Source: Adam Jomant | Shaw Media.
The Joliet Herald-News interviewed Beth Gutelius, a senior researcher specialist at GCI, in an article looking at the growth of warehouses and fulfillment and distribution centers in Will County, Illinois and the pros and cons of employment in these industries.
One expert, who has studied Will County warehouse jobs specifically in the past, said the research and outlook of the quality of these jobs is a mixed bag. Beth Gutelius, a senior researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Great Cities Institute, partnered with the Warehouse Workers for Justice on a 2010 study of warehouse work in the county and elsewhere.
“I don’t think we have much evidence that working conditions in Will County, or anywhere, have improved,” Gutelius said.
Gutelius goes on to mention that warehouse employment is often temporary, low-paying, and high-pressure, with corporate profits rarely staying within the community. Her comments add to the debate on whether or not warehouse development is worth the incentives offered by local government and paid for by taxpayers.
