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Low-wage Workers in a High-technology Manufacturing Complex: The Southern Californian Electronics Assembly Industry

Author

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  • Allen J. Scott

    (Geography and Director of the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA)

Abstract

The paper opens with a brief description of the electronics assembly industry in Southern California. A statistical profile of workers in the industry is presented. It is shown that the employment relation in this industry is characterised by much instability and mobility, though the industry also comprises a cadre of more steadily employed workers. A division of labour along gender and ethnic lines can be demonstrated to exist in the industry, with Asian males occupying more technical and responsible positions than Asian females and Hispanic males and females. Workers are shown to be strongly tied in their residential locations and job mobility patterns to fairly narrowly circumscribed local labour market areas. In sum, the paper sketches out a portrait of a secondary labour market in which job precariousness and social marginality exist side-by-side with a certain degree of internal differentiation and permanence.

Suggested Citation

  • Allen J. Scott, 1992. "Low-wage Workers in a High-technology Manufacturing Complex: The Southern Californian Electronics Assembly Industry," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 29(8), pages 1231-1246, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:29:y:1992:i:8:p:1231-1246
    DOI: 10.1080/00420989220081241
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Topel, Robert H, 1986. "Local Labor Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 111-143, June.
    2. Ong, Paul M. & Morales, Rebecca, 1988. "Mexican Labor in Los Angeles," Institute for Social Science Research, Working Paper Series qt56q3d310, Institute for Social Science Research, UCLA.
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    Cited by:

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