p>Over these decades, low-income countries in Asia and Latin America started producing more garments and textiles. Apparel production is labor-intensive, meaning these countries’ lower wages were a huge attraction to brands and retailers, who gradually started shifting their sourcing.</p>
<p>On a $30 shirt, for example, a typical retailer markup is close to 60%. The factory makes a profit of $1.15, and the worker <a href="https://theconversation.com/years-after-the-rana-plaza-tragedy-bangladeshs-garment-workers-are-still-bottom-of-the-pile-159224">makes barely 18 cents</a>. Were a similar shirt produced in the U.S., labor costs would <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2013/05/02/world/asia/bangladesh-us-tshirt/index.html">be closer to $10</a>.</p>
<p>As labor costs rose in China, Bangladesh became <a href="https://qz.com/389741/the-thing-that-makes-bangladeshs-garment-industry-such-a-huge-success-also-makes-it-deadly">a very appealing alternative</a>. Garment exports now account for 82% of <a href="https://bgmea.com.bd/page/Export_Performance">the country’s export total</a>, and the industry <a href="https://www.bsr.org/en/blog/what-if-all-garment-workers-in-bangladesh-were-financially-included">employs 4 million people</a>, about 58% of whom are women. </p>
<p>The growth of this sector has <a href="https://dspace.bracu.ac.bd/xmlui/handle/10361/482">reduced poverty</a> significantly and also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2015.01.006">empowered women</a>. To meet the rapid growth of the apparel industry, however, many buildings were converted to factories as quickly as possible, often without requisite permits. </p>
<h2>Everyone and no one</h2>
<p>A common way that foreign companies source products from low-cost countries like Bangladesh is through intermediaries or agents. For example, when a brand places a large order with an authorized factory, the factory in turn may <a href="https://issuu.com/nyusterncenterforbusinessandhumanri/docs/nyu_bangladesh_ranaplaza_final_rele?e=31640827/64580941">subcontract part of the production to smaller factories</a>, often without informing the brand.</p>
<p>This highly competitive environment, with people at each step of the process looking for the lowest price and no guarantee of longer-term relationships, gives suppliers incentives to cut corners – particularly when under extreme pressure to deliver on time. This can translate into <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bangladesh-worker-rights/bangladesh-urged-to-stop-worker-abuse-in-garment-industry-idUSKBN20W25O">exploitative labor practices</a> or unsafe conditions that violate local laws, but enforcement capacity is weak. </p>
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<span class="caption">Nilufer Begum, an injured garment worker who survived the Rana Plaza disaster, during a 2018 interview with AFP in her small tea stall.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-this-photograph-taken-on-april-17-2018-nilufer-begum-an-news-photo/949797208?adppopup=true">Munir Uz Zaman/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>In their constant quest for lower prices, buyers may turn a blind eye to these practices. The supply chain’s opaqueness, especially when brands do not source directly, makes it difficult to investigate and remediate these practices. Since the 1990s, international <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7591/9781501727290-004/pdf">scrutiny of labor conditions</a> has grown, but reform efforts largely ignored building and fire safety, the prime reason for the Rana Plaza collapse. Because multiple buyers would often use the same factory, no single buyer felt obligated to invest in the supplier to ensure better conditions.</p>
<p>Garments traverse a complex global supply network by the time they reach stores thousands of miles away. Workers are caught in this web, exploited by factory management that is seldom held responsible by governments either <a href="https://www.npr.org/2013/05/09/182637164/bangladeshs-powerful-garment-sector-fends-off-regulation">unwilling or unable to enforce laws</a>. Western brands escape the scrutiny of their governments by outsourcing production to low-cost countries and absolve themselves of direct responsibility. And consumers, eager for a bargain, shop for the lowest price. </p>
<p>This complex system makes it hard to assign ethical responsibility, because everyone, and therefore no one, is guilty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201538/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ravi Anupindi is affiliated with Fair Labor Association. </span></em></p>Ten years after the collapse at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, the garment industry’s deadliest disaster, reforms are incomplete. The opaqueness of today’s complex supply chain is part of the problem.Ravi Anupindi, Professor of Technology and Operations, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1349762020-04-27T12:09:14Z2020-04-27T12:09:14ZA global mask shortage may leave farmers and farm workers exposed to toxic pesticides<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/330437/original/file-20200424-163088-sivov4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5092%2C3290&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Applying insecticide to a cotton field in Colfax, La.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/colfax-louisiana-cotton-fields-rows-of-cotton-farming-with-news-photo/629539249?adppopup=true">Education Images/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads around the world, vital N95 masks and other personal protective equipment have been hard to come by, even for those who need them most.</p>
