Building Merrill Series: Everyone an Entrepreneur

Building Merrill Series continues February 6:
‘Harder Working Merrill: Making Everyone Employable’

On Tuesday, February 6, at 6:30 p.m., in T.B. Scott Free Library’s Community Room, the public is invited to be part of a dynamic community discussion, “Everyone an Entrepreneur: The New Economy.” Presenting speaker is Jon Shelton, assistant professor of democracy and justice studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

The new economy, often dubbed “The Sharing Economy,” is based in part on a redefinition of work. In this new model, employers increasingly cut costs by classifying workers as contractors. Contractors are independent, with all the freedom that implies. Contractors, however, lack the legal status of an employee, including the promise of minimum wages, overtime benefits, health insurance, worker’s compensation if hurt on the job, or unemployment benefits for those who are laid off.

Shelton will chart the historical origins and the political conditions that have led to our modern economy. He will examine some recent examples – permatemps, adjunct faculty, Uber drivers and free-agent athletes – to show the erosion of the traditional workplace and the growth of a more precarious generation of workers.

Background on Building Merrill Series:
This program marks the 11th in the “Building Merrill Together” series, which aims to stir government, business and the general public to positively change Merrill through information and discussion, and by creating an open and transparent environment for change.

The Active and Aware Merrill Citizens, formed after a community discussion at the library last October which launched the Building Merrill Together initiative, will continue to explore issues of community importance, and enhanced communications between citizens and city and county government on issues relevant to the community.

Building Merrill Together is co-supported by The Interactivity Foundation (IF), the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service (WIPPS) and T.B. Scott Free Library. For more information, go to the library website or call 715-536-9171.