Chad Broughton in his book Boom, Bust, Exodus tediously goes through the ramifications of a constantly-evolving global supply chain buoyed by a relatively stable world, international trade, and freer capital in the towns of Galesburg, Illinois and Reynosa, Mexico. On the American side, workers attempted to navigate this tumultuous economic landscape by scraping together the resources they could obtain, including corporate severance packages, Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), and other benefits from a patchwork social safety net. The close relationship built between a unionized workforce and management at manufacturing facilities like Maytag’s “Appliance City” facility had created stable, high-paying jobs.
However, that relatively virtuous relationship between workers’ pay and corporate profits growing …show more content…
Even while many of the workers refused to be seen as inept victims, in reality, the closure of the Maytag plant revealed how precarious the economic position of those workers. Once making over $15 an hour with generous benefits, Maytag workers in Galesburg were easily replaceable by workers making $1.10 an hour in Reynosa, Mexico (page 5). How could these workers have achieved such high living standards, then? The union, known as Local 2063, played a critical role by organizing and galvanizing workers. In turn, Appliance City, which had formerly been operated by Admiral and a couple of other companies, was a battleground between workers and management, fighting to determine how the corporate pie was shared. However, even during those years of relative labor strength, companies like Rockwell International pioneered corporate mergers and implement scientific management principles in facilities like Appliance City(page 55). This meant dumbing down jobs to make them easier to do. In essence, workers were losing their economic positioning during the supposed golden years of
However, that relatively virtuous relationship between workers’ pay and corporate profits growing …show more content…
Even while many of the workers refused to be seen as inept victims, in reality, the closure of the Maytag plant revealed how precarious the economic position of those workers. Once making over $15 an hour with generous benefits, Maytag workers in Galesburg were easily replaceable by workers making $1.10 an hour in Reynosa, Mexico (page 5). How could these workers have achieved such high living standards, then? The union, known as Local 2063, played a critical role by organizing and galvanizing workers. In turn, Appliance City, which had formerly been operated by Admiral and a couple of other companies, was a battleground between workers and management, fighting to determine how the corporate pie was shared. However, even during those years of relative labor strength, companies like Rockwell International pioneered corporate mergers and implement scientific management principles in facilities like Appliance City(page 55). This meant dumbing down jobs to make them easier to do. In essence, workers were losing their economic positioning during the supposed golden years of