<p>The World Health Organization estimates that the crisis has driven demand for this equipment, known as PPE, <a href="https://apnews.com/6d9382c1e8ee36f9ed1a4dfe7815ceb1">100 times higher than normal</a>. Even with dramatic increases in production, manufacturers have said they’ll likely be <a href="https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/worker-health-safety-us/covid19/">unable to meet demand</a> for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>And the WHO has warned that the severe shortage is <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/03-03-2020-shortage-of-personal-protective-equipment-endangering-health-workers-worldwide">putting the lives of health care workers at risk</a>. </p>
<p>But it’s not just health care workers and other care providers who need PPE – especially those N95 masks, technically known as respirators. These devices are also vital to the safety of workers in a host of other industries, from building trades to agriculture. </p>
<p>As an entomologist who studies and teaches about <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=x3MmknQAAAAJ&hl=en">pesticide risk reduction</a>, I am particularly concerned about what the shortage may mean for farmworkers, whom the Department of Homeland Security <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/publication/guidance-essential-critical-infrastructure-workforce">classifies as essential workers</a> – people who remain on the job even where others have been told to stay home.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Safe use of pesticides and agricultural chemicals requires knowing how to use, handle and store them, minimize exposure and handle accidents.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Pesticides used in US agriculture can impact respiratory health</h2>
<p>Hundreds of thousands of farmworkers in the United States <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/aginjury/fss/pdfs/FS-18-508.pdf">routinely encounter pesticides on the job</a> And some of the most widely used pesticides in the U.S. pose <a href="https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5d88c231e4b0c4f70d0ab2c6">serious health risks</a>, ranging from causing occupational asthma and respiratory irritation to death.</p>
<p>Epidemiological studies, including a long-term study of over 80,000 licensed pesticides applicators conducted by the National Institutes of Health, have found <a href="https://aghealth.nih.gov/about/index.html">links between pesticides and respiratory problems</a>, ranging from acute symptoms such as dry throat, difficulty breathing, chest pain, coughing and wheezing to chronic conditions like decreased lung function, occupational asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. </p>
<p>Another study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that farmworkers had <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2007-106/pdfs/2007-106.pdf">significantly elevated mortality</a> for a number of respiratory conditions, including hypersensitivity pneumonitis (also known as “farmer’s lung”), asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia.</p>
<p>Masks can be vital to minimizing the risk. The current shortage of masks comes on top of other risks related to the current health emergency. For example, farm workers often have preexisting conditions, such as those affecting respiratory health, that are <a href="https://www.kff.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/migrant-and-seasonal-farmworkers-health-insurance-coverage-and-access-to-care-report.pdf">risk factors for coronavirus</a>. Many live and work in crowded conditions, and have <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-coronavirus-threatens-the-seasonal-farmworkers-at-the-heart-of-the-american-food-supply-135252">difficulty accessing medical care</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B-RKnYRguXE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Masks protect farm workers too</h2>
<p>Many farmers and farm workers, especially those who work with pesticides, carry N95 masks. These devices are made of non-woven polypropylene fiber and meet strict government standards for filtering out particles and droplets as small as <a href="https://www.honeywell.com/en-us/newsroom/news/2020/03/n95-masks-explained">0.3 microns, or three one-thousandths of a millimeter</a>. These are often part of a broader PPE kit that can include respiratory protection, gloves, headgear and body, foot and eye protection. </p>
