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The Welfare Assembly Line: Public Servants in the Suffering City by Josh Seim at Abbey's Bookshop,
The Welfare Assembly Line: Public Servants in the Suffering City
— —
Josh Seim

The Welfare Assembly Line

Public Servants in the Suffering City

Josh Seim

$49.95

Paperback

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English
University of California Press
21 March 2026
Poverty & unemployment; Sociology: work & labour; Social welfare & social services
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 proletarianized. 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 labor 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.
By:  
Imprint:   University of California Press
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 229mm,  Width: 152mm, 
ISBN:   9780520404168
ISBN 10:   0520404165
Pages:   302
Publication Date:  
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Undergraduate ,  Further / Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Contents   List of Tables Author’s Note Acknowledgments Glossary of Key Terms and Acronyms   Introduction 1. The Policy Factory 2. The Good County Job 3. Seeing Customers 4. Making Participants 5. Disciplining the Line 6. Dis/Connected Conclusion   Appendix: Notes on Data and Method Notes References Index

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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