Internal
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  Review Notes on   ST  8:  The Middle & Working Classes
External
Links
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 The Middle Class   
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            The Great Labor Compromise   
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            The Weakening of the Great Labor Compromise   
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 The Middle Class:  Social Power   
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 The Middle Class:  Economic Power   
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 The Middle Class:  Political Power   
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            Working Class Culture   
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            Job Satisfaction   
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            Alienation & Anomie   
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                       The Components of Alienation   
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                       Contemporary Analyses of Alienation   
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                       Alienation at Work   
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            Safety at Work   
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 The Declining Middle Class   
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            Why the Middle & Working Classes have not Organized   

 
 Internal
Links

Top
  Outline on the  Middle Class
External
Links
  -  Supplement:  Now w/ Bill Moyers:  11-7-03:  After the New Economy:  David Brancaccio talks to Doug Henwood 
Link
Link
 Table of Nine Classes in the Modern Industrialized Nations ( Primarily the US )  
Link
 Table on the Convergence of Occupation, Bureaucratic & Property Divisions of Five Class Categories  
  There are NINE qualities which describe the middle class  (which are seen in the remainder of the discussion of the middle class}
1. their occupational structure encompasses a range of jobs
2. their jobs vary on complexity, skill, education, authority
3. their jobs are generally non-manual
4. they may include professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, professors, middle mgrs, et al
5. there are a variety of sub-classes, such as semi-professional / white collar workers, teachers, sales people, clerks, office workers, etc.
6. they have higher job satisfaction, security, pay than the classes beneath them
7. there is relatively little ownership
8. the independent workers have some ownership, & are called the petite bourgeoisie
9. they have minimal stock ownership & no stock control		  
 
 The distinctions between the upper middle class, the middle class & the lower middle class are that as one moves up the class ladder, each class has more bureaucratic authority & political power, as well as income  
 
 The upper middle class may overlap into the corporate class
 
 
 Professionals & some white collar workers have mid level authority, i.e. authority over middle & working class workers  
 
 Professionals & white collar workers receive orders from above & implement them via bureaucratic authority
 
 
 It is the allocation of some authority to Professionals & white collar workers that makes class conflict seem irrelevant to most of the middle class  
  Given the allocation of some authority to higher level middle class workers, it appears as if the conflict is w/in the middle & working classes  
  In effect, the conflict is between the surrogates of the upper & corporate classes & the middle & working classes  
  There are NINE qualities which describe the working class ( aka blue collar workers )
1.  their jobs have low complexity, skill, education, authority, & are manual
2.  many are factory workers (some highly paid), truck drivers, plumbers, gas station attendants, welders, et al
3.  they generally have low pay, & job security
4.  their jobs are more physically demanding
5.  their jobs are more dangerous
6.  they have no authority on the job
7.  the independent workers have some ownership, & are called the petite bourgeoisie
8.  they have no or very little ownership
9.  the US has lowest level of middle & working class authority & ownership as compared to other industrialized nations
10. their stock ownership is minimal & they have no stock control		  
  There is a high level of conflict & competition among all the ranks of the middle & working classes  
  There is a continuum of the ranks of the middle & working classes & so no clear lines divide them  
 
 The history of the middle & working classes began when poor merchants, serfs, "free men" came to America for religious freedom & econ opportunity  
  Many of the pre middle class, free men, etc. were "drafted" i.e., indentured servants in proto factories & labor gangs  
  During the formation of the middle class in Europe & North America, in Africa, Africans were enslaved  
  In 1776, the US was seen a radical democracy;  a social experiment that was bound to fail  
  US citizens had relatively equal status, political power, & economic power & many of the upper class believed that this was a political recipe for chaos  
  The US began as agrarian nation w/ westward expansion allowing for wide-spread property ownership  
  The US revolution created the highest level of social, economic, & political equality in history  
 
 In 1789, the French Democratic Revolution encompassed 3 classes, including the aristocracy & the clergy, the merchants, & the middle class / poor  
  Merchants sided w/ the middle class because the aristocracy owed them so much money  
  In France, a counter revolution culminates w/ the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, the merchants replace aristocracy  
  In the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville was startled by the equality he saw in the US  
  When Tocqueville visited the US in the 1830s, the US had the highest level of equality for any industrialized nation; now we are the lowest  
  Tocqueville feared democracy as had his aristocratic, European forerunners  
  Tocqueville developed the concept of the tyranny of the majority in which he noted that the majority could make mistakes, violate the rights of the minority, etc., and it is difficult to correct them  
  We recognize the tyranny of the majority in the US Constitution in that it requires a 2/3’s majority for amendments  
 
 Tocqueville noted the restlessness in the midst of prosperity, in that the middle class always wants more, even during times of relative prosperity
 
  Tocqueville does not note that the endless pursuit of more wealth & power is also a routine practice of the upper class  
  Americans wanted, and were getting more equality & democracy  
 
 There was no true upper class in the early US, but it began developing in US & it was represented through agents  
  People like Washington & Jefferson were the "new rich" & were bankrupt at times  
 
 The industrial working class did not develop as rapidly as in Europe because of westward expansion  
 
 An entrepreneurial, or asset owning, bourgeoisie middle class developed  
 
 Class systems change, but slowly over centuries, generations, decades  
  In the 1700s, the US was  95 % agrarian & 5 % urban / industrial / trade oriented  
  By the late 1900s, the US was  less than 5 % agrarian & more than 95 % urban / industrial / trade oriented  
  The urban transformation was caused by industrialization and concentration of agriculture & the industrialization of the extraction industries  
  The urban transformation affected ownership, class, power  
  By the 1900, the size of the middle class, its authority, share of income, etc., were relatively stable  
Link
 Table 8 - 1  Occupational Distribution of the Civilian Labor Force, 1900 - 1990  
 
 An analysis of Table 8 - 1:  Occupational Distribution of the Civilian Labor Force,  indicates a shift from the working class to the middle class, in that   
  - in 1900, white collar workers made up 18 % of the workforce &  blue collar workers made up 83 % of the workforce  
  - in 1990, white collar workers made up 54 % of the workforce &  blue collar workers made up 47 % of the workforce  
 
 This shift to white collar workers does not mean things have improved because we must account for the shift to lower status, authority & economic reward in working & middle class  jobs  
 
 Table 8 - 1   Occupational Distribution of the Civilian Labor Force does not analyze the qualities of status, authority & economic rewards  
 
 In the past, office workers had quite high status, authority, & rewards, but today office workers have much lower status, authority, & rewards because of deskilling  
 
 Factory workers now have much less status, authority & reward than they did in the past, though their jobs are safer  
 
 Mills believes there are FOUR qualities of the pre-industrial old middle class, including
1. entrepreneurship
2. a commitment to personal freedom on the job:  were their own boss
3. a small business orientation
4. ownership of land, buildings, tools, etc.		  
 
 Mills believes there are FOUR qualities of the industrialized & white collar new middle class, including
1.  works for large organizations
2.   has little or no freedom
3.   large business
4.   no ownership (requirement for Weber's bureaucracy)		  
 
 Mills presents a romanticized view of the old, pre-industrial middle class, though he does point out many important distinctions  
 
 The dual processes of agrarian capitalism & industrialization/urbanization allowed small farmers to grow  
  The growth of small farmers to middle & large size created a concentration of agriculture which encouraged the shift from the displaced small farmer to the industrial worker  
  The growth of industrial proletariat was the result changes in technology & the social relations of production, such as  the assembly line, hierarchy & need for control  
  See Also:  The Economic Sociologists, including Braverman, Stone, et al
 
 
 Early factory work was low pay & low status:  employed mostly women & children  
  This established the mode of a high level of control of factory work  
  Early manufacturing work had been done by crafts & guilds  
  This system was destroyed by assembly line/division of labor  
  As males moved into the factory, the family wage arose & status, authority, etc. increased marginally  
 
 The rise of unions & the great labor compromise created a dual economy of union & non-union sectors  
  When unionization became legal ( 1880-1935 ), radical labor leaders were eliminated  
  In the great labor compromise, the AFL & CIO agreed that bargaining would occur over wages only w/ no discussion of ownership, control or benefits  
  Unionized workplaces became core industries  
  1.  concentration of industry:  big corps  
  2.  higher productivity  
  3.  higher profits  
  4.  capital intensive (job elimination)  
  5.  less price competition (compete on marketing, features, etc.)  
  The peripheral industries were non unionized  
  1.  smaller businesses  
  2.  lower productivity  
  3.  lower profits (high business failure rate)  
  4.  labor intensive (service)  
  5.  more price competition  
  There were THREE shifts in the middle & working classes resulting in their shrinkage  
  1.  loss of skilled blue & white collar jobs  ( see technology & deskilling )  
  2.  expansion of low skilled, low pay service jobs in periphery industries  
  3.  expansion of professional/managerial jobs in upper range of pay (for mid class)  
  With the shrinkage in the middle, there much growth at the bottom, & slight growth at the top  
  From 1988 to 1993 the US lost 2 mm skilled & semi-skilled jobs in manufacturing, mining & construction & gained 1.3 mm service jobs paying $215 per wk  
  In 1993, 18 % of all fully employed workers made wages below the poverty line, a 50 % increase since 1979  
  In 1994, 72 % of new jobs were managerial & professional
               25 % of the workforce was managerial & professional  ( 34 of 132 mm )
              12 % of workforce was manufacturing  ( 17 of 132 mm )		  
  There are THREE reasons the US economy deindustrialized, i.e., shifted away from our old core industries
1.  US lost the competitive edge in manufacturing to Japan, S Korea, & Germany
2.  US won the competition in hi tech & hi income services
3.  US responded to lost edge w/ downsizing, lean manufacturing, etc.		  
  The conditions of work for US upper managers became the best in the world, including the highest rate of pay, the best perks, more interest, respect, diversion, & the most freedom on the job  
  In the 1860s, Marx described how work is a necessity to our “species being;” i.e., we need work to realize/fulfill ourselves  
  We are creative beings & if we cannot be creative, we are alienated  

 
Top
  
Table of Nine Classes in the Modern Industrialized Nations ( Primarily the US )

