"Shelf Lives" Paper

Todd Rose

Dr. Starita Smith

Sociology 3800

April 25th 2012

Extra Credit Paper on the Article, Shelf Lives

This paper will be a substantive discussion on a major article on a current event related to work as it relates to the sociological study of work. One of the most interesting aspect of our class, The Sociology of Work, is that the subject matter that we learn and discuss in class can be applied to present day events that are impacting everyday people in our country. When choosing an interesting article to read and then write about, I had to look no further than a cover story article that I found in the magazine, Mother Jones, that is titled Shelf Lives. As I read the article, I was both amused by the writer’s storytelling talents and captivated by what I learned from the story. The subject matter discussed in the article concerns the working life of those who are employed to work inside online shopping warehouses. In other words, the article conveys to the reader what happens after consumers place an order on an online shopping site. The main points discussed within the article are workplace culture within an online shopping warehouse, the working conditions of an online shopping warehouse, and the temporary employment hiring trend of online shopping warehouses. In this paper, I will first summarize the article, Shelf Lives, and then I will discuss the article’s main points as they relate to the sociology of work.

The article, Shelf Lives, chronicles writer Mac McClelland’s experiences working undercover in an online shopping warehouse. The warehouse is located in a rural community located somewhere west of the Mississippi and the fictional name that Ms. McClelland assigns to the warehouse is Amalgamated Product Giant Shipping Worldwide Inc. For one week in November 2011, Ms. McClelland goes undercover working for Amalgamated as a picker. A picker, we learn from the article, is someone who picks items that have been order by online shoppers...