Blue-collar BluesI. Changing Conditions

A. EconomicB. CulturalC. Political

II. DeindustrializationA. Importing goodsB. Exporting manufacturing

III. Unions and WorkersA. Union BustingB. Worker RightsC. Rich and Poor

IV. Calls for reform

Economic

Year Ave

1979 11.35

1978 7.59

1977 6.5

1976 5.76

1975 9.13

1974 11.04

1973 6.22

1972 3.21

1971 4.381970 5.72

• Inflation– Yom Kippur War, 1973

– OPEC Cartel

– Iranian Revolution, 1979

• Profits fall– 10% in 1965– 4.5% in 1974

• Dow closes lower in 1979 than in 1965

• Unemployment rises as high as ten percent2001 Rate = 3.59%

Cultural • Long Hot Summers

• Watergate

• Vietnam– US: 58,000 deaths

– SVN: 200,000

– NVN: 900,000

– Civilians: 1M

• Iran Hostage crisis

• Anger– July 12, 1979– 5,000 riot at

Comiskey

Political

• Nixon landslide, 1972

• Reagan revolution, 1980

• Both depend on working-class votes

Screen Actors Guild president Ronald Reagan testifying

before HUAC, 1947

De-regulation

• Airlines

– Civil Aeronautics Board dissolved in 1984

– Lower fares, but wave of bankruptcies

• Trucking

– Motor Carrier Reform Act of 1980 gives trucking companies more power to set rates

– Lower rates, but teamsters suffer

Importing Goods

• Share of world production falls from 76% to 21%

• Between 1969 and 1990, import share of GNP jumps from 5.7% to 14%

1970 Datsun 240Z

De-industrializati

on

• 30% of plants close between 1969-1976• Manufacturers invest in South, West, & abroad

Union Busting

• PATCO– Air traffic controllers strike

• NFL Players’ Association

Worker Rights • Civil Rights Act,

1964– Title VII– EEOC

• Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1970

• Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990

• Family and Medical Leave Act, 1993

George H.W. Bush signs ADA, 1990

Rich and Poor

• Income gap rises

• Top tax brackets fall

A Paralyzed Movement• Reformers improve

labor’s reputation– United Mine Workers– Teamsters for a

Democratic Union– SEIU

• But infighting continues

• AFL-CIO still shrinking

• But ties to other groups are growing stronger

NOW’s Kim Gandy and AFL-CIO president John

Sweeney