1. Upper Class
 ( Old Money )		 Families high in property ownership
      w/ high authority flowing from said ownership
EG:  the old established families:
      Rockefellers, Du Ponts, Mellons, Fords, Carnegie
2. Corporate Class
 ( New Money)		 Families w/ high authority & power in
       major corporations
       in government
    usually w/o extensive ownership in these corporations
Examples:  corp. presidents, vice presidents, & top board members
Most analysts agree that the UC is shrinking while the Corp Class is growing
3. Upper Middle Class Families w/ relatively little property
      but high to middle positions 
      in occupation (nonmanual labor)
      and authority
Examples:  lesser corporate managers, doctors, lawyers....
4. Middle Class Families w/ relatively little property
      but  middle positions 
      in occupation (nonmanual labor)
      and authority
Examples:  lesser corporate managers, doctors, lawyers 
                 & major office workers, clerks, salespeople
5. Lower Middle Class Families w/ relatively little property
      but middle to low positions in 
      occupation (nonmanual labor)
      and authority
Examples:  office workers, clerks, salespeople
6. Skilled Working Class Families w/ little or no property
      Middle to low positions in a skilled occupation 
      Manual labor
      Little or no authority
Examples: 
      Plumber (blue collar)
7. Unskilled Working Class Families w/ little or no property
      Middle to low positions in an unskilled occupation 
      Manual labor
      Little or no authority
Examples:  Fast food worker (white collar)
      Construction Laborer (blue collar)
8. Lower Class Families w/ no property & no authority
      Often unemployed
      Receive enough $ to stay in a home
               ( family, welfare, social sec, disability, crime... )
9. Destitute Families w/ no property & no authority
      Often unemployed
      Do not receive enough $ to stay in a home

 
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Table 5 - 3    The Convergence of Occupation, Bureaucratic & Property Divisions of 5 Class Categories
Kerbo0305
blank Occupation Bureaucratic Authority Property Relation
1. High High Owner
2. High High Nonowner
3. High to Mid Level Mid Level Nonowner
4. Mid Level to Low Low Nonowner
5. Low Low Nonowner

 
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Table 8 - 1  Occupational Distribution of the Civilian Labor Force, 1900 - 1990
Kerbo0308
Occupation
1900
1920
1940
1960
1979
1990
Professionals
  4
  5
 7
11
15
13
Managers
  6
  7
 7
11
11
11
Sales
  5
  5
  7
  6
 6
15
Clerical
  3
  8
10
15
18
15
Total White Collar
18
25
31
43
50
54
Crafts
11
13
13
13
13
11
Operatives
13
16
18
18
15
11
Laborers
12
12
  9
  5
 5
 4
Service
  9
  8
12
12
14
18
Farmers
38
27
17
 8
 3
 3
Total Blue Collar
83
76
68
56
50
47

 
Internal
Links

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 Outline on the  Great Labor Compromise, Business Unionism, etc.
External
Links
  -  Project: The Compromise in the Great Labor Compromise
Link
  -  Project: The Causes, Make Up, & Effects of the Great Labor Compromise
Link
  -  Introduction:  The Great Labor Compromise is aka Business Unionism, or Wage Unionism, or Gomperism  
  -  Summary:  American labor agreed to give up socialism & socialist goals in exchange for the right to exist & bargain over only wages & benefits  
  Business Unionism: "The Great Labor Compromise" created FOUR facets of labor relations where
( Not called Business Unionism until the 50's )
1.  Unions deal only with traditional areas: wages, hours, benefits, working conditions
2.  Unions will not form labor party
3.  Unions will not strive for other management prerogatives: control of workplace, ownership, etc.  ( no socialism )
4.  Management will accept unions
 
  Unions made the dream of upward mobility possible for the working class & even gave many a middle class lifestyle
 
  If the American Dream fails, many will turn to radicalism, escapism or other negative social behaviors
 
  "The Players" agreed ( AFL: Gompers & CIO: Lewis, FDR, Big Biz ) that bargaining would occur over wages only & there would be no discussion of ownership, control or benefits
 
  When unionization became legal  ( 1880 - 1935 ), radical labor leaders were eliminated  
  After the Great Depression, after trust busting (Sherman & Clayton Acts, & court battles), Unions made dream of upward mobility possible for the working class & gave many a middle class lifestyle
 
  Within the framework of upward mobility & govt mediated Labor Mgt. relations, many unionists wanted their children & grandchildren to get higher ed and escape the factory
 
 
 The dream of upward social mobility has THREE effects: 
 
  a.  discouraging political activity
 
  b.  keeping workers' satisfaction levels high
 
  c.  working against unionist children becoming union members
 
  Has the aspiration of upward mobility been achieved?
 
  If the American Dream fails, many will turn to radicalism, escapism or other negative social behaviors
 
  A failure of the aspiration of the American Dream would have THREE effects:
 
  a.  encourages more political activity
 
  b.  lowers worker satisfaction  
  c.  increasing multi generational unionism  
  d.  turning people toward crime, deviance, retreatism, or revolution  
  See Also:  Merton:  Merton demonstrates that when people are given an aspiration like the American Dream, while the means to achieve it are unavailable, they turn to crime, deviance, retreatism, or revolution  
  Labor, the govt, & industry "agreed" on wage unionism  
  Wage unionism is commonly held to have FIVE qualities including that collective bargaining shall   
  a.  deal only on wages (later expanded to benefits & job safety)  
  b.  deal w/ industrial workers  
  c.  not deal w/ ownership of industry, e.g. socialism  
  d.  not deal on control of the work process   
  The ceding of the control of the work process to industry dealt a death blow to crafts & allowed mgt to gain nearly total control of the wkplace  
  e.  not include radical union leaders   
  During the era of the Great Labor Compromise, many radical labor leaders are assassinated or expatriated  
  There are FIVE effects of Wage Unionism  
  a. Labor remains divided, divided by gender, race, class/skill  
  b.  US labor has no participation in workplace mgt while Europe has wk councils w/ Labor's participation on major workplace decisions  
  c.  Unions grew 5 fold by 1945  
  d.  labor orgs became corrupt  
  e.  the dual economy in US emerged which kept the LC, WC, MC fragmented  
  The MC & the UMC are not unionized because:  
  a.  it was part of “wage unionism” deal that only the wking class would be unionized  
  b.  they believe (wrongly) that they may move up  
  c.  they are a less homogenized workforce & therefore harder to unionize  
  d.  professional orgs are very difficult to unionize, or to even control by mgt  
  e.  they get paid more & therefore are not as motivated to seek improved conditions as the WC   
  The nature of the dual economy is in part responsible for Labor's elitism  
  Unionized workplaces became Core Industries  
  Core industries have the FIVE characteristics of  
  a.  the concentration of industry resulting in the biggest corps in history  
  b.  a higher level of productivity  
  c.  a higher level of profits  
  d.  capital intensive operations which result in the elimination of jobs  
  e.  less price competition, resulting in competition on marketing, features, etc.  
  Non unionized sectors of the economy become peripheral industries  
  Peripheral industries have the FIVE characteristics of:  
  a.  smaller businesses  
  b.  lower productivity  
  c.  lower profits (high business failure rate)  
  d.  labor intensive or service industries  
  e.  more price competition  

 
Internal
Links

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Outline on the Weakening of the Great Labor Compromise, Business Unionism, etc.
External
Links
  -  Project:  Opportunities & the Weakening of the GLC
Link
  Today, Labor bargains over wages, hours, working conditions, bilateral govt of the workplace, grievances, job security, political lobbying, etc.
 
  Fringe benefits in the form of pension plans, insurance, & vacation grants became part of collective bargaining as a result of using these forms of compensation in lieu of wage increases during WW 2  
  Union elitism still exists today which demonstrates the existence & effects of the Great Labor Compromise
 
  This split in union & non union workplaces still exists & is the source of much working class conflict
 
  Traditional industrial union workers remain better off than non unionized workers or non industrial workers, w/ the exception of some high tech workers
 
  Non industrial workers & non union workers are better off today than they were 100 yrs ago, but sill are behind the unionized industrial workers
 
  The impression of union elitism is moderated by TWO actions: 
 
  - the extent to which unions help others organize
 
  - the extent to which unions work for the benefit of the working class
 
  The GLC is weaker today & union membership fallen from 54% to 13% for TWO reasons  
  a.  - because of the sharp decline of the number of traditional union (industrial) jobs
 
  b.  - unions have been slow to change:  unions have been slow to organize service jobs, women, minorities, low wage jobs, etc.
 
  Just as Labor sought issues beyond wages, hours, & working conditions during WW 2, so they have sought issues of the 70s, 80s, etc.  
  Issues which unions are organizing around include comparable worth, civil rights, participation in decision making, the right to know, and more  

 
Internal
Links

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Outline on the  Middle Class:  Social Power
External
Links
  -  Project:  Middle Class Social Power 
Link
Link
 Table of Nine Classes in the Modern Industrialized Nations ( Primarily the US )  
Link
 Table 5-3 of  the Convergence of Occupation, Bureaucratic & Property Divisions of Five Class Categories  
 
 On July 4th, 1776, because of its emphasis on equality & democracy, the founding & survival of the US seemed to be one of the most radical developments in history  
 
 The US established a relatively flat hierarchy of status stratification where all classes could mix, & though social barriers still exist today which seem high to American, historically & nationally, the US has achieved one of the least stratified systems of social power  
  SEVEN of the consequences of one's class position that affects nearly every aspect of one's life, are that
1.  different classes live in different neighborhoods
2.  different classes often vote differently 
( since Reagan, the 1980s, the Democrat & Republican Parties have lost influence )
3.  different classes often  have clear political differences
4.  different classes often have different tastes in music
5.  lower classes have earlier sexual experiences
6.  different classes have different reactions to different sexual experiences
7.  higher class are more likely to be happy, have sense of well being, & have greater self worth
These broad generalities mask many exceptions		  
  Each class has its own subculture & lifestyle  
  Class subculture is the culture, i.e., the  knowledge, beliefs, values & behaviors, of a class of people & "sub"culture denotes these characteristics exist as a subset of a larger culture  
  Lifestyle denotes tastes, preferences & general style of living & is more superficial than subculture, but reflects a subculture  
  Each class has differences which marketers / capitalism exploit & reinforce such as
1.   purchasing patterns
2.   fashion
3.   style of home
4.   space between homes
5.   automobiles
6.   speech
7.   opinions & attitudes		  
  The social, economic & political differences btwn classes & w/in sub-classes are reflexive in that they reflect the inequalities & boundaries & also reinforce them  
  An example of the reflexivity of class differences is that teachers are influenced by the characteristics of the middle class & are more likely to see middle class & above students in positive light  
  An example of the reflexivity of class differences is that police are more likely to see middle class & above suspects in a positive light, & are more likely to investigate or detain lower class  
  An example of the reflexivity of class differences is that businesses more likely to cater to middle class & above people people feel more comfortable shopping w/ similar class people  
  The middle class is more sociable & involved in community & less tied to the family as compared to the working class  
  The working class is less sociable & involved in community & more tied to the family as compared to the middle class  
  There are FIVE factors that influence a class's sociability & community participation:  
  1. It takes time & money to be involved in community  activities  
  2. The middle class is more mobile in that they leave birth place for better job, & so have less family ties  
  3. The middle class jobs produce less alienation & so there is a greater sense of being part of the community  
  4. The middle class world view is more cosmopolitan & thus have a sense of the wider social environment that affects one's life  
  5. The working class world view is more parochial & sees the world in terms of particular persons & things, short term contingencies, & as alien & uncontrollable  
  The middle & working classes socialize their children differently  
  Middle & working class socialization reinforces class factors:  i.e., you are socialized to fit into your class  
  In many respects the socialization by all of the other agents of socialization is class based in that class influence can be seen in all of the social structures including peers, family, religion, work/economy, government, military, charity, education, media, leisure/recreation   
Link
 The Chart on the Differences in Socialization of the Middle & Working Classes demonstrates that socialization gives different classes different expectations of the American Dream & different skills & methods to attain it  

