I agree with just about everything you posted. I would add the word "leadership" to union. The only thing I didn't quite agree with was the claim about entry level positions. I believe you said transitional jobs.
I would offer to you that as we exit the industrial age andprogress well into the technology age, service jobs cannot be called just entry level or transition for all time. They are simply too many to do so. I would offer that if service based jobs are to be called entry level or transitional for all time then this country will fall on its face with a workfoce comprised mostly of entry level positions. I think that is a recipie for disaster.
Does this mean I would hammer wal mart? No, not at all. I Like wal mart. I would hammer the other entities you named very hard and I would call for people to accept that lots and lots of gen X and gen Y will always be in service based jobs and that they are indeed careers.
An example. My wife has been a CNA, always been a CNA. This is considered unskilled labor. An entry level position. Take a good look where that attitude leads by noticing the utterly disgusting care (and respect) we give our elders in this nation.
She doesn't want to be a nurse, RN LPN etc. She likes the direct care that she can provide to folks that spent a lifetime earning at least a clean shave a bath and a person to actually show they care about them in their last days. I offer it takes a very special kind of person to do that and calling it unskilled labor ( and paying a wage that reflects that) is about as much a slap in the face as the care nursing homes provide for their $6000 a month fee.
Not an attack man, just an observation a couple comments and an example to show where I am coming from.
She doesn't want to be a nurse, RN LPN etc. She likes the direct care that she can provide to folks that spent a lifetime earning at least a clean shave a bath and a person to actually show they care about them in their last days. I offer it takes a very special kind of person to do that and calling it unskilled labor ( and paying a wage that reflects that) is about as much a slap in the face as the care nursing homes provide for their $6000 a month fee.
I believe that, as the baby boomers age, individuals in your wife's position, attitude, and skill set, will be in a position to take advantage of coming social changes.
If she, and other workers who are willing to perform this kind of work, could manage to form up, and initiate, manage and operate high quality, low cost nursing care facilities for aging baby boomers, they would be set to acquire some significantly increased income.
It would take a group that understood the expectations of baby boomers for personalized, sympathetic care, and to understand the value of individuals like your wife, who now do the job because they want to, not because it pays particularly well.
Such individuals as your wife would be, I believe, in high demand, based upon the reputation of such a facility. High demand equals high pay.
That all may sound crazy at this juncture, but I believe that once baby boomers reach nursing home care (and even before that, in-home care) age, good treatment, a safe environment, and the long term stability of care will be something most of them will be more than willing to pay for.
And if such a support facility was focused on low cost/high quality care, the line of customers would be out the door (probably in wheelchairs, but still waiting to get in).