High-Tech Temps Have More Power
Your recent Valley Business report (July 26) on the emergence of temporary workers as a permanent fixture in the labor force, though generally accurate, totally misrepresented a specific segment of the industry, technical temps.
I have been a technical temporary personnel provider for 15 years. For over 50 years, our company has staffed industry with highly trained, skilled workers who command top compensation for their services. The story’s most glaring error was its contention that technical positions could (pay) “as high as $20 per hour.” Actually, that is closer to the average rather than the high rate, which ranges from $50-$60 per hour at high-tech companies.
Also erroneous was the statement that higher salaried temps “typically have little job security, rarely receive health insurance, get little or no paid vacation, and are often paid less . . . “ Many technical temps earn higher wages than their full-time counterparts and may receive holiday and vacation pay, health insurance and participate in a retirement program.
Regarding job security, a recent survey of our company’s workers showed the average assignment is six months, with 33% working continuously for over one year, and 15% for more than two years. The survey also showed the growth in temporary positions is not contrary to the desires of workers. Technical temps deliberately opt for such a career for a variety of reasons, including: wanting to travel, earn more money, be their own boss, improve their skills, avoid office politics, and a preference for flexible work time and professional diversity.
Far from being a destabilizing force, temporary workers are helping American companies become more productive and competitive by stabilizing labor costs. Arguing the merits of this emerging fact of economic life is as irrelevant today as were the debates over developing the internal combustion engine to replace horse and buggies, or the pros and cons of automation, in their respective eras. In a free market system, evolution happens.
MICHAEL D. PARENTE
Regional Vice President
H.L. Yoh Co.
Van Nuys