 
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Chart on the Differences in Socialization of the Middle & Working Classes
Kerbo0308
Middle Class Working Class
Explain why rules should be followed Stress rule conformity for the sake of obedience
Encourage self reliance & independence Encourage conformity
Encourage attainment of higher level job Encourage well being more than achievement

 
Internal
Links

Top
Outline on the  Middle Class:  Economic Power
External
Links
Link
 Table of Nine Classes in the Modern Industrialized Nations ( Primarily the US )  
Link
 Table 5-3 of  the Convergence of Occupation, Bureaucratic & Property Divisions of Five Class Categories  
  - Project:  The Middle & Working Classes
Link
  The income of the working & middle classes lies roughly between the poverty line & that of low level millionaires (wealth) who earn $ 100 K to several hundred K per year  
  The median income for a family of four in 2004 was $44K
The minimum was is $5.15 an hr for a yrly income of $10,900 or $21,800 for a two wking adults family
Pov rate for a single person in 2005 is $10,160, 		  
  Given a broad definition of class ( income/occupation, bureaucratic authority, & property ownership ), there is only a weak relationship btwn class & income for classes below the corporate class   
  Given a broad definition of class ( income/occupation, bureaucratic authority, & property ownership ), there is not a strong, direct relationship between class & income for classes below the corporate class  
  Many working class people earn more than many middle class people  
  But middle class members often have more authority and/or ownership such as a better home, savings, a retirement account, some stocks & bonds than members of lower classes  
  Furthermore, there is a high level of income differences within both the middle & working classes  
  The westward expansion in the early US allowed all classes to gain access to what is now known as the middle class because people gained land ownership, which allowed them to earn a middle class income, both of which were largely denied in Europe  
  The Westward Expansion was one of war & genocide on the Native Americans, & exploitation of the environment  
  The Westward Expansion created a value of a meritocracy & the American Dream; i.e., every person should be able to get ahead at least to the middle class if they are willing to work  
  In the early 1800s, 80 % of free people who worked, owned property  
  The percentage of people who own property has steadily declined because of the expected / normal effects of capitalism & industrialization including  
  1.  the concentration of the means of production  
  2.  the increased complexity/ technological specialization of the workplace which requires large amounts of capital for relatively small businesses  
  Because of the dual economy, which encompasses the core ( unionized, mfr jobs: auto, mining, steel, etc. ) & the periphery ( non unionized mfr & service jobs ) many within the core of the working class, earn as much or more than middle class  
  Other workers in the periphery work full time & yet live below poverty line  
  Thus the labor movement elevated the position of many working people to the middle class  
  Core industries are able to pay more because they have less competition, therefore higher profit, and therefore can afford to pay higher wages because in general they have established oligopolistic or monopolistic market conditions  

 
Internal
Links

Top
  Outline on the  Middle Class:  Political Power
External
Links
Link
 Table of Nine Classes in the Modern Industrialized Nations ( Primarily the US )  
Link
 Table 5-3 of the Convergence of Occupation, Bureaucratic & Property Divisions of Five Class Categories  
  The middle & working classes are not powerless  
  The middle & working classes have had many victories in the last 200 yrs.  
  Inequality has been reduced & transformed because of the political efforts of the middle & working classes  
  The political power of the middle & working classes roughly parallels their income, but is magnified by shear numbers  
  The lower levels of the working class have almost no political voice ( exceptions discussed below )  
  The mid middle & working classes have some political power in that they have time & some $$$ which they may chose to donate to influence political leaders & the outcomes of elections  
  The upper middle class can have significant income ( several $ 100 K ) & leisure time  
  The upper middle class are thus able to influence local & state politics & often side w/ the corporate & upper classes (i.e., serving as surrogates) but have only marginal influence on national politics  
  The degree to which the middle class wields political power must be qualified in relationship to the degree to which it is politically organized  
  While today there is a positive relationship between economic power & political power, in the past the link was even more direct  
  Generally, only white males who owned at least 80 acres & had a positive net worth could vote & hold office  
  Political power has been steadily & extensively expanded for all classes in the US  
  Political power was, at first, expanded to white males w/o regard to wealth  
  Political power was expanded to black males, in law, during the Civil War; in practice in the 1950s w/ Civil Rights legislation  
  Political power was expanded to females in 1920  
  Some middle class white collar workers have bureaucratic authority but little pay (mgr. of fast food restaurant, office workers) with minimal stock ownership, which seems high for the middle class, but is small when compared w/ the corporate or upper classes   
  The middle & working classes have a unique set of political values & behavior  
  The general ideology of the middle & working classes is likely to be that of the corporate & upper classes  
  The upper middle class is the most likely to vote Republican  
  The working class is most likely to vote Democrat  
  Since the Reagan Era began in 1980, party affiliation has become much more fluid  
  Southern Blue Dog Democrats are have changed parties & are most likely to vote Republican  
  Reagan Democrats include middle & working classes members who voted Republican  
  The US has become much more conservative since the Vietnam War  
  In other industrial nations than the US, the Republican / Democrat class split is even stronger than in US & they have also become more conservative  
  In general the entire industrialized world become more politically conservative because of FOUR world economic system changes, including:
1.  deindustrialization
2.  the shift of jobs to overseas production
3.  the loss of US economic leadership
4.  the shift from manufacturing industry to information economy		  
  In general the entire industrialized world become more politically conservative because of FOUR world political system changes, including: 
1.  The Vietnam War
2.  The escalation of the nuclear arms race under Reagan
3.  The fall of Communism & the ensuing world political instability
4.  World political instability & terrorism		  
  A return to traditional values which reinforces the movement to political conservatism has SIX causes, including
1.  a swing of pendulum from 60s
2.  AIDS
3.  the economic conservatism bandwagon
4.  a failure of the welfare state
5.  a back-lash against feminism & Civil Rights
6.  the corruption & failures of the labor movement		  
 
 The shift to conservatism explains historic shifts in voting patterns from the FDR Era (1932 - 1945)  to the Reagan Era (1980 - 1988)  
  The FDR Era was characterized by:
-  the Great Depression
-  a distrust of big biz after the trust busing era
-  the legalization of unionization in the US (1935)
-  a widespread belief that big biz must be regulated
-  a widespread belief in a social safety net		  
  The Reagan Era was characterized by world econ sys changes, including:
-  deindustrialization
-  the movement of jobs to 2nd & 3rd world nations
-  the loss of US econ & pol leadership
-  the shift from traditional industrial production to the info econ		  
  The Reagan Era was characterized by ideological changes, including:
-  a belief that the US was economically weak  because of the oil embargo
-  a belief that the US was economically weak  because of globalization
-  a belief that the US was politically / militarily weak because of the Iranian hostage crisis & the nuclear build up
-  a backlash against liberalism
-  the sense that the govt was the problem		  
 
 Voting rates are affected by stratification ( income ):
32 % of very poor, LC, vote
80 % of UMC & above vote
 
  People with less income vote less for THREE reasons
1.  Sense of alienation & hopelessness
2.  Less freedom:  harder to get info & get to polls
3.  Candidates are less likely to offer them real choices		  
  This lower level of political participation results in less favorable political policies for these classes  
  In other industrialized nations where the voting rate is higher,  they have generally better polices for the lower classes  
  The lower class is more likely to be authoritarian in the sense that they are
-  less tolerant of diversity ( sex, race, class, etc. )
-  more repressive to subordinates
-  view the world in black & white terms
-  raised in authoritarian homes		  
  Authoritarianism is increased by EIGHT factors, including:
1.  low education
2.  low participation in community
3.  low reading
4.  isolation
5.  authoritarian childhood socialization
6.  live in poor, isolated enclaves
7.  economic insecurity or any kind of threat
8.  the tendency of the media & political system to scapegoat		  
  The working class is  less willing to have taxes support civil rights because they feel exploited too  
  In 1994 the US had the lowest union membership of any industrialized country
US            13 %
Japan        27 %
GDR         34 %
England     42 %		  
  The US unions are weak because of  TWO major reasons, including:
1.  the Great Labor Compromise
2.  "decapitation" of the Labor Mvmt by the govt & the corps & the ensuing corruption		  
  The political influence of the middle & working classes is low due to $$$ influence in politics:
- $ for election
- $ for lobbying
Greater alienation from system		  
  The middle & working classes have failed to organize for FIVE reasons, including
1.  a highly fragmented/diverse group, esp compared to UC/CC
2.  that it takes time & $
3.  ed, media, govt, family, peers, religion, work, recreation all support the status quo more than change
4.  alienation, sense of futility
5.  the UC/CC organization against efforts of WC/MC		  

 
Internal
Links

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 Outline on Working Class Culture
External
Links
  -  Video:  A Hole in the Sky 
Link
  -  Project:  Video: The Early Industrial Working Class & A Hole in the Sky
Link
  The industrial working class has its own subculture base on the unique nature of its work & the social structure of industry
 
  Working class culture includes the elements taken directly from the working class experience on the job, such as pride in doing quality work, economic insecurity, & cooperation w/ co-workers (Fantasia, 1988)
 
  Working class culture includes the pride of knowing how industrial plants & how procedures really work, as opposed to how they are said to work on paper
 
  As workers have done throughout history, workers guard their knowledge of the workplace & the performance of their job as their own private treasure
 
  Part of working class culture includes the knowledge of econ insecurity because of the type of econ system in which they live & thus the norm of a fear of econ insecurity  
  Workers have had little incentives to share knowledge of the workplace or the performance of their job w/ mgt because mgt has historically used this knowledge against workers via speed-ups, using it to increase efficiency & reduce pay or the number of workers, etc. 
 