<p>Under U.S. law, employers <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=586a6ff505fc7d153792f0a56635f0d3&mc=true&node=pt40.26.170&rgn=div5#se40.26.170_1240">must provide appropriate PPE</a> to workers who handle pesticides. The kind of protective equipment needed is determined by a pesticide product’s level of toxicity for five types of acute exposure – oral, dermal, inhalation, eye irritation and skin irritation – as well as whether it is a gas, solid or liquid, and whether the work is being done outdoors or in an enclosed space.</p>
<p>Anyone who handles or assists with the application of pesticides is required to use filtering masks as good as N95s or better when they work with products which are <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-02/documents/chap-10-feb-2016.pdf">lethal or toxic if inhaled</a>, or if risk assessments identify other issues that need to be addressed. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Proper use of an N95 mask.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Reducing risks by managing pests differently</h2>
<p>As the U.S. growing season gets underway, early reports indicate that most farmers <a href="https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/farms-could-see-shortage-of-protective-gear-amid-covid-19-needs">have the PPE they need for now.</a> But each N95 mask <a href="https://covid19.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/PPE-Guidance-Final-English-Revised.pdf?fwd=no">should only be used for eight hours before being discarded</a>, so with a shortage of masks that is unlikely to abate soon, farmworkers are likely to be caught short. So far, local agricultural agencies have only provided <a href="https://covid19.ces.ncsu.edu/2020/04/personal-protective-equipment-ppe-guidance-for-farms/">limited guidance</a> on how to address the shortage.</p>
<p>So what should farmers and farm workers do? Specific actions will depend on the crop and the pesticide product, but here are some general recommendations.</p>
<p>First, when labels require the use of masks, farmers and farm workers should not work without them. This is unsafe and often illegal. Some hazardous pesticides are only allowed in the market because it is assumed that the use of PPE will <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2019.104527">considerably limit exposure</a>.</p>
<p>Nor should pesticide handlers use improvised masks. Bandannas and other kinds of ordinary cloth worn over the nose and mouth do not filter out harmful pesticide particles and droplets, and can even act as reservoirs for pesticide residues.</p>
<p>Instead, I believe farmers should consider reducing risks through adjusting their pest management practices. This is already a recommended best practice: The International Labour Organization’s <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/normative-instruments/code-of-practice/WCMS_160706/lang--en/index.htm">Code of Practice on Safety and Health in Agriculture</a> states that the first line of defense against health effects caused by pesticides should be eliminating or reducing exposure to the hazard, and that PPE should only be used as a last resort. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1232026936378974208"}"></div></p>
<p>The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration also advises that respiratory hazards should be addressed through a “<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/respirators-strategy/index.html">hierarchy of controls</a>.” </p>
<p>These reductions can be achieved in a number of ways. They include <a href="https://ipminstitute.org/what-is-integrated-pest-management/">integrated pest management</a>, an approach that finely tunes pesticide application and emphasizes least-risk options; engineering controls that limit contact with pesticides; and replacing highly hazardous pesticides with less hazardous control measures. </p>
<p>Potential substitutes that are generally considered to be <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/what-are-biopesticides">lower-risk pest management options</a> include microbials (pesticides with a microorganism as the active ingredient), pheromones and beneficial insects. Used together with good crop management, these products can help keep pest levels under control and reduce the need for other pesticides. </p>
<p>But even some of these options pose risks that require use of masks. For instance, repeated exposure to the proteins in some popular microbials can cause allergic sensitization and even lung inflammation. </p>
<h2>An opportunity in a crisis</h2>
<p>Millions of workers in many fields depend on N95 masks and other PPE for safety and health, including farmers and farm workers who have the vital role of feeding the world. Ramping up PPE production may help alleviate the current shortage, but I believe researchers and governments should also try to identify and promote suitable alternatives to pesticides that require such PPE in the first place.</p>
