CLASS AND CLASS STRUGGLE IN AMERICA (1860-2016)

The Transformation of US Capitalism -textiles, cotton -manufacturing -building a continental economy -railroads, early industry, -industrialization, finance -mass production/consumption -financialization/globalization/deindustrialization -from manufacturing to service

Changing Work -agriculture, mining, factory system -rise of division of labor, mass production -Fordism -mass production -out sourcing, plant closings, deindustrialization -service economy

Labor Mobilization -craft unions -Lowell women -miners, railroad workers -National Labor Union, Knights of Labor, -8 hour day movement (European socialists and anarchists) -AFL -IWW -CIO

Labor Mobilization 2 AFL-CIO -assault on organized labor (PATCO as metaphor) AFL-CIO shifts to the left: UPS/Teamster strike Union density declines dramatically

Rise of the New Class Society -Dramatic and continuing shift in income and wealth from the middle to the top -shift from a double diamond distribution of wealth and power to a triangular model -metaphor of 1% versus 99% -rise of the “precariat” (from Marx’s reserve army to Bourdieu to Guy Stanley)

Indiana -Check essays by Targ on the political economy of Indiana -Note the United Way ALICE study which found that 37% of Hoosier families live below the UW estimate of earnings required for a family of four to achieve a living wage and close to 20% of such families live below the poverty line

Findings from Quigley Study -Reports of marginalized workers: fast food, food service, housekeeping, home care -shifts from higher paying manufacturing jobs to low paid service jobs -characteristics of “new working class” jobs: no unions; less than 40 hour work weeks; lack of predictability of work schedules; low wages; no benefits; no retirement; no health and safety at the workplace; no voice; no respect

Findings from Quigley Study 2 -new working class multi-racial; high percentage of women; young AND old; careers of low income earnings -difficulties in union organizing: limited workers common spaces; no traditional unions; workers to organize divided by race and gender; employers largest multinational corporations in the world; huge corporations control or can influence the political processes (ie Indianapolis government)

Findings from Quigley Study 3 -new union organizing: SEIU, UNITE-Here largest growing organizing in the labor movement -economic marginalization potentially brings together public sector, home care, health care, hotels, teachers, adjuncts, taxi drivers -every effort of economic ruling class is designed to weaken labor, increase barriers to organizing, shift more wealth created by workers to capital

Findings from Quigley 4 -new working class requires organizing techniques that are different from the era of the AFL and CIO (more similar to IWW?) -personal contacts, identifying worker leaders, building grassroots forms of organization, using all forms of advangage-from elections to demonstrations to connecting with other activists -hiring young committed grassroots activists with patience, compassion

Findings from Quigley 5 -new working class organizing model parallels and is connected to Fight for $15; Black Lives Matter; Single Payer Healthcare, Teachers unions such as CTU; anti-police violence; immigrant rights campaigns