  Working class culture embodies the norm of cooperation w/ co workers  
  The working class cultural norm of cooperation w/ co-workers of is seen in day to day activities in & out of the workplace & also in how workers deal w/ mgt & the pace of work  
  See Also:  Workers Resistance to Control at Work
Link
  Social theorists of the workplace debate the apparent, though not confirmed contraction of whether workers are passive actors in the workplace, best managed by Theory X types of tactics, or whether workers are engaged actors who prefer theory & mgt, self management, pushing for change  
See Also:  McGregor's Theory X & Y
Link
  Working class culture is accustomed to having no role in decision making (Halle, 1984)
 
  Working class culture has been described in a variety of contradictory ways (Form, 1985) which reflects its diversity
 
  Historically, researchers have argued that workers are passive & accepting on the job and find their rewards outside of work through family & consumption (Goldthorpe et al, 1969)
 
  Workers are seen as being chronically dissatisfied but unrebellious (Chinoy, 1955)
 
  Marxist researchers see workers as potentially revolutionary but stymied by the greater economic, political, & ideological resources of capitalism (Poulantzas, 1975)
 
  Workers are seen as caught up in a microcosm of informal workplace subcultures & local loyalties (Thomas, 1990)
 
  The working class is broad & diverse & does not constitute a unitary subculture (Form, 1985) w/ distinct segments w/in it
 
  Hodson & Sullivan see three segments in the working class, including the blue collar aristocrats, the semi skilled, & the unskilled
 
  The blue collar aristocrats are a reasonably well paid segment of skilled workers employed in large firms w/ good benefit packages
 
  See Also:  Lower Level Employees  
 
 Blue collar aristocrats often work in unionized settings
 
  The semi skilled segment of the working class is employed in marginal establishments where wage are lower & benefits are less comprehensive  
  The semi skilled are sometimes employed in unionized workplaces & sometimes not, but regardless their workplace is always affected by unionization
 
  The unskilled segment of the working class is employed in marginal workplaces & are able to secure only irregular or unstable work at the lowest wages  
  The working class is further subdivided along race, ethnic, & gender lines  
  Although the working class has occasionally been able to organize itself into a unified body, as in the trade union movement or in the working class political parties in Europe, such combinations are fraught w/ internal divisions as different segments of the working class struggle for different goals   
  Groups representing the working class are important in advancing its interests, but the working class (WC) has large & diverse interests  
  The capitalist class, which has opposing interests on many issues, is better organized & better funded than the WC & as a result the WC alliances have been fleeting & partial  
  The AFL had historically allied itself w/ the craft workers, against the blue collar aristocrats, the semi-skilled, & the unskilled labor force  
  The CIO was built on the premise of that the blue collar aristocrats of the new industrialization in the US of the early 1900s could be organized, but they still eschewed the semi-skilled, & the unskilled labor force  
  After the success of the CIO, it allied w/ the AFL to become the AFL-CIO  

 
Internal
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  Outline on Work
External
Links
 
 Work & family make up the two most important spheres of western life  
  Modern society generally separates the two spheres of work & family life  
  People in Hunter Gatherer Society did not differentiate btwn the spheres of work & family life the way we do today  
  And for much of history, the family unit was the work unit  
  The govt does not consider, in the legal sense, homemaking to be work   
 
 A career is more than just a good job, it is a sequence of events w/in a person's work history  
  A career is a way of life that shapes our very being in that "we are what we do," unless we are alienated because of our career; i.e. have low job satisfaction  
 
 Autonomy is the authority to make decisions & is perhaps the most important characteristic for job satisfaction  
 
 The types of work we do strongly influences our very being, our personality:  We are what we do  
  The types of work predominating today are bureaucratic, hierarchical, large orgs as explored by Merton's concept of the bureaucratic personality  
  Because of hierarchy, there are always more employees than job opportunities  
  What does this do for our personality?  
  Work positively motivates us & we realize we must work hard  
  Work devalues us & we realized it is a dog eat dog world  
  See Also:    We are what we do  
 
 A typical work life has the stages of
- leaving home
- going to college or directly to work
- attainment of a full time job
- marriage & support of a spouse/household
- support of a family?
- contributions to childrens' education
- retirement		  
  Career choices are affected by social patterns  
  For young men & women, following the normative order has increased monetary rewards through college education & a job, & non monetary rewards in marriage, kids, exciting life, etc.  
  Many women begin a family first, then add a career outside home  
  Different quantities & types of jobs are available in each decade or year of life   
  The long trend in careers is from agriculture to industry to service to?  
  Parallel to sector shifts in the economy is the transition from manual to mental or skilled work; i.e., from blue to white collar jobs  
  There are barriers to entry in careers based on economic, social factors, psychological factors, mental factors, etc.  
  Dead end jobs may be characterized as having: 
- low skill                                    - low barriers to entry
- high turnover                             - low job security
- little promotion potential            - part time employment
- low pay                                    - seasonal employment
- low fringe benefits		  
  The dead end job structure be the only practical arrangement for employer because of competition, especially from overseas  
  A dead end job structure is also disadvantageous for employers because unmotivated workers job hop  
  Entry port jobs have a higher possibility for training, responsibility, pay, benefits, promotion, etc.  
  Entry port jobs are often seen as beginning a career; the first job in the job ladder  
  The steepness of the organizational hierarchy & span of control affect the possibility of promotion  
  A major social issue results from the fact that the transition from the industrial to the post industrial society has resulted in the replacement of many good jobs w/ many dead end jobs  
  Demographers anticipate that low US birth rates may mitigate job losses in the future; however, immigration & job exporting seem to be overwhelming the low birth rate trend  
  See Also:  Social Mobility  
  Approximately ten percent of workers change occupations each year  
  The Horatio Alger Myth of poverty to wealth is very important is the US & many immigrants come here because of it  
  PATTERNS OF CAREER SHIFTS  
  The average US worker changes jobs 3 times:  
  Entry level jobs offer the possibilities of horizontal or vertical shifts in SES  
  During the middle years of work most people expect a reasonable vertical shift to higher pay, more prestige, & more autonomy  
  In today's economy there is always the possibilities of lay offs which are difficult for middle aged workers to adjust to  
  In the later years, a worker is considered to be the most productive of her or his career, but the most expensive workers, may not be the most productive because their skills may be out of date  
  One's work in one's later years may or may not be the "crowning achievement" of their working life  
  See Also:  Retirement  
  ALTERNATIVE CYCLES  
  Today many workers go back for training throughout life & thus continually update or retool their education  
  More people opt for leisure throughout life, rather than waiting for retirement  
  More people are integrating their work & family life w/ both men & women finding reward on the job as well as in the home, choosing to sacrifice work for the home  
  The physical conditions at work include safety, health, physical stress & psychological aspects of work  
  The physical conditions at work are influenced by one's position in the stratification system  
  The higher one is on the dimensions of ownership, authority, occupational status, income etc., as well as whether the job is manual or non manual, the better the physical conditions  

 
Internal
Links

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  Outline on  Job Satisfaction
External
Links
Link
 Outline on the FOUR Factors & their sub factors which determine Job Satisfaction
1.  Job tasks 
2.  Characteristics of organization 
3.  Individual differences
4.  Individual expectations		  
 
 Satisfaction means gratification, pleasure, contentment  
 
 Alienation as defined by Marx, is the separation or isolation of workers from the products of their labor
 
  A contemporary definition is that alienation is the feelings or the experience of emotional distance, isolation, powerlessness, & loss of control  
 
 Most Americans are satisfied on-the-job  
  75 % of workers report "I am satisfied" or more and 40 % of workers would continue in their same line of work  
  Workers usually don't have a choice as to whether to change jobs, and their current position is "acceptable," therefore they register as being satisfied  
 
 Intrinsic satisfaction includes the rewards realized on the job such as freedom, co-workers  
  Extrinsic satisfaction includes the rewards realized off the job such as pay, benefits, & security  
  Workers now seem to desire both intrinsic & extrinsic satisfaction on the job  
 
 1. Job tasks  
  Job tasks, which are determined by the organization & structure of the economy, are one of the major factors that determine job satisfaction  
 
 1.1  Technology on the job impacts job satisfaction  
  Technology does not dictate the organization of work  
  Technology has been able to "clean-up" some jobs, but it has polluted others  
  Many managers & social scientists wrongly believe that technology dictates the organization of work  
  And it is true that once investments have been made, technology does dictate an organization of work, but technology can be designed & installed to increase or decrease worker control, satisfaction, etc.  
  Many social theorists believe that technology could bring an end to alienated labor  
  Technology can deskill or increase the skill required, routinize, or provide variety on the job  
  In  Alienation and Freedom, 1964, Robert Blauner linked four dimensions of subjective alienation, i.e., powerlessness, meaninglessness, isolation, & self estrangement, to different types of work found in modern industry & claimed that production techniques were the major determinant of alienation  
  Blauner thought automation would increase job satisfaction & so abolish alienation  
Link
 The Diagram of Blauner's Inverted U Curve of Technology & Alienation  shows that some production technologies are more alienating than others  
 
 1.2  Organization of the industry impacts job satisfaction  
  Many qualities, such as the organization of the industry, are beyond the control of any firm or even any industry such as autos, computers, medicine, etc.  
  However, all factors of organization & technology are not beyond the control of any firm or the industry & thus most firms have wide latitude to shape such factors to increase worker satisfaction  
  There are SIX factors of the organization of the industry / economy that affect job satisfaction, including  
  i.  the stage of development of the industry; i.e., is the industry  new, in the growth stage, old, or in decline   
  ii.  the state of the competition; i.e., low competition yielding big profits, or  high competition yielding low profits  
  The range of competition may run from pure competition to high concentration to oligopoly to monopoly  
  iii.  the technology used  
  iv.  the level of innovation  
  v.  the type of labor; i.e. skilled. unskilled, professional, technical, etc.  
  vi.  others  
  1.3  The production of meaningful products impacts job satisfaction because there is an intrinsic reward in producing something of value  
 
 a. Mass production & self production  
 
 Is there similar satisfaction in producing for mass production ( work ) or for yourself (hobby / play / "work")?  
 