<p>[<em>You need to understand the coronavirus pandemic, and we can help.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-help">Read The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134976/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Melanie Bateman is employed by CABI,an international, inter-governmental, not-for-profit organization that receives funding from governments, foundations and the private sector to solve problems in agriculture and the environment. </span></em></p>One way that farms can handle shortages of protective gear for workers is by switching to less-toxic pest control methods.Melanie Bateman, Lecturer in Integrated Crop Management, University of NeuchâtelLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1250362019-10-28T13:07:39Z2019-10-28T13:07:39ZRaising the minimum wage in restaurants could be a win for everyone<p>Critics would have you believe that upping the minimum wage in restaurants will <a href="https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/national-restaurant-association-comes-out-strongly-against-raise-the-wage/549934/">lead to massive layoffs and closures</a>. But since <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-fed-raising-the-minimum-wage-doesnt-kill-jobs-2019-9">raising the minimum wage</a> <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nyc-restaurants-cut-staff-hours-to-cope-with-minimum-wage-hike-hitting-15/">to US$15 per hour</a> nearly a year ago, the restaurant industry in New York City <a href="http://www.centernyc.org/new-york-citys-15-minimum-wage">has thrived</a>.</p>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://www.law.buffalo.edu/content/dam/law/restricted-assets/pdf/faculty/cv/hallett_nicole_cv.pdf">professor with a focus on labor and employment</a> law. <a href="https://ylpr.yale.edu/sites/default/files/YLPR/2_hallett_final.pdf">My research</a> on the minimum wage suggests a few reasons why this might be true.</p>
<h2>What hasn’t happened</h2>
<p>When worker pay goes up, employers can respond in a number of different ways. They can cut hours, lay off workers, accept smaller profits or raise prices. </p>
<p>With profits so low in the restaurant industry, <a href="https://upserve.com/restaurant-insider/profit-margins/">averaging just 3%-5%</a>, employers may not have the option to accept less in profits without going in the red.</p>
<p>In many industries, increased labor costs may prompt businesses to lay off American workers and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/09/02/15-minimum-wage-threatens-5-3-million-us-manufacturing-jobs/#4ab502e1414e">move operations overseas</a> where labor costs are lower. But this is not a viable solution in the restaurant industry, since most of the work is done on-site.</p>
<p>That leaves restaurant owners with two options. The first is to decrease the number of hours each employee works, which might explain why <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=3270762">income gains from a minimum wage</a> are not as large as one would predict.</p>
<p>Still, massive layoffs in the restaurant industry are unlikely because owners need a <a href="https://therestaurantexpert.com/how-many-restaurant-employees-do-you-need/">certain number of staff to operate a full-service</a> kitchen.</p>
<p>The other option is to <a href="https://abc7ny.com/food/tip-no-more-nyc-restaurant-group-to-change-tipping-policy/1032839/">increase prices</a>, which many <a href="https://ny.eater.com/2019/2/19/18226831/minimum-wage-restaurant-reaction-nyc-finances">restaurants in New York City have done</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297528/original/file-20191017-98674-1ndnvra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297528/original/file-20191017-98674-1ndnvra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297528/original/file-20191017-98674-1ndnvra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297528/original/file-20191017-98674-1ndnvra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297528/original/file-20191017-98674-1ndnvra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297528/original/file-20191017-98674-1ndnvra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297528/original/file-20191017-98674-1ndnvra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New Yorkers have been fighting for a $15 minimum wage for several years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-city-july-12-2015-299198315?src=BW4Kp5Wu8Zl6x35KOGTskA-1-0">a katz/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Prices go up</h2>
<p>Some in the restaurant industry have <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffwilliams/2016/02/29/to-keep-menu-prices-from-rising-some-restaurants-look-for-ways-to-cut-costs/#5f8de1413fc5">argued that raising menu prices will lead to fewer people dining out</a> and, consequentially, more restaurant closures.</p>
<p>But this hasn’t happened.</p>
<p>In fact, both restaurant <a href="http://www.centernyc.org/new-york-citys-15-minimum-wage">revenue and employment are up</a>. The reason for this is that restaurants do not have to raise prices very much in order to pay for a minimum wage increase.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.3386/w4509">one study</a>, for example, a $0.80 minimum wage increase equated to a 3.2% increase of food prices in restaurants in New Jersey. This is the amount that the New Jersey minimum wage increased in 1992.</p>
