On this episode, Dean Baker talks with MIT economist Paul Osterman about his new book, Disposable Workers: The Transformation of Employment, and the deliberate corporate strategy Osterman calls a "divorce" between employers and employees that is reshaping over a third of the American workforce.
Osterman walks through the different categories firms use to keep workers at arm's length, from contractors and freelancers to what he calls "marginal workers." He also looks at the real consequences—including lower pay, higher turnover, and even public health risks—tied to this shift.