 Jolly Green Giant green beans & your own garden beans?  
 
 b.  Good & Bad Products  
 
 Is there any absolute difference between producing "good & bad" products?
 
  - Essential products        ( food, homes, clothes, medicine )
- Medical products         ( medicine, medical care, medical technology )
- Helping products          ( education, social services, recreation )
- Destructive products    ( guns, military industrial complex )
- Exploitative products   ( porn movies, alcohol, tobacco )
- Frivolous products       ( fads [ pet rocks, lava lamps ] fashions )
- Luxurious products       ( diamonds, zillion $ anything:  homes, stereos )		  
  c.  High & Low Paid Jobs:  One's level of pay affects job satisfaction  
  Is there any absolute difference in high & low paid jobs?  
  Are low paid jobs inherently unsatisfying?  
  In low paid jobs, satisfaction is affected by pay in that for adults, i.e., neither teens nor seniors, a minimum "living wage" is usually necessary, but other factors are equally important such as autonomy, respect, challenge, advancement, etc.  
  - Fast food      &      medicine?
- Janitor          &      lawyer?
- Laborer        &      engineer?
- Blue collar    &     white collar?		  
  2.  Characteristics of organization ( autonomy, responsibility, etc. )  
  2.1  Self Direction  
  Job autonomy is the extent to which the worker controls their own work and relations w/ others on the job  
  Job complexity allows greater self direction, more of an intellectual challenge on the job  
  Diversity of job tasks allows more flexibility and variety on the job  
  One may consider self direction factors on a range of job organization from the assembly line to pod production to autonomous work; from data entry to clerical work  
  2.2  Belongingness  
  One aspect of belongingness is that workers prefer interaction, friendship, & compatriots on the job  
  Safety & health are common concerns on the job that relate to belongingness since people cannot feel that they belong unless they feel safe  
  Belongingness was determined by Maslow to be a fundamental human need, & belongingness may be realized at a rewarding workplace  
  2.3   Pay  
  Most workers felt their income was adequate for their necessities  
  21 % of workers felt their income was inadequate for their necessities  
  55 % of workers felt they had inadequate fringe benefits  
  Minimum wage of $5.15 times 40 hrs. times 50 weeks = $10,900  
  Minimum wage of $10 times 40 hrs. times 50 weeks = $20,000  
  Studies have shown that pay above the level of the middle income often results in less job & life satisfaction; i.e. those w/ lower incomes have less stress & a higher quality of life  
  2.4  Size  
  Workers prefer small organizations  
  500 workers & mgt is considered to be an optimal size or organization giving the economies of scale in the workplace & the need for human interaction  
  2.5  Promotions  
  There are always less promotions available than desired by the workers  
  Increased status & responsibility in low & middle range jobs makes promotions less necessary  
  Eliminating supervision & administration, & flattening the hierarchy also increases job satisfaction in lieu of promotions  
  2.6 Unions  
  Less than 15 % of US workers belong to unions  
  The higher wages won by unions pull up regional wages  
  The grievance system has created due process at nearly all workplaces, unionized or not  
  Unionization allow some worker influence in company policy development  
  In general, workers are more satisfied in a unionized workplace  
Link
 Table 2.7 on the Types of Workplaces  
  The Table on the Types of Workplaces indicates that there are many types of organizational structures varying along a dimension running from authoritarian to democratic  
 
 3.  Individual Differences, & how they are treated, are a major factor affecting job satisfaction
 
  3.1  Gender relations on the job impact job satisfaction  
  Men & women have about equal job satisfaction, but they have different expectations for that satisfaction  
  Women compare themselves to other women on the job  
  Occupation job segregation reinforces blind comparisons  
  Women want complexity, interesting work, congenial co-workers  
  Men want authority, advancement, freedom  
  Sexual discrimination is treating people unequally based on their sex  
  Sexual harassment is giving unwanted sexual favors, or demanding sexual favors  
  Both sexual discrimination & sexual harassment are major sources of alienation for women in the workplace today  
  3.2  Race relations on the job impacts job satisfaction  
  Race Relations create the largest satisfaction gap of any known social factor  
  Minorities, like women, are often stuck in lower level jobs  
  Minorities are more vocal about their dissatisfaction than women  
  While women largely compare themselves only to other women, Blacks, Hispanics, Whites, et al do compare themselves to other racial & ethnic groups on the job  
  There is a widespread belief in equality on the job, though there are pockets of prejudice  
  On the job discrimination & harassment both still exist & are major sources of alienation  
  3.3  Stage of development / personality:  A person's stage of development or personality has an impact on their job satisfaction  
  Business leaders & social theorists firmly believe that one should match their job w/ their own needs  
  3.4  Age  has an impact on one's job satisfaction since jobs and where one is at on the career ladder are often stratified by age  
  Younger workers have higher expectations and are less satisfied than older workers  
  Older workers may become dissatisfied if they feel they have reached an unsatisfactory, dead-end job, or if younger workers are passing them by, or being more highly rewarded  
  Younger workers may become dissatisfied if they feel that the workplace is overstaffed w/ older workers who prevent them from moving up  
  3.5  Tenure, or length of service, impacts job satisfaction  
  New workers who believe in the importance of the work   
  Experienced workers who have autonomy on the job are more likely to be satisfied  
  3.6 Handicapped workers are likely to be satisfied if they believe they are achieving / contributing appropriately  
  Many people need special equipment, or arrangements at work, such as a big computer screen, short walking distances, etc.   
  4. Expectations, & how they are treated, are a major factor affecting job satisfaction  
 
 4.1  Job Commitment impacts job satisfaction
 
 
 Willingness to retain long term membership on the job indicates job satisfaction
 
 
 Workers today seem to have lower commitment
 
 
 Companies today also have lower commitment to workers
 
 
 4.2  On the job ideologies impact job satisfaction
 
 
 Working class ideology generally fosters solidarity against the more powerful
 
 
 In contrast to a solidarity oriented view of the working class, white collar & bureaucratic workers are more likely to have an instrumental orientation & an individualistic view
 
 
 A wide range of ideologies may impact job satisfaction ranging from conservative, to moderate, to liberal  
 
 4.3  Expectations about any of the factors above impact job satisfaction
 
 
 Expectations are one of greatest factors in job satisfaction
 
 
 Expectations are affected by one's social biography including one's unique socialization to culture & social structure
 
 
 Culture:  KBVN
 
 
 Social Structure:  1. peers 2. family 3. religion 4. econ 5. govt 6. mil 7. charity 8. ed 9. media 10. leisure 
 
 
 These interact to construct relations & expectations on class, gender, race, education, etc.
 
 
 4.4  Generational expectations on the job impacts job satisfaction
 
 
 Generational expectations are one of greatest factors in job satisfaction:
 
  Generational expectations are affected by one's social biography including one's unique socialization to culture & social structure, which are relatively unique to each generation  
 
 Culture:  KBVN
 
 
 Social Structure:  1. peers 2. family 3. religion 4. econ 5. govt   6. mil 7. charity 8. ed 9. media 10. leisure 
 
  These interact to construct relations & expectations on class, gender, race, education  
  Compare your generations work ethic & expectations of rewards to another, such as
   Gen X
   Baby Boomers
   WW2 Generation
   Depression Era Generation		  
  Behavioral responses to work vary widely  
  The range of behavioral responses run from those who love work & will do anything for it to those who hate work & will do anything to avoid it  
  Enthusiasm may be measured by one's willingness to work w/o pay, do lousy work, etc.  
  Enthusiasm may be a quality of self-actualizing work  
  Passive resistance is often manifested by restricted output  
  Passive resisters often focus on nonproductive aspects of work such as the interactions w/ peers  
  Passive resisters often live destructive lives on & off the job  
  Most of us live somewhere in btwn enthusiasts & passive resisters, and as Thoreau said, 'lives of quiet desperation'  
  Turnover is an excellent measure of job satisfaction  
  In the US, 15 % of workforce changes jobs each year  
  The level of resistance & sabotage is an excellent measure of job satisfaction  
  Resistance & sabotage allow workers to vent frustration  
  Work slow downs allow workers to vent frustration  
  Theft  
  Theft is expected at some jobs & allows workers to vent frustration, & to receive greater rewards  
  Job satisfaction & socialism  
  Early after the USSR Revolution in 1917, the Soviet Union had high job satisfaction  
  Stalinism destroyed this the job satisfaction of the workers  
  Alienation did not end in USSR, or other communist countries  
  Work had greater equality, but used western organizing principles  
  Job Satisfaction can increase w/ informed policies & structures at work  

 
Top
  
Outline on the FOUR Factors which determine Job Satisfaction & their sub-factors 
Satisfaction & Alienation are determined by
    1. Job tasks (determined by organization & structure of the economy)
    2. Characteristics of organization (autonomy, responsibility, etc.)
    3. Individual differences
    4. Individual expectations

   1. Job tasks (determined by organization & structure of the economy)
        1.1  Technology on the job
        1.2  Organization of the industry
        1.3  Meaningful products
   2. Characteristics of organization (autonomy, responsibility, etc.)
        2.1  Self-direction
        2.2  Belongingness
        2.3  Pay
        2.4  Size
        2.5  Promotions
        2.6  Unions
        2.7  Types of workplaces
   3. Individual differences
        3.1  Gender
        3.2  Race
        3.3  Stage of development / personality
        3.4  Age
        3.5  Tenure
   4. Individual expectations
        4.1  Commitment
        4.2  Ideology 
        4.3  Expectations about any of the factors above
        4.3  Gen expectations

 
Top
  
The Diagram of Blauner's  Inverted U-Curve of Technology & Alienation shows that some production technologies are more alienating than others

                     |  Machine                  *         Assembly
                     |  Tending              *        *     Line
                     |                        *                *
                     |                  *                            *
                     |               *                                    *
Level of        | Craft   *                                          *       Continuous
Alienation    |         *                                                  *    Process
                     |     *                                                           *
                     |  *                                                                    *
                     |*________________________________________*_
                      Printing      Textiles         Autos        Chemicals


 
Top
  
Table 2.7  on the Types of Workplaces
Sole proprietorship owner, admin / mgr., workers
Partnership partners, non-partners, workers
Corporation major stockholders, minor stockholders, up mgt., mid mgt., workers
ESOPs equal stockholders, up mgt., mid mgt., (all workers)
Cooperatives coop members, non-members
Democratic Org's workers / voters, mgrs. / candidates
The Table on the Types of Workplaces indicates that there are many types of organizational structures varying along a dimension running from authoritarian to democratic