<p>Even a one-time increase of 10% to 15% is unlikely to dissuade large numbers of customers from dining out. That would amount to an extra $1.20 on a $12 burger.</p>
<p>The focus on single restaurants also ignores the larger economic impact of raising the minimum wage. According to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, if low-wage workers have more money in their pockets, <a href="https://www.chicagofed.org/digital_assets/publications/chicago_fed_letter/2013/cflaugust2013_313.pdf">they will have more money to spend</a>, potentially expanding the number of consumers who can afford to eat out.</p>
<p>In fact, some people – including those from the Economic Policy Institute – have posited that <a href="https://secure.epi.org/publication/minimum-wage-testimony-feb-2019/">a minimum wage increase will actually lead to an increase in employment</a> because of the effects of giving low-wage workers a raise. Other advantages to restaurants may include <a href="http://cepr.net/documents/publications/min-wage-2013-02.pdf">lower turnover rates and better job performance</a>.</p>
<h2>Wage hikes help everyone</h2>
<p>Perhaps the principal reason that the minimum wage increase did not seem to have a negative effect on the restaurant industry in New York is that the state’s economy is <a href="https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/new-york-city-quarterly-economic-update/">strong overall</a>, so businesses have been able to absorb the increases without having to make hard decisions about where to cut.</p>
<p>If the economy were to go into a recession, business would undoubtedly suffer, though the suffering could hardly be attributed solely or mainly to a minimum wage increase. In other words, <a href="https://bigthink.com/econ201/how-are-jobs-connected-to-economic-growth">a good economy means that everyone benefits</a>, including low-wage workers. </p>
<p>Apocalyptic predictions of the industry’s demise will likely return as <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-hearings-potentially-eliminating-subminimum-wage-tipped-workers">New York officials debate</a> whether to get rid of the tip credit, which allows employers to make up part of their minimum wage obligations in tips. Right now, restaurants actually have to pay workers <a href="https://labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/factsheets/pdfs/p717.pdf">only $10 per hour</a> if they make at least $5 per hour in tips.</p>
<p>There are many good <a href="https://rocunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/OneFairWage_W.pdf">policy reasons</a> to abolish the tip credit, including ensuring that workers have <a href="https://www.eater.com/a/case-against-tipping">pay stability and combating the problem of sexual harassment</a> in the service industry. Women working in restaurants with lower minimum wages than other industries in the state were <a href="http://rocunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/REPORT_The-Glass-Floor-Sexual-Harassment-in-the-Restaurant-Industry2.pdf">twice as likely to report being sexually harassed</a> by a customer than women who were paid their state’s minimum wage.</p>
<p><a href="https://newfoodeconomy.org/new-york-cuomo-proposal-consider-eliminate-tip-credit/">Seven states</a>, including Alaska, Montana and Washington, have already abolished the tip credit. New York may be next.</p>
<p>As the debate unfolds, just remember to look at the data. A pay increase for low-wage workers doesn’t have to be a zero sum game. In fact, the evidence suggests that everyone can win.</p>
<p>[ <em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125036/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Hallett is the director of the Community Justice Clinic, which, among of things, represents restaurant workers in actions against their employers for wage theft and other legal violations.</span></em></p>The restaurant industry as a whole hasn’t been a huge supporter of the fight to increase minimum wage – but it should be.Nicole Hallett, Associate Professor of Law, University at BuffaloLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1242412019-10-24T11:51:33Z2019-10-24T11:51:33ZThe future of the US workforce will rely on AI, but don’t count human workers out just yet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297562/original/file-20191017-98657-1r0f8x3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Robots have already started moving into Amazon's workforce alongside people.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Future-of-Work-Artificial-Intelligence/bf28d0db77904a1ba5c9e65229cb1fc5/3/0">AP Photo/Mary Altaffer</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Artificial intelligence has replaced <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/02/26/artificial-intelligence-will-take-your-job-what-you-can-do-today-to-protect-it-tomorrow/#50d0af9b4f27">many skills in recent years</a> – including <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/will-robots-take-your-job-humans-ignore-coming-ai-revolution-ncna845366">the skills needed to do some human jobs</a>.</p>
