Invisible

Difficult to organize that which cannot be seen.

“There used to be a sense that unemployment was rich soil for radicalization and revolt,” says Nelson Lichtenstein, a professor of labor history at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “That was a motif in American history for a long time, but we don’t seem to have that anymore.”

But why? It’s partly because of the greater dispersion of the unemployed, and partly because of the weakening of the institutions that previously mobilized them.

Unemployment doesn’t necessarily beget apathy, Mr. McDonald says. Rather, demographic groups that are more likely to be unemployed also happen to be the same groups that are less likely to vote to begin with, such as the poor and the low-skilled.

Even so, numerous studies have shown that unemployment leads to feelings of shame and a loss of self-worth. And that is not particularly conducive to political organizing. As Heather Boushey, an economist at the liberal Center for American Progress, puts it, rather bluntly: “Nobody wants to join the Lame Club.”

One thing we've very nearly perfected is blaming the powerless for having no power. There's also this.

In other countries, workers have mobilized online. Unions here, too, have reached out on the Web. They include groups like Working America (the community affiliate of the A.F.L.-C.I.O.) and UCubed (created by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers).

But many Web sites geared toward the unemployed aren’t about mobilizing workers. Many instead provide guidance about things like posting résumés online, or simply offer the comfort of an online community.

It’s not clear why this is the case, when social networks have been so essential to organizing economic protests in places like Britain and Greece, not to mention political movements in the Middle East.

“You have to remember that technology is not independent of social structures, motivations and politics,” Mr. Kazin says. “People can feel like they have their own community online, which is useful emotionally, but they also have to have the desire and demand to do something about their situation first before they start using that online presence to organize anything in person.”

Obviously part of the problem here is what we think of as the classic "digital divide". Low skilled workers with minimal educational attainment are frequently uncomfortable navigating even the simplest online job application much less connecting with "online communities" of people in similar circumstances.

Libraries deal with this problem every day and it isn't pretty. Because physical unemployment offices are either shrinking or closing altogether, public libraries are among the few places available for the unemployed to even apply for benefits much less find a new job. But libraries aren't the ideal setting for getting this accomplished. Even for a relatively competent user, landing a job using a public access computer is far from simple. Imagine having to accomplish the following tasks.

• Build a resume from scratch.



• Locate and read through multiple job postings to decide which openings are best suited to you.



• Comprehend and complete the unique application process for each job. This may mean many or all of the following.
  1. Registering a user account with the hiring organization's website.
  2. Completing a potentially lengthy online application and questionnaire.
  3. Tailoring a resume and cover letter to the specific circumstances of each job.
  4. Locating and submitting various supplemental documents or pieces of information.
  
  
  
• Be reachable within a reasonable amount of time, and preferably by email, to answer additional requests or schedule an interview.

How much of this could you accomplish working on a publicly shared computer in a frequently crowded and, yes quite often, loud public library which you have access to for probably one hour each day? How well would you be able to present yourself? Now imagine how much more difficult that process becomes for someone with little to no ability to use even that inadequate tool.

So the online spaces where the unemployed and marginalized can seek assistance and organize themselves are every bit as inaccessible to them as the physical spaces have become. Is it any wonder they aren't being seen?