Does the Employer Own a Worker's Job?

Here is a great article about "jobs."  I found it on Truthout, written by: Ellen Dannin, with the American Constitution Society called, "Democracy's Work - Work in a Democratic Society."
http://www.truth-out.org/democracys-work-work-democratic-society/1303841302

Here is a section that I liked especially because it brings up the issue of what "We the People,"acting as the U.S. Government or as U. S. Citizens, have contributed to the ability of individuals and corporations to accumulate wealth.  Even more to the point, what aspects of this country and it's resources can we claim part ownership in.  Who has some level of ownership through the role of citizen, of the water, the soil, the ecosystem the legal system, the infrastructure, the mountains, the coal and maybe even our JOBS.  Here is an excerpt from Dannin's article:
"A common starting point assumes that a job is the employer’s property and that workplace laws are a trespass on that property. However, this view fails to take into account all of the resources and investments that create and maintain jobs. No job exists without joint investments by employers, employees, and society.

Society’s investments in current and future workers include creating and supporting infrastructure that directly benefits employers and companies that operate in the United States. Among public investments that support and subsidize employers are monitoring and controlling diseases and dangers to public health; ensuring we have safe water, air, and food; monitoring and responding to weather and environmental threats; and investing in and directly building public infrastructure, including transportation, scientific discoveries, and education.

One of the most important investments that makes the United States an attractive place to do business is the stability of our system of laws and legal procedures. They ensure that agreements are enforced and disputes are settled peacefully. In addition, employers large and small receive public support through many forms of tax breaks, grants, and other financial aid and supports. Employers are also assisted by state and federal departments and agencies that provide stability, technical advice, and grants. Even more important are laws that allow employers to incorporate. These laws free companies from various sorts of liability that apply to people and allow them to exist in perpetuity. Indeed, were we to account for the dollar value of all types of public support provided to create and support jobs, it would be obvious that all jobs in this country are public sector jobs.  (My emphasis.)

Employees’ work is an investment of their time, thought, education, training, abilities, effort, and commitment to the success of the enterprise. Without these investments, no employer can succeed. The value of these resources, provided by employees, is far greater than the cost of their pay, and their contribution and investments need to be acknowledged and protected.  (Again my emphasis.)

Each job, then, has multiple investors who can make justifiable claims to joint ownership of those jobs. These property rights deserve to be recognized and protected."

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Give this some serious thought.  I believe it is important to re-own what We The People have accomplished and created in this country.  This discussion about jobs is related to the ideas presented in the book, "Unjust Deserts: Wealth and Inequality in the Knowledge Economy," by Gar Alperovitz and Lew Daly which I have listed in my Suggested Reading List.  The "Powers-that-be" would love for us to feel that nothing would have ever happened in this country or will ever happen without their god-like leadership and investment.  Apparently we are supposed to buy into the idea that we were just sitting around watching in amazement as this country was founded and developed by special wise, wealthy, brilliant, generous, caring  individuals just for the benefit of the huge unwashed mass of dumb, lazy, ignorant, uninspired citizens.  In other words, we the majority.

Now we each know this is not true.  In our guts we have a suspicion that we and our friends and family are the ones who make things work.  Each individual person has their area of knowledge, interest and expertise.  It may be small and it may seem strange or unimportant, but together we make this country's most important enterprises function.  First, we make the food and the shelters.  We also solve the problems in our cities, communities and workplaces.  We help each other, we educate, we negotiate, we create and recreate, we celebrate, we work, we build, we heal, we learn, we nurture, we invent, we make art and we make fun.  And we do these things best when we don't have a lot of material possessions and when we are needed the most.  

Look around.  We made all this happen.  And we can un-make the parts we don't like.  We can do things differently if we want.  We can figure out solutions to the problems facing our country and our planet.  We certainly don't have to wait around for the "Powers-that-be" to do it since we can see that that isn't going to happen, EVER!  So, give it some thought!