<p>The tech revolution has <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/01/31/many-americans-feel-positive-about-artificial-intelligence-study-says">not gone unnoticed</a> by American workers. A 2018 Gallup poll revealed that <a href="https://www.northeastern.edu/gallup/">70% of Americans believe</a> AI will eliminate more jobs than it creates.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.yang2020.com/meet-andrew/">Democratic presidential candidate</a> Andrew Yang <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/10/technology/his-2020-campaign-message-the-robots-are-coming.html">has sounded the alarm</a>, raising the prospect that millions are at risk for long-term joblessness.</p>
<p>I’m <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=n5yfCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=reskilling&ots=Dhq7Vhqnpl&sig=AmhHyI3o4iRIGvJuRCcaFpSgZxc#v=onepage&q=reskilling&f=false">an expert on labor markets</a> in the U.S., and I believe that AI will undoubtedly change the future of U.S. labor – but Yang is also exaggerating the impact AI will have on the workforce.</p>
<p>The solution to job loss sparked by automation lies less in <a href="https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B075CRY4TZ&tag=bing08-20&linkCode=kpp&reshareId=Y10N1KFCQSEQ91PV5H1T&reshareChannel=system">Yang’s guaranteed income proposal</a>, and more in <a href="https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2018/07/16/what-is-reskilling/">reskilling</a> the labor force, a process that would involve educating workers to do the jobs a more automated economy will require.</p>
<h2>Growing industries</h2>
<p>MIT economist <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Levy">Frank Levy</a> has noted that <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3091867">AI generally automates parts of occupations</a> rather than the whole job.</p>
<p>For example, people process information at work, while computers can only execute instructions. Even jobs that have shrunk because of automation include components that require human judgment.</p>
<p>This is why there are still occupations like customer service agents, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3091867">even as automated processes have learned to handle</a> many routine transactions.</p>
<p><a href="https://sebastianraschka.com/Articles/2014_intro_supervised_learning.html">Predictive models</a>, which lie at the heart of AI, are never right all the time. Incidents that fall outside the boundaries of ordinary or routine decisions – for example, <a href="https://emerj.com/ai-sector-overviews/ai-in-law-legal-practice-current-applications/">legal cases</a> – have to be handled by people who can make complex decisions.</p>
<p>This means that <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unskilled-labor.asp">low-skill jobs</a>, the ones that can truly be replaced because they follow the same routines, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2017/11/30/567408644/automation-could-displace-800-million-workers-worldwide-by-2030-study-says">are likely to disappear</a>, while middle- and high-skill jobs are likely to grow.</p>
<p>But the results are not always easy to predict. For example, many bank tellers have been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bank-teller-automation-on-the-rise-with-new-atm-technology-2017-6">replaced by ATMs</a>. But this development has lowered the cost of running a bank branch so profoundly that banks are sprouting on every corner in most major cities.</p>
<p>As a result of these two countervailing forces, the number of tellers <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3091867">has actually stayed roughly constant</a> since the invention of the ATM, mainly because they were needed to service the nonroutine aspects of customer service in a growing number of branches.</p>
<h2>Who’s at risk?</h2>
<p>Economists who study AI often underplay the gravity of the jobs losses it will create because they tend to look at the big picture.</p>
<p>Overall, new technology usually increases the demand for labor because it spurs growth. But for single-industry regions like <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/john-gallagher/2018/02/22/michigan-recession-economy-jobs/308236002/">Detroit with its auto factories</a> or <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/29/the-kentucky-coal-town-fighting-to-survive-after-coal-mining-closings.html">Appalachia with its coal mines</a>, the big picture is little comfort.</p>
<p>Positive economic growth across the country – <a href="https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/occupations-most-job-growth.htm">reflected in national trends</a> – does not pay the bills for auto workers on the assembly line who have been replaced by robots. If they haven’t had the opportunity to become an expert in robot repair, they may have a hard time.</p>
