The Welfare Assembly Line : Public Servants in the Suffering City
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Overview
Despite claims that we live in a "post-welfare society," welfare offices remain vital not only for those who depend on them for benefits but also for those who depend on them for a paycheck. This book, a theory-driven case study of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, examines how welfare work has transformed to allow a department of just 14,000 to serve more than a third of the county. Josh Seim argues that frontline workers at this agency--who are mostly Black and Brown women--have become increasingly proletarianized. Their work is defined less by their discretion and more by a lack of control over the productive process. This is enabled by a "welfare assembly line," where a high division of labor and heavy use of machinery resemble production regimes in factories and fast-food restaurants. With implications beyond the welfare office, The Welfare Assembly Line is a crucial addition to the broader national conversation about work, social policy, and poverty governance.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9780520404168
- ISBN-10: 0520404165
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publish Date: February 2026
- Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 0.93 pounds
- Page Count: 302
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