This is what a job in the U.S.? new manufacturing industry looks like
Nissan and Tennessee seem to be leading the way in a shift in the U.S. manufacturing industry that has led the state from temporary jobs representing 15% of manufacturing jobs in 2002 to 26% in 2012. The growth in temporary work in all industries in the state accounts for almost all of the job growth seen since the recession. At Nissan in particular, the temporary work is believed to make up over half of the jobs in the Smyrna plant, although the company states that as the economy improves, it will transition to more regular jobs. The state of temporary workers in manufacturing across the country is not as extreme, but follows the same trend, rising from about 14% in 2001 to about 21% in 2012. Local politicians can see the effects of such a large portion of the workforce being paid less than half as much as they would be if they were more permanent, yet they are still convinced allowing a union entry to the community would lead to devastating job losses as employers fled to other nearby anti-union states.
See "This is what a job in the U.S.? new manufacturing industry looks like", Lydia DePillis, The Washington Post, March 9, 2014