Vicki Smith received her degree in Sociology from UC Berkeley in
1987. Her areas of specialization include employment, pathways to
work, and inequality.
2270 Social Sciences & Humanities Building
Davis, CA
Low-wage workers know they have to enhance their skills to escape
low-wage jobs, but long hours and multiple jobs make
skill-building and education nearly impossible, according to a
new policy brief released by the Center for Poverty Research at
the University of California, Davis. Joining us to talk more
about the research are the authors of the brief, Victoria Smith,
a UC Davis professor of sociology and a faculty affiliate
for the Center for Poverty Research, and Brian Halpin, a graduate
student in sociology at UC Davis.
Low-wage workers wanting to enhance their skills and move into
higher-paying jobs are blocked by working long hours and multiple
jobs that make skill-building and education nearly impossible,
according to a new policy brief released by the Center for
Poverty Research at the University of California, Davis.
In the ongoing study, Victoria Smith, a UCD professor of
sociology and a faculty affiliate for the research center, and
co-author Brian Halpin, a UCD graduate student in sociology,
conducted interviews with 25 low-wage workers in the Napa/Sonoma
area in the fall of 2012.
“People find themselves very caught up, just treading water. The
fact that they often are supporting other people heightens their
need to take extra hours when they can get them,” Smith said.
Some policy analysts, policymakers and scholars argue that
low-wage workers should “work their way out of poverty” by
acquiring the human capital that would enable them to leave
poverty-level jobs.