 
Internal
Links

Top
  Outline on the  Definition of Alienation & Anomie
External
Links
  ALIENATION IS THE RESULT OF BEING SEPARATED FROM THE PREDOMINANT CULTURE  
  Many theorist have contemplated the meaning of alienation  
  Hegel            1770  -  1831  
  Feuerbach     1804  -  1872  
  Marx             1818  - 1883  
  Blauner         contemporary  
  Alienation is a state of being, a relationship ( mental & physical manifestations ) characterized by the separation or isolation from existing culture ( knowledge, beliefs, values, norms held in common ) caused by an estrangement from idealistic and/ or materialistic factors  
  While both Hegel & Feuerbach discussed the nature of alienation, Marx built upon these to develop his own dialectical- material view of alienation  
  Alienation, as defined by Marx, is the separation or isolation of workers from the products of their labor Contemporary definition:  feelings or the experience of emotional distance, isolation, powerlessness, loss of control  
  ANOMIE IS THE RESULT OF A WEAKENED OR ABSENTCULTURE / MORALITY  
  For Durkheim, anomie is weakened or absent common morality; a condition of normlessness in society  
  Durkheim developed his concept of anomie to explain the condition in modern society where the old culture or common morality, break down, but have not yet been replaced by its modern form, in the form of organic solidarity as manifested in a societal div of labor  
  Anomie is a state of being, a relationship, with mental & physical manifestations, characterized by the lack of a controlling culture ( knowledge, beliefs, values, norms held in common ) caused by the destruction, ineffectiveness or rejection of culture  
  Anomie is the lack or weakness of the usual social or ethical standards in an individual or group  
Link
 Examples of alienation include: 'I am alienated if there is a strong culture, but I cannot become part of that culture' or 'I am anomic if culture has basically disintegrated or is ineffective'  
  Durkheim, taking the term from the Greek anomia which means lawlessness, argued that anomie could result from rapid social change  
  FOR MERTON, ALIENATION IS THE RESULT OF NOT BEING ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE NORMAL LIFE GOALS OF A SOCIETY   
  Some US sociologists, in particular Robert K. Merton (1910- ), have maintained that anomie can lead to deviance  
  For Merton, when an individual or group is prevented from achieving widely accepted goals, law-breaking may result  
  Both alienation & anomie exhibit any number of psychological & political manifestations
  - depression                                  - thievery
  - anger                                          - violence
  - revolutionary political ideals    - deviance		  
  While the concept anomie is similar to Marx's concept of alienation, there are significant differences btwn the two including the fact that anomie is a condition of a lack of, or a vacuum of common culture, while alienation is a condition where a person or group is separated from an existing common culture  
  For Hegel, alienation was only a phenomenon of mind caused by an estrangement from the dominating ideas of the time  
  FOR MARX, ALIENATION IS A COMMON CONDITION IN CAPITALIST SOCIETIES BECAUSE PEOPLE, RATHER THAN BEING ABLE TO MANIFEST THEIR CREATIVITY THROUGH WORK AS THEY SHOULD, ARE EXPLOITED AT WORK   
  For Marx, alienation is a condition in which a person's own powers appear to be controlled by independent forces or entities     [ Marx & his contemporaries were called the young, or left Hegelians ]  
  Marx believed that people find their humanity through labor, not religion, not sex, not anything else  
  Marx believed that the failure to realize our human nature results in alienation  
  We are what we do  
  Our labor becomes objectified in our products  
  Craftsperson, or the primitive hunter gatherer produces, controls the products & either consumes it, or sells it themselves  
       See Also:  Species Being  
  In the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844, Marx writes Human Estrangement is rooted in the social structure which denies people their essential human nature   

 
Top
  
Examples
Hippie is alienated because they cannot fit in or become part of middle class America
For the street urchin there is no dreams of middle class America
For him there is no such culture in existence-- he is anomic
He embraces a gang counter culture
PW

 
Internal
Links

Top
  Outline on the Components of Alienation
External
Links
  -  Project:  The Components & Experiences of Alienation 
Link
  -  Project:  Alienation, Examples, Increasing? 
Link
  Marx believed we are alienated under capitalism for FOUR reasons because of any of FOUR estrangements [separations] from
1.  Products 
2.  Labor
3.  Oneself
4.  Others
5. ( the Earth / nature )
i.e., all those things that make us human		  
  In the Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 Marx writes that human estrangement is rooted in the social structure which denies people their essential human nature   
Link
 1.  ALIENATION IS CAUSED BECAUSE OF OUR SEPARATION FROM PRODUCTS, THE THINGS WE PRODUCE   
  What each worker produces is appropriated by others & no person who made it has control over it  
  In the past, during many societies from tribal society to feudalism, people consumed, traded, gave away everything they produced  
  Today, the product is gone before we complete it  
  For a laborer, labor becomes objectified in commodities over which they have no control  
  An example of product related alienation is birthing for hire, or creating a child against your will  
 
 In the sense that under capitalism, labor becomes objectified, the more one produces, the more morally poor the laborer becomes 
 
  2.  THE SEPARATION OR LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE ACT OF PRODUCTION CAUSES ALIENATION   
  Under capitalism, nearly everyone experiences a separation from the means of production  
  Work can be an act of creativity, but has become merely an means to an end, rather than an end in itself  
  When we are estranged from the act of production, work becomes a means to an end rather than an end in itself  
  No intrinsic satisfaction in the act of production causes alienation  
  Work becomes a commodity that is sold to someone else, & its only value is in its salability  
  In the past, all products were hand produced & each product was individualized, such as in crafts work
 
  Under capitalism, nearly everyone experiences a separation from the means of production  
  Alienation begins w/ the separation of people from their means of production & subsistence: e.g., such as that in England w/ the Enclosure Movement  
  People are separated from their land & so left w/ becoming vagabonds, & eventually w/ nothing to sell but their labor, becoming "wage slaves"  
  In modern factories, workers no longer own tools or any production facilities  
  Animals produce for immediate consumption, instinctively while people make activity the object of their will which is how we can attain greater degrees of freedom  
  Production as the object of our will & the ensuing freedom is reversed w/ capitalist, alienated labor in that people's essential being, productivity, becomes a mere means to an end  
  3.  ALIENATION IS THE SEPARATION FROM ONESELF, OUR VERY HUMAN ESSENCE, OUR SPECIES BEING, OUR HUMAN NATURE   
  Review:  Species Being  
  Alienation from oneself, the denial of one's Species Being, results in the objectification of the self  
  The worker feels outside themself because the worker has no control over the process of production or its results  
 
 The alienated worker therefore feels outside of their work, & his work feels outside of themself
 
  Work is like any other human activity in that when it is abstracted or separated from other human functions, it becomes animalistic  
  Because alienation from the separation from products & separation of the act of productions, alienation deprives people of their productive activity, those specifically human qualities which distinguish us from the activity of animals, & people come to feel like an animal, harnessed to the plow  
  Marx said, "Certainly eating, drinking, procreating, etc., are also genuinely human functions.  But in the abstraction which separates them from the sphere of all other human activity and turns them into sole and ultimate ends, they are animal."  
  In the past, as people labored/created, they  discovered/created themself, but today most workers do not hope to discover or create themself at work & instead they often try to do that, unsuccessfully, after work  
  Our species being is that we express our humanity through our laboring essence, our creativity  
  The process of labor is a process of objectification  
 
 We make objects which embody our hopes, dreams, our creativity, our essence, & yet these things stand separate from us
 
  Objectification only becomes alienation under certain historical circumstances such as capitalism  
 
 Under capitalism, owners appropriate products produced by another, & one works only for profit & not for personal reward
 
 
 Under capitalism, one has no identity in relation to what one produces
 
  Because one cannot express oneself in ones product or creativity, one attempts to do so in other ways & one seeks objects to express oneself  
 
 With alienation, one becomes those objects which we purchase to express ourself
 
  The worker feels outside themself because the worker has no control over the process of production or its results  
 
 Because the worker cannot express themself in their work, & they turn to commercialism to express themself, the worker therefore feels outside of their work, & their work feels outside of themself
 
  Work is like any other human activity:  when it is abstracted or separated from other human functions, it becomes animalistic  
  Marx said, "He is at home when he is not working, and when he is working he is not at home....  It is therefore not the satisfaction of a need; it is merely a means to satisfy needs external to it."  
  4.  ALIENATION IS CAUSED BY THE SEPARATION FROM OTHER PEOPLE  
  The bourgeoisie & proletariat remain estranged from each other because the relationship is based on conflicting interests & fundamentally different conditions of life  
  The ideology of capitalism alienates all,  including the capitalists themselves because of self denial  
  The proletariat is separated from the proletariat because under capitalism, the organization of the forces & relations of production make workers compete against each other  
  In the owner worker relationship is the first alienation between worker & owner  
  Under capitalism, social relationships turn into market relationships which causes separation from other people & thus alienation  
 
 People are judged by their position in the market, rather than by their human qualities
 
  People objectify others not as individuals but by "How can you help me?"  
  In the past, to trade or give away a product or even small scale, personal sales were very personal relationships  
  Today, with mass marketing there are no personal relationship in selling or buying  
  Under capitalism & alienation, people become interchangeable cogs in the commerce machine  
  While people are united by common life experiences, people are also divided by very different life experiences  
  The ideology of capitalism alienates all, including the capitalists themselves because of self denial  
 
 For Zeitlin, self denial, the denial of life & of all human needs, is capitalism's cardinal effect
 
 
 The less you consume, the more capital you have; the less you are, the more you have
 
