ABSTRACT
Retailers contract out floor space to merchandise suppliers, and suppliers pay salesclerks’ wages and commissions. In some stores, like Sunshine, salesclerks no longer have any legal employment relationship with the store itself, and manufacturers pay salesclerks directly, in cash, once a month. The factory-in-the-store system provides great flexibility and control for employers. The factory-in-the-store system also creates more flexible employment relations. Clerks work in these stores as long as their manufacturer-employer operates a sales space, which given the seasonal nature of the clothing industry, may be as short as three or four months. The early 1990s were boom years for large urban retailers. Being a legal employee of the “factory” introduced greater employment uncertainty into sales clerks’ lives. Few clerks actually remained at the store long enough to confront the upper age limit. The issue of whether or not to offer special promotional discounts illustrates the clash of managerial edicts created by the factory-in-the-store, two-boss system.
