{"product_id":"the-welfare-assembly-line-public-servants-in-the-suffering-city-9780520404168","title":"The Welfare Assembly Line: Public Servants in the Suffering City","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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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, \u003ci\u003eThe Welfare Assembly Line\u003c\/i\u003e is a crucial addition to the broader national conversation about work, social policy, and poverty governance. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Josh Seim\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of California Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/10\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 302\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.93lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.80d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780520404168","brand":"University of California Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46428630876297,"sku":"9780520404168","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_1bde3e98-6041-474e-b96c-3f016c2b0053.jpg?v=1778014993","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/the-welfare-assembly-line-public-servants-in-the-suffering-city-9780520404168","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}