Spring Break
URI Honors director publishes book on workers' rights, effects of globalization
Betsy Cohen
Issue date: 2/4/09 Section: News
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Richard McIntyre, a University of Rhode Island professor of economics and the director of the Honors Program, recently published a book about the mistreatment of employees in the work force.
The book, "Are Worker Rights Human Rights?" is a 220-page, informative investigation that delves into "how these kinds of problems are interpreted by different kinds of people," McIntyre said.
McIntyre was inspired by former Rhode Island resident and executive director of the Workers Rights Consortium in Washington, Scott Nova.
He began writing the book in 1999 and finished it in 2007.
"I've been working on employment labor problems for 25 years or so," McIntyre said. He later added, "I'm interested in issues that are at the border of social science and moral philosophy."
Throughout his work with the Rhode Island Jobs with Justice, and the International Labor Association in Geneva, McIntyre has learned how some employers attempt to distance themselves from their workers. He refers to this as creating 'social distance' or 'moral distance.'
From his research, McIntyre concluded that the struggle of local workers to be hired and the globalization of employment are responsible for the detriment of temporary help.
McIntyre said it is important to understand that this is not just an international issue.
In 2001, Town Dock, a shellfish plant in Narragansett was employing workers from Providence and transporting them by van to the work place. One day, the van tipped over en route to work and killed employee Rosa Ruiz. The incident caused an outrage from employees.
Any employee who spoke out against the working conditions of Town Dock was fired, McIntyre said. The management claimed that these employees were part of a temporary-help program and essentially "wiped their hands clean" of responsibility.
McIntyre said he is currently researching "how the capitalist class in the United States differs from Japan and Europe on these issues."
"I think it's important for people to be conscious of how interdependent we are on other countries," McIntyre said. "It's important to be aware of what's going on and not simply be a mindless consumer. Be more aware of our interdependence on the world."
McIntyre will speak at Rutgers University in New Jersey next month and travel to New York City shortly thereafter.
Comparative Employment Relations, a graduate class he teaches on the URI Kingston Campus, uses his new book. It can be purchased in the campus bookstores or on Amazon.com.
