Disruption in Detroit : autoworkers and the elusive postwar boom / Daniel J. Clark.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Clark, Daniel J., author.

Series:

Working class in American history ; 288.

Illinois scholarship online.

The working class in American history ; 288

Illinois scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Detroit (Mich.)--Economic conditions--20th century.

Detroit (Mich.).

Automobile industry and trade--Michigan--Detroit--History--20th century.

Automobile industry and trade.

Automobile industry workers--Labor unions--Michigan--Detroit--History--20th century.

Automobile industry workers.

Automobile industry workers--Michigan--Detroit--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, 2019.

Summary:

It is a bedrock American belief: the 1950s were a golden age of prosperity for autoworkers. Flush with high wages and enjoying the benefits of generous union contracts, these workers became the backbone of a thriving blue-collar middle class. It is also a myth. Daniel J. Clark began by interviewing dozens of former autoworkers in the Detroit area and found a different story - one of economic insecurity caused by frequent layoffs, unrealised contract provisions, and indispensable second jobs. 'Disruption in Detroit' is a vivid portrait of workers and an industry that experienced anything but stable prosperity.

Contents:

Introduction

Shortages and strikes, 1945-1948

The era of "The treaty of Detroit," 1949-1950

No longer the arsenal of democracy, 1951-1952

A post-Korean War boom, 1953

A "painfully inconvenient" recession, 1954

The fifties in one year, 1955

"A severe and prolonged hangover," 1956-1957

The nadir, 1958

"What is happening? Which way are we headed?" 1959-1960

Conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Previously issued in print: 2018.

ISBN:

9780252050756

0252050754

OCLC:

1054093059