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The Welfare Assembly Line
Public Servants in the Suffering City
Brief Description
Despite claims that we live in a "post-welfare society," welfare offices remain vital not only for those who depend on them for benefits but also for those who depend on them for a paycheck. This book, a theory-driven case study of the Los Angeles County Department...
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Description
Despite claims that we live in a "post-welfare society," welfare offices remain vital not only for those who depend on them for benefits but also for those who depend on them for a paycheck. This book, a theory-driven case study of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services, examines how welfare work has transformed to allow a department of just 14,000 to serve more than a third of the county.
Josh Seim argues that frontline workers at this agency—who are mostly Black and Brown women—have become increasingly proletarianised. Their work is defined less by their discretion and more by a lack of control over the productive process. This is enabled by a "welfare assembly line," where a high division of labour and heavy use of machinery resemble production regimes in factories and fast-food restaurants.
With implications beyond the welfare office, The Welfare Assembly Line is a crucial addition to the broader national conversation about work, social policy, and poverty governance.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780520404168
Publisher: University of California Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 10 February 2026
Country: United States
Imprint: University of California Press
Illustration: 7 tables
Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 229.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 302
Collections
About the Author
Josh Seim is Associate Professor of Sociology at Boston College and author of Bandage, Sort, and Hustle: Ambulance Crews on the Front Lines of Urban Suffering.
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