Posted: 20 Apr 2010 03:55 AM PDT

Michael Sinclair is contracted by the marketing department of a health care manufacturing company. "I think it's far less risky than being in a full-time job somewhere and cut at will and left with nothing," he says.
David Walter Banks / New York Times News Service

By Michael Luo / New York Times News Service

Published: April 20. 2010 4:00AM PST

NORCROSS, Ga. — Michael Sinclair knows that in a few months, his stint in the marketing department of a health care manufacturing company north of Atlanta is set to end.

He has been with the company for only six months, but he is not dismayed. In fact, he actually prefers his life as an independent contractor — constantly being laid off and rehired, sometimes juggling multiple jobs — to his old corporate position.

"I think it's far less risky than being in a full-time job somewhere and cut at will and left with nothing," Sinclair said. "I see this as the way more people will work in the future."

Economists believe that Sinclair's situation has become increasingly common. What is known as "contingent work," or "flexible" and "alternative" staffing arrangements, has proliferated, although exact figures are hard to come by. Many people are apparently looking at multiple temporary jobs as the equivalent of a diversified investment portfolio.

The notion that the nature of work is changing — becoming more temporary and project-based, with workers increasingly functioning as free agents and no longer being governed by traditional long-term employer-employee relationships — first gained momentum in the 1990s. But it has acquired new currency in this recession, especially among white-collar job seekers, as they cast about for work of any kind and companies remain cautious about permanent hiring.

More part-timers

In just one snapshot of what is going on, the number of people who describe themselves as self-employed but working less than 35 hours a week because they cannot find full-time work has more than doubled since the recession began, reaching 1.2 million in December 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists who study flexible work arrangements believe that the increase has been driven in large part by independent contractors like Sinclair and other contingent workers, struggling to cobble together whatever work they can find.

As the economy continues its halting recovery and employers' confidence remains shaky, economists believe that it is likely that the ranks of these kinds of workers will continue to grow.

"To the degree there's more uncertainty coming out of this recession than in past recessions, we would expect companies to be more cautious about taking on more permanent employees," said Susan Houseman, senior economist with the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, who studies contingent workers. "So they'd be looking for more of these nonstandard employees to hire."

Some, like Sinclair, have embraced this lifestyle, influenced by a growing sense of just how precarious traditional employment can be and reveling in the other benefits, like flexibility and diversity.

Others, however, would vastly prefer permanent jobs. They have struggled to deal with the instability, the second-tier status often accorded contractors and other temporary workers and the usual lack of benefits. In most states, they are ineligible for unemployment insurance and worker's compensation. Indeed, it is not at all clear that the shift to these kinds of arrangements is good for workers.

Federal and state officials have recently stepped up efforts to crack down on companies that have sought to save money by avoiding paying taxes and benefits on behalf of workers they classify as independent contractors who should actually be treated as full-time employees.

The universe of contingent work and alternative employment arrangement is broad. The largest segment appears to be independent contractors, which includes consultants like Sinclair, as well as freelance writers, nurse practitioners, information technology specialists and myriad other professionals. In 2005, the last time the Bureau of Labor Statistics attempted to track these kinds of workers, independent contractors accounted for 7.4 percent of total employment

There is also a much smaller group whose ranks have been expanding in recent months — workers who draw their paychecks from temporary help agencies. Still others are employed directly by contracting firms, and there are also temporary workers, like seasonal retail hires, brought on directly by companies.

Consultant plunge

Despite the drawbacks, there are many who have entered this world voluntarily. In Sinclair's case, he had been working at a marketing and strategy consulting firm in the Atlanta area but was laid off last year.

After realizing that companies were mostly not hiring but still had short-term work to be done, Sinclair plunged into selling himself as a consultant. After taking a few months to get started, he found himself juggling a steady stream of part-time projects.

His current position at Molnlycke Health Care, which makes surgical gloves and other medical products, started out as a short-term assignment but has morphed into a full-time job as the company's interim head of marketing. The company plans to hire someone permanent but has been busy with other priorities, which is fine with Sinclair.

If he is offered the position, he said that while he would be tempted, he was not certain he would take it. His experience with his last company — the first time he had been laid off — taught him a lesson.

"I just saw you really can't rely on a company," he said. "I think too many people, even in this day, still think you can rely on a company for security."