  Marx believes that the proletariat is separated from the proletariat  
  Review Forces & Relations of Production   
  Under capitalism, the organization of the forces & relations of production make workers compete against each other at an extreme & unsustainable level  
  Marx believes that production is an act of people in social cooperation, among other conditions  
  Under capitalism, cooperation is secondary to competition & worker is pitted against worker in a winner take all struggle  
  Unions & other professional organizations can overcome destructive competition only to an limited extent  
  5.  ALIENATION IS CAUSED BY A SEPARATION FROM THE EARTH & NATURE  
  Marx & most other social scientists failed to considered the separation from the Earth   
  However some social scientists & many environmentalists, conservationists, preservationists, & others have seen humankind's separation from, objectification of, exploitation of, & ignorance/lack of awareness of the Earth & nature causes various types of harm & incompleteness to the self, society, & the Earth & nature  
  See Also:  The Environment & Alienation  
CAPITAL IS A SOURCE OF ALIENATION BECAUSE IT REDUCES ALL THINGS TO THE ULTIMATE COMMODITY, DEVOID OF HUMANITY:  MONEY  
  "Capital" itself is a source of alienation  
  Capital is money & wealth, used in trade, manufacturing, or any business  
  Through capitalism, people are reduced to the level of commodities & they become just one more factor in means of production   
  Money itself is not wealth as the story of Midas demonstrates  
  People, business, personal material objects, & the economic system of capitalism are all dominated by the requirements of profitability, rather than by their own human needs  
Link
 Alienation appears as an impersonal force  
  An impersonal force is a structural force which seems to be independent of any person, but is the result of a social relationship  
  The impersonality of capitalism & alienation is the reification of individual to individual, personal relationships  
  See Also:  Reification  
  Marx noted that the pursuit of profit & capital accumulation seems to take on a life of its own, disguising the human origins of capital & exploitation of "man by man (sic)  
  The improvement of wages does cannot eliminate alienation because it does not address the separation from the products, the act of production, others, & oneself  
  For  Marx, the improvement of wages would only be better wages for the slave because the alienated conditions would still exist  
  Modern workplace developments have shown that alienation can be mitigated by such workplace innovations such as autonomy, innovation, democratic mgt, employee ownership, job enlargement, shop floor control, etc.  
  See Also:  Contemporary Analyses of Alienation  

 
Top  
Examples of Layers  of Alienation

Production not yet commodified
An example of product related alienation:
Birthing for hire, or creating a child against your will
“The worker puts his life into the object; 
  but now his life no longer belongs to him but to the object.” 
Each act of production has some of the qualities of birthing
We produce babies in an unalienated manner 
where "the product" is considered part of us

Alienation occurs when a person no longer recognizes him or herself in their product
“It is no longer his own and stands opposed to him as an autonomous power.”

Medicine
Early on, Doctors took a vow of poverty
The patient was 1st.  To serve was the most important
Drs. soon became more professional
Then, like all professionals, they did as much pro bono work at came along
Then some started limiting pro bono work
Now, some Drs. do little or no pro bono work & are in UMC or rich

Cooking
Do McD's cooks have any love of cooking or the product?

Watchmaker in shop
Watchmaker in factory

PW

 
Top  
Examples of Alienation as an Impersonal Force

Fall/Winter 1998:  Boeing lays off 26,000  'just in time for Xmas'
Exxon Mobil lay off 6,000 in largest merger in history
Other corps downsize as Asian flu hits
This is all "Nothing personal, just business."

Doctors:     Personal or Impersonal relationship is best?

PW

 
Internal
Links

Top
  Outline on  Contemporary Analyses of Alienation
External
Links
  -  Project:  Video: Office Alienation 
Link
  -  Video:  Office Space 
Link
  FOR MARX ALIENATION IS SEPARATION FROM CREATIVE LABOR; FOR DURKHEIM ANOMIE IS THE ABSENCE OF A DOMINANT CULTURE; FOR WEBER THERE IS POWERLESSNESS IN SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS  
  Durkheim developed the concept of anomie which describes a weakened or absent common morality; a condition of normlessness in society  
  Weber examined the powerlessness in face of the solidity of social institutions, but did not use any specific concept to describe it  
  The modern view of alienation, in the 50s & 60s, emphasized the subjective or psychological facet of alienation at the cost of the social structural aspect, and thus ignored Marx's sociology of capitalism  
  For contemporary social theorists, alienation is a personal experience created by social forces  
  Sociologists are not saying the personal feelings of alienation are inauthentic; they are valid in that alienation is lived as the personal experiences one has when one is alienated  
  Most of society, many social theorists as well as the people in the street, want to attribute these personal experience of alienation to personal causes  
  SEEMAN DELINEATED FOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF ALIENATION INCLUDING POWERLESSNESS, MEANINGLESSNESS, ISOLATION, & SELF ESTRANGEMENT  
  1.  Powerlessness is the feeling that one cannot influence their social surroundings  
  2.  Meaninglessness is the feeling that illegitimate means are required to achieve valued goals  
  3.  Isolation is the feeling of being estranged or separated from society's norms and values  
  4.  Self estrangement is the inability to find activities that are psychologically rewarding  
  ENVIRONMENTALISTS BELIEVE THAT ALIENATION IS CAUSED BY SEPARATION FROM OUR ENVIRONMENT  
  An aspect of alienation is that today we produce w/o regard to continuity, as if production were a single act  
  In the past there was less alienation because we produced in a manner that did not destroy the Earth  
  Our experience w/ the Earth is similar to the relationship or experience that we have w/ others & even w/ ourself; the Earth is part of us; we are part of it  

 
Internal
Links

Top
  Outline on  Alienation at Work
External
Links
  In 1953, Mills said that work has no intrinsic meaning, directly contradicting Marx, et al, who held that work was a central feature of realizing one's humanity  
  For Mills, Marx et al had inherited their view of work from the previous age of the old middle class & the industrial artisan  
  In the 1980s, Habermas, in qualified agreement w/ the Marxists, said that work is part of attaining our individual humanity but an equally vital part of attaining our individual humanity is the social activity of communicative action:, which holds that  
  1.  We are social / herd animals who need interaction  
  2.  We need free interaction w/ others  
  3.  We need to express ourselves / communicate in all forms, verbal & nonverbal, talk, music, acting, etc.  
  See Also:  Habermas  
  Regardless of whether one agrees w/ Marx, Mills, or Habermas, it is clear today that the nature of one's job can result in job satisfaction or job alienation, and these experiences always impact other spheres of life such as the family, recreation, etc.  
  The outcomes of alienation at work include the segmentation of life in which we work to earn money; after work we try to establish & preserve our humanity  
  “Each day men and women sell little pieces of themselves in order to try to buy them back each night and weekend with the coin of ‘fun.’”
                                                                                            C. Wright Mills
  
  Studs Terkel, in Working ( 1972 ) and in other publications ethnographically catalogues many experiences of alienation at work  
  Le Masters in Blue Collar Aristocrats ( 1975 ) shows that skilled, blue collar workers who work under condition like those of independent artisans are more satisfied & have higher positive feelings & identity  
  But the skilled, blue collar jobs Le Masters describes in Blue Collar Aristocrats are the exception and are difficult to find  
  There is a positive relationship between alienation & position in the stratification system as seen in the fact that higher positions have less alienation because they offer more control, freedom, expression  
  Jencks et al, 1972, show that job satisfaction is positively related to occupational status, income, education & occupational category  
  Kalleberg & Griffin demonstrate that 
a.  occupational skill level shows a weak relation w/ job fulfillment
b.  ownership shows a strong relation w/ job fulfillment
c.  authority shows a strong relation w/ job fulfillment		  
  Kohn found that occupational self direction was most strongly correlated to alienation as seen in the fact that employers, managers and workers are in a hierarchy of fulfillment  
  Japanese workers generally are less alienated than American workers because Japanese management techniques are designed to give workers more control  
  But there are many exceptions to greater Japanese wkplace control & lower alienation & mgt style can reduce alienation to some degree, but it is only one of many factors  
  Workers in Japanese corporations in America are less likely to vote for unions in part because of their satisfaction, but also because Japanese firms are known to be very anti union  
  The effects of alienation or satisfaction at work carries into other aspects of life including
a.  family relations
b.  overall self esteem
c.  mental health
d.  one's general outlook on life		  

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on  Safety at Work
External
Links
  -  Project:  Video:  Office Space & Stress 
Link
  -  Video:  Office Space 
Link
 
 INJURIES AT WORK ARE DECLINING FROM THEIR RATE OF 4.8% / YR; FATALITIES AT WORK ARE DECLINING FROM ABOUT 6,000 / YR 
 
  A total of 4.3 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses were reported in private industry workplaces during 2004, down from 4.4 million in 2003  
  In 2004 injuries occurred at a rate of 4.8 cases per 100 equivalent full time workers, according to the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor  
  The 2004 rate of 4.8 injuries per 100 equivalent full time was a decline from the rate of 5.0 cases per 100 wkrs reported by BLS for 2003 & resulted from a 2.5 percent decrease in the number of cases reported combined w/ a 1.6 percent increase in the number of hours worked  
  U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics           www.bis.gov/data/
Link
Link
 Table  on Workplace Fatalities & Injuries  
  The Table on Workplace Fatalities & Injuries shows that both rates are declining & that about 6,000 wkrs are killed on the job each yr & about 4% of wkrs are injured on the job each yr  
Link
 Table on Workplace Injuries by Event  
  The Table on Workplace Injuries by Event shows that main causes of wkplaces injuries are travel related, assaults, falls, contact by objects/equipment, & exposure to substances  
  -  Supplement:  BLS Report on Wkplace Fatalities, 2004
Link
  -  Supplement:  BLS Report on Wkplace Fatalities, 2003
Link
  -  Supplement:  BLS Report on Wkplace Fatalities, 1992 - 2002
Link
 
 In 1990, 88 of 1,000 workers are disabled every year in the US
 
 
 Lost work days increased from 109 lost work days per 1,000 workers in 1972 to 699 lost work days per 1,000 workers in 1989
 
 
 The figures on workplace injuries are lower than real rates because workers are encouraged not to report their injuries & to do light duty
 
  Many firms require an injured worker to come to work & then assign them light duty to disguise the injury & lower the rate of reported injuries & therefore the cost of insurance & the possibility of govt regulation  
  In terms of safety, there is a differential level of risk across the various industries; i.e., some industries are safer than others  
  Safety & health risks are not distributed equally across all industries  
  Injuries range from a high of 189 cases per 1,000 workers per year in lumber & wood products to 20 cases in finance, insurance & real estate  
 
 US mines are among the most dangerous w/ over 200 workers killed per year
 
  GOVT REGULATION & OVERSIGHT OF WKPLACE PRACTICES, INCLUDING SAFETY, HAS DECLINED IN THE LAST 30 YRS   
 
 In the 1980s, President Reagan cut the Occupational Safety & Health Administration ( OSHA ) by 25% effectively reducing government intervention & regulation
 
 
 In 1988, there were 10,700 work related deaths w/ 70,000 permanently disabled
 
 
 The rate of workplace death & injury in the US is at least four times higher than any other industrialized country
 
 
 Reducing our workplace deaths & injuries would save about 7,500 lives & about 53,000 injuries
 
 
 OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES ARE CAUSED BY CHEMS, BIO AGENTS, RADIATION, ETC. & ARE DIFFICULT TO PREVENT / & DIAGNOSE BECAUSE THE EFFECTS MAY NOT MANIFEST THEMSELVES FOR YRS / DECADES 
 
  Many occupational diseases have a delayed onset, have multiple contributing causes, & may manifest themselves in only a small percentage of those exposed  
  For example, exposure to carcinogenic chemicals may not lead to the development of cancer for twenty years or longer  
  Given the long period of time it takes some cancers to manifest, it may be difficult to separate the effects of on the job exposure from later health problems or from the effects of smoking or diet   
  Some estimates indicate that as many as nine out of ten occupational diseases go unreported  
 
 Occupational diseases have multiple contributing causes
 
 
 The long term development of an occupational disease makes it difficult to determine it's cause
 
 
 Occupational diseases can be caused by hazardous materials or by chronic stress injuries
 
  Noise is a common source of injury on the job & can also increase stress  
  Vibration, prolonged exposure to heat or cold, low level radiation, & other hazards can cause problems when a worker is exposed to them over a long period of time  
  Often it is difficult to tell what the long term effect of job hazards will be, & they may vary widely from worker to worker  
  Workers in the 3rd World frequently labor under even more hazardous conditions than in the developed world  
 
 STRESS INJURIES ARE INCREASING & ARE CAUSED BY BOTH PHYSICAL & MENTAL FACTORS 
 
  Chronic stress injuries are becoming more common  
  Chronic stress injuries are caused by improper equipment, postures, repetition, sound, etc.  
 
