Editorial: Low-wage manufacturing jobs are a gateway to higher pay and more career opportunities

While the nation last week acknowledged the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson's declaration of a war on poverty, Memphis was laboring under a 28 percent poverty rate.

Last Sunday, Kevin McKenzie, a business writer for The Commercial Appeal, reported that low labor costs here are a big asset for Memphis as manufacturers look to return jobs to American shores.

Memphis has not been winning the war on poverty, and has actually lost ground over the last couple of years with the poverty rate jumping a couple of percentage points.

The statistics are better nationally. The U.S. poverty rate has declined from 26 percent in 1967 to 16 percent in 2012, according to a new Council of Economic Advisers report. That is nearly 50 million Americans, including more than 13 million children.

That is a staggering number of people for a nation that prides itself on giving everyone the opportunity to live the American dream, a quandary that has sparked much debate over the decades.

In Memphis, though, the wage issue raises an interesting question. Should attracting low-wage jobs be seen as something to brag about? Do these jobs help build a strong middle-class foundation that helps make a great city? Do they provide enough income to buy a home, enjoy some of the city's amenities or send the kids to college?

In Seattle, Boston, Charlotte or Madison, Wis., the answer probably would be no. But this is Memphis, which prides itself as being the nation's top distribution center That translates into a lot of warehouse jobs, where permanency is generally rare, wages are low and benefits usually are not included.

We're not saying those jobs should not be valued. Anything that gives people a paycheck and work experience is a plus.

Industries like Electrolux that are providing low starting wages, with benefits, should be aggressively pursued by Memphis and Shelby County.

These kinds of jobs are not magic bullets to significantly reduce the city's poverty rate or build a stronger middle class.

They do, however, provide opportunities for higher pay as employees gain more experience, and can lead to better job opportunities later.

And, more to the point of jobs and wages: Because of a skills gap, there are some 16,000 to 18,000 jobs unfilled here at a time when more than 56,000 area residents are unemployed.

So, when talking about making a serious dent in our poverty rate, the collaborative effort among leaders in education, business and government to produce skilled workers must not slacken.

Asked last week if low-wage jobs hurt efforts to build a strong middle class, a key ingredient to building a vibrant, financially sound city, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell raised this point:

When you talk about building a strong middle class, defining it is more than salary.

It's a standard of living, educational achievement and quality of life.

Luttrell makes a good point, but those things are best obtained and enjoyed when people have good, steady wages, with benefits.

With the city's unemployment rate surpassing 10 percent and a poverty rate of 28 percent, being able to attract any kind of manufacturing jobs, low-wage or not, is a blessing.

But if the city cannot produce enough skilled or trainable workers to fill those jobs, manufacturers could eventually begin looking elsewhere to locate.