He would rather rely on himself.

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District 70 to outsource bus service - Pueblo Chieftain

Posted: 21 Apr 2010 12:19 AM PDT

Pueblo County School District 70's board of education Tuesday night voted 4-0 to outsource its bus service to a private firm, eliminating close to 70 jobs. Most of those positions are part-time and the contract with the private firm, First Student, gives all of them priority in being rehired if there are positions available.

Board member David Valdez was absent.

Ryan Elarton, the district's director of business services, told the board that the move would save $400,000 a year in transportation costs, in part because of reductions in service and the elimination of jobs that would have happened whether the service had been outsourced or not.

The district also will get a one time payment of $1.5 million from the sale of its current fleet to First Student, money that will be put into its capital reserve fund.

The contract requires First Student to buy 11 new buses and outfit all the buses it uses in the district with global positioning system units, cameras, retractable arms that keep children from walking alongside the bus and other safety features.

Board members asked Elarton about safety issues and he said that the Colorado Department of Transportation gave the firm "glowing" reviews.

The move was not welcomed by drivers and fellow classified workers who sported yellow stickers reminding board members they were taxpayers, too, and signs asking that the bus program not be outsourced. A large number gathered outside Pueblo West High School before the meeting, marching on the sidewalk with their signs. The board meeting drew more than 200 people and was moved into the gym from the commons area where it was supposed to be held.

While board members expected some resistance from bus drivers, public speakers addressed a broader issue: the district's apparent lack of interest in continuing to negotiate with its classified employees' union.

Already smarting over the board's move to a four-day week that would sacrifice some classified jobs and cut many peoples' weekly pay while protecting the teachers' contract hours, the classified workers pleaded with the board Tuesday night to at least leave their contract intact.

During a break in the meeting, Superintendent Dan Lere said that when the contract expires June 30, there is no requirement that the board extend it or negotiate a new one. He said that in past years, expired contracts have been extended but this year he could not say the board would do that. "It's a coin flip," he said.

Andy Bobian, speaking during the public comment session, became emotional when he told the board that upon starting his career as a custodian he questioned whether he wanted to spend his career cleaning toilets.

"I am following my heart working toward the education and future of our kids," he said, his voice breaking up.

Bobian pointed out that the 402-member union has a binding contract that requires negotiations and added that so far the district's cuts have been on the "backs of classified employees."

Another classified employee, Shari Price, told the board, "We understand teachers are important in the education process. Why aren't the people who support those efforts?

Why doesn't the administration want to extend the contract?"

Pointing out that many workers faced 16 percent cuts by the closing of schools on Fridays, she said, "You're asking employees to take wage cuts and furlough days on top of a wage reduction."

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A Guide to on Campus Jobs - Associated Content

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 06:42 AM PDT

It is no government secret, but finding a job during these financially unstable times is hard to do. This is even truer for those going to college. With a new-found freedom, students-unless if their parents are rich-will find that they have more financial responsibilities. With a full-time class schedule, it will be difficult, even impossible to find a full-time job. Your best bet is to find a part-time job. However, which companies will hire individuals on a part-time basis? You college campus may be the answer for you. There are many part-time jobs you can get without leaving your campus.

If you have a good personality and love to walk, you may consider being a campus guide. You take prospective college students to different parts of the campus and answer questions they may have. If you are thinking about majoring in sales and marketing, this job will help boost your experience since you are selling the campus by getting them interested in it.
Most college students will use a computer at least once in their college life. Therefore, there may be many IT jobs available on your campus. The positions may include fixing hardware/software problems, tutoring or giving general advice.

If you want to live in dorm for free, you may want to get a Resident Assistant job. You monitor what is going on in the dorm and acts as an adviser and mentor to the other students. This is an excellent opportunity if you have great interpersonal skills.

You can help students for their futures by being a Career Services Assistant. Some of your responsibilities would be to help students prepare their resumes, and help them search for jobs and prepare for interviews.
If you are majoring in the sciences, you may want to consider getting a job as a Lab Assistant. You can at as a tutor and help the professor grade papers.

Most college campus has a bookstore. You can get a job as an assistant by helping students find the correct books for their classes. Do not think that you will not have a job a week or two after classes start. Students will be using the bookstore throughout the semester to purchase additional supplies, books for the next semester and gifts.

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