<p>Yang – who <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1149080948576870400">believes that reskilling does not work</a> – argues that <a href="https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B075CRY4TZ&tag=bing08-20&linkCode=kpp&reshareId=336GMAJN4XZJZF3H4AGB&reshareChannel=system">the government should give every American US$1,000 a month</a> so that they have time to ponder the right path.</p>
<p><a href="https://elizabethwarren.com">Another presidential candidate</a>, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, argues that <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/10/16/part-1-cnn-nyt-democratic-presidential-debate-ohio-october-15-2019.cnn">Yang’s plan is a form of social security</a>, and I believe she’s right. Giving people money <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/policy-basics-top-ten-facts-about-social-security">works well</a> for <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/disabilityfacts/facts.html">those who can no longer manage to work</a>, but isn’t the right solution for people who need to remain in the workforce.</p>
<p>Instead, U.S. officials need to build ladders to <a href="https://nationalskillscoalition.org/state-policy/fact-sheets">middle-skill jobs</a> that are <a href="http://statchatva.org/2019/07/18/middle-skill-jobs-and-education/">growing rapidly</a>. Institutes of higher education need to create certificates for technical courses so that current workers do not become obsolete. </p>
<h2>Reskilling the workforce</h2>
<p>Education is not an enterprise that should end after school.</p>
<p>Accommodating change in the labor market means continuous training. Educational institutions that complement classroom learning, which creates general skills, with shop floor experience, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/648671">which generates firm-specific skills</a>, forge a valuable combination.</p>
<p>That’s what the <a href="https://www.economy.com/germany/labor-force-employment/">Germans learned</a> decades ago when they created their “<a href="https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/how-germanys-vocational-education-and-training-system-works">dual education</a>” system that combines rigorous classroom training with apprenticeships on the shop floor.</p>
<p>That fusion has <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2018/03/27/how-adapt-german-apprenticeship-model-work-best-us">produced the world’s best-trained labor force in hundreds of occupations ranging from manufacturing to nursing</a>. <a href="http://emcet.net/download/products/req/professional_standards_for_vocational_training_specialists_germany.pdf">Rigorous national examinations</a> in all those occupations certify just how much an apprentice knows and can do on the shop floor.</p>
<p>Although the U.S. pursued <a href="https://qz.com/work/1715385/american-companies-have-a-hiring-problem/">a similar path during World War II</a>, most companies later abandoned it, mainly because employers were not willing to commit the kind of resources in the form of in-house training that the <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3058946/what-the-us-can-learn-from-germanys-work-training-programs">Germans willingly provide</a>.</p>
<p>Investing in these forms of training will not happen just by giving people <a href="https://time.com/5528621/andrew-yang-universal-basic-income/">an allowance</a>. Reskilling necessitates a <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/04/skills-jobs-investing-in-people-inclusive-growth/">federal and state investment</a> as well as <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/retraining-and-reskilling-workers-in-the-age-of-automation">employer buy-in</a> of the kind German companies are making.</p>
<p>Reskilling is <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED507124.pdf">not an inexpensive proposition</a>. In 2010, the federal government, states and municipalities <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=n5yfCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=reskilling&ots=Dhq7Vhqnpl&sig=AmhHyI3o4iRIGvJuRCcaFpSgZxc#v=onepage&q=reskilling&f=false">spent 7.2 billion euros</a> – over $9 billion at 2010 exchange rates – on vocational education and training in Germany.</p>
<p>But I see it as the only sensible solution to keep workers – whether new to the labor force or experienced and determined to avoid technical obsolescence – ahead of automation, productively employed in the industries of the future and able to take care of themselves. </p>
<p>[ <em>You respect facts and expertise. So do The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=yourespect">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>. ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124241/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katherine Newman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many Americans fear that AI will take their jobs. And it might – but it’s more complicated than that.Katherine Newman, Interim Chancellor and Torrey Little Professor of Sociology, UMass BostonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.