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Forget the dire predictions of a looming shortfall of scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians

"I've seen people pass out, hit the floor like a pancake, and smash their face open," a worker at Tesla's "factory of the future" told the Guardian in a report published this week. "They just send us to work around him while he's still lying on the floor." The Guardian report described long hours and intense pressure to meet CEO Elon Musk's production goals-even if that means enduring or ignoring injuries. Since 2014, according to the report, hundreds of ambulances have been called to the factory to treat workers. This portrayal doesn't quite jive with Musk's world-changing vision. And Tesla isn't only Silicon Valley company facing this type of irony. Technology companies' reputations as employers often stem from how they treat highly paid engineers, but many also employ thousands of blue collar workers. Tech workers at these companies receive high pay, elaborate perks, and progressive workplace policies, but blue collar workers for the same companies often work in circumstances that look much less...