 Time pressure & job changes are the primary causes of job stress
 
  1 to 2% of the working population experience serious job related mental disorders such as depression  
 
 Ritzer calls the American "drive system," hyperrationalized in that, on the job, there is no wasted time, no leisure, & thus people must always be on task
 
 
 Stress costs $75 to 90 bb per year in the form of such phenomenon as alcoholism, absenteeism, etc.
 
  An example of stress can be seen in the 24,000 calls a phone operator may handle in a day  
 
 The body does not adapt well to shift work
 
Link
 The Table on the Sources of Office Stress demonstrates that there are many preventable causes of office stress
 
 
 NORMAL ACCIDENTS
 
 
 Major accidents are inevitable in the modern age because of complicated tech & org structure of production systems
 
 
 We accept this as normal
 
 
 DISABILITY AS A RESULT OF WKPLACE INJURIES IS DECLINING, FOLLOWING THE INJURY DECLINE, & BENEFITS ARE LAX, BUT INCREASING
 
 
 The disabled have twice the normal unemployment rate
 
 
 In the US, there are millions of handicapped people, about 14 mm, but this is not all from work injury
 
 
 40% of the handicapped are employable
 
 
 Americans w/ Disabilities Act  ADA
 
 
 While the ADA is powerful legislation, it does not have the same strength as civil rights legislation
 
 
 HEALTHCARE AFFORDABILITY, AVAILABILITY, & EFFECTIVENESS IS PROBLEMATIC TO THE EXTENT THAT IT IS NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED 
 
 
 60% workers have a group health plan
 
 
 40% workers have retirement/disability
 
 
 Only 34% of service workers have a group health plan
 
 
 Only 22% of service workers have retirement/disability
 
  Many safety & health problems could be reduced or eliminated by more effective regulation of industrial chemicals & processes  
  The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) was created in 1970 & is responsible for regulation of safety & health in the workplace  
  OSHA     http://www.osha.gov/
Link
  Currently OSHA allows any chemical to be used in the workplace until it is proven to be too dangerous  
  It may take years or decades to demonstrate the danger of a chemical, radiation, or other hazardous material  
  Evidence of hazards is routinely challenged by the companies that use the chemicals  

 
Top
  
Table  on Workplace Fatalities & Injuries
Year
Fatalities
(public & private)
Injuries
per 100 wkrs
(private)
Total Injuries
(private)
( in millions)
1992
6,217
8.9
6.8
1993
6,331
8.5
6.7
1994
6.632
8.4
6.8
1995
6,275
8.1
6.6
1996
6,202
7.4
6.2
1997
6,238
7.1
6.1
1998
6,055
6.7
5.9
1999
6,054
6.3
5.7
2000
5,920
6.1
5.7
2001
5,915
5.7
5.2
2002
5,534
5.0
5.3
2003
5,575
5.0
4.4
2004
5,764
4.8
4.3
The Table on Workplace Fatalities & Injuries shows that both rates are declining & that about 6,000 wkrs are killed on the job each yr & about 4% of wkrs are injured on the job each yr
Source:  U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.  http://www.bls.gov/data/

 
Top
  
Table  on Workplace Injuries by Event
The Table on Workplace Injuries by Event shows that main causes of wkplaces injuries are travel related, assaults, falls, contact by objects/equipment, & exposure to substances
Source:  U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov/data/

 
Top
  
Table on Sources of Office Stress
HS 3205
Lack of promotions or raises
51.7 %
Low Pay
49.0
Monotonous, repetitive work
40.0
No input into decision making
35.1
Heavy workload or overtime
31.5
Supervisor problems
30.6
Unclear job descriptions
30.2
Unsupportive boss
28.1
Inability or reluctance to express frustration or anger
22.8
Production quotas
22.4
Difficulty juggling home & family responsibilities
12.8
Inadequate breaks
12.6
Sexual harassment
5.6
The Table on Sources of Office Stress demonstrates that there are many preventable causes of office stress
Source:  Joel Makower, 1981, Office Hazards.  Washington, DC, Tilden Press, p. 125.

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on the  Declining Middle Class
External
Links
  THE MID CLASS IN INDL NATIONS IS IN SLOW ECON DECLINE SINCE THE 1980s, W/ MORE STEEP DECLINE W/ THE RECESSION BEGINNING IN 2007   
  Pressure on jobs & wages have created a trend of a declining middle class (Braun, 1997)
 
  Mfr & construction clustered around the middle range of income & were fundamental in increasing the size of the middle class in the early & mid 1900s
 
  Mfr & construction created a prosperous working class that became upwardly mobile & created the bulwark of middle class society
 
  Today, real wages in mfr & construction, which are important occupational sectors for the middle class, are stagnant or declining
 
  Average wages increased in the US during the post WW2 era until the early 1970s when they peaked at about $12 / hr (current $$) & then by the 1990s decreased 15% to their level in the early 1960s (Census, 2000)
 
  Families compensate for declining income by women entering the workplace & by working longer hours
 
  In the 1990s, women working & increased hours increased family income 1% w/ 4% longer hours while unmarrieds have done increased income even less
 
  See Also:  The Middle Class:  Economic Strat
 
  GLOBALIZATION, THE NWO, DEINDUSTRIALIZATION, ETC. HAVE ALL CAUSED AN ECON DECLINE OF THE MID CLASS   
  The business strategies of large Am corps & the econ policies of the US govt lose jobs & slow econ growth in the US, but globally have done better
 
  What is good for large corps in a global econ is often bad for a national econ
 
  Craypo, 1986, holds that plant closings are made for reasons that affect only the firm, but which result in social costs to all affected parties, i.e. workers, unions, & communities
 

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on   Why the Middle & Working Classes Have Not Organized
External
Links
  -  Project:  Why People Don't Get Involved 
Link
  THE MID & WKING CLASSES HAVE NOT ORGANIZED BECAUSE:   
  [Note that all of these reasons are intertwined & influence each other]  
  1.  COMPETITION MAKES SACRIFICE FOR THE GROUP DIFFICULT  
  The mid & wking classes have not organized because the present socio economic political system (SEP Sys) makes it hard to sacrifice for the group, the greater good, when you are fighting for survival  
  2.  THERE IS A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE REASONS TO ORGANIZE, & HOW TO ORGANIZE  
  The mid & wking classes have not organized because the non upper classes lack basic knowledge of the workings of the SEP Sys  
  See Also:  The Theories of the Social Sciences  
  See Also:  Conflict Theory  
  3.  THERE IS A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HOW TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM   
  The mid & wking classes have not organized because the non upper classes lack basic knowledge of how to change the SEP Sys  
  See Also:  Social Change  
  4.  THE UC IS ORGANIZED & PURSUES ITS OWN INTERESTS & OPPOSES ACTION BY THE MC & WC  
 
 The mid & wking classes have not organized because the upper class has it's own interest, & pursues them; the UC has class consciousness; the UC has opposing interests to the non- upper classes; the UC is better organized & funded than any of the lower classes;  the UC works to preserve their own ideology & disseminate it to the non upper classes
 
  See Also:  Class & False Consciousness  
  See Also:  Ideology  
  5.  THEY HAVE FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS  
  The mid & wking classes have not organized because the non upper classes have false consciousness in that they support the interests of the UC  
  6.  THEY PURSUE THE "AMERICAN DREAM" AS INSTITUTIONALIZED BY THE UC  
 
 The mid & wking classes have not organized because non upper class culture reflects the culture of the UC as embodied in the "American Dream" & this is a culture that socializes people to pursue institutionalized goals via institutionalized methods, & it is not a culture of revolution, must less even radical change
 
  See Also:  Culture  
  See Also:  Working Class Culture  
  7.  THERE IS A WIDE RANGE OF DIVERSITY IN THE MC & WC WHICH MAKES UNITARY CONSCIOUSNESS / ACTION DIFFICULT   
 
 The mid & wking classes have not organized because working class diversity embodies diverse values which represent diverse interests over riding the goal of improvement for all
 
  8.  DIVERSE INTERESTS OF RACE, ETC., ARE EXPLOITED BY THE UC  
 
 The mid & wking classes have not organized because racial, ethnic, & gender differences are exploited by the upper class
 
 
 See Also:  Split Labor Mkt Theory  
  9.  THE HORATIO ALGER MYTH, THAT WE CAN ALL GET AHEAD, IS STILL OPERATIVE   
 
 The mid & wking classes have not organized because the Horatio Alger Myth, where we see the upper class as something to attain, not something to change, & other main stream values are actually the knowledge, beliefs, values, & norms, i.e. culture of the upper class  
  10.  THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY SATISFIED WHERE THEY ARE FOR MUCH OF THE TIME   
 
 The mid & wking classes have not organized because the non upper classes of the 1st world have the power to institute change but are essentially satisfied, or not exploited to the stage of wanting to fight for change
 
  11.  THE LOWER CLASSES AROUND THE WORLD DO NOT HAVE THE POWER TO FOSTER CHANGE   
  The mid & wking classes have not organized because the non upper classes of the semi periphery & periphery are essentially dissatisfied to the stage of wanting to fight for change, but they do NOT have the power to do so  

The End
 
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