He explains how deregulation and collective action by employers transformed trucking's labor markets - once dominated by the largest and most powerful union in US history - into an important example of the costs of contemporary labor markets for workers and the general public. He then shows how inexperienced workers are convinced to lease a truck and to work as independent contractors. But as Steve Viscelli, political sociologist and lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, shows in his new book, The Big Rig: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream (University of California Press, 2016), the romantic idea of the hardworking, solitary truck driver making a decent, honest living for his family must be laid to rest. Drawing on more than 100 in-depth interviews and years of extensive observation, including six months training and working as a long-haul trucker, Viscelli explains in detail how labor is recruited, trained, and used in the industry. Steve Viscelli, The Big Rig: Trucking and the Decline of the American Dream (U. The Big Rig explains how this massive degradation in the quality of work has occurred, and how companies achieve a compliant and dedicated workforce despite it. But as Steve Viscelli, political sociologist and lecturer at the. He is also a senior associate at the Center on Wisconsin. Trucking used to be one of the best working-class jobs in the United States. Steve Viscelli is a political sociologist and lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. The typical long-haul trucker works the equivalent of two full-time jobs, often for little more than minimum wage. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors.

Click here to purchase from Rakuten Kobo Long-haul trucks have been described as sweatshops on wheels. Steve Viscelli is a former truck driver and now an economic sociologist at University of Pennsylvania studying freight transportation, including autonomous trucks.

The Big Rig by Steve Viscelli