General Discussion

jg10003

(976 posts)

39. Unions made the difference in the 50's

Sat Jun 25, 2016, 02:17 PM

Jun 2016

OP is right that the manufacturing jobs are not coming back. Walmart has replaced GM and U.S Steel as the major employers. But the difference is not the type of business of the employer, but rather how profitable the employer is. GM in the 1950's was very profitable, as is Walmart today. But GM paid its' employees enough to support a middle class lifestyle. Walmart employees are not paid enough to feed their families without food stamps. GM employees had a union, Walmart employees do not. The important factor is the relationship between employer and employee. It doesn't matter if the employee is building cars or stacking shelves.

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The 1950's were not all that great and they are not coming back [View all] Peacetrain Jun 2016 OP

This needs to be written on a tablet of bronze (nt) Recursion Jun 2016 #1

+1000 JustAnotherGen Jun 2016 #2

Everyone is talking economic yeoman6987 Jun 2016 #41

And it was false then Recursion Jun 2016 #45

And having the same government investment in education and infrastructure tk2kewl Jun 2016 #79

It wouldn't push wages up Recursion Jun 2016 #80

I think large investments in transportation, energy and communications infrastructure tk2kewl Jun 2016 #81

I don't, though I think they'd be absolute goods on their own Recursion Jun 2016 #84

Shorter term... More jobs will boost wages tk2kewl Jun 2016 #96

Great point Recursion Jun 2016 #97

I've never understood the nostalgia for the 1950s cagefreesoylentgreen Jun 2016 #3

I grew up in the 50s - black and white TV was perfect rurallib Jun 2016 #11

1950s = Pleasantville 99th_Monkey Jun 2016 #24

That movie came to mind as well genxlib Jun 2016 #34

And network news was straight news without heavy bias. floriduck Jun 2016 #28

ITA, raccoon Jun 2016 #73

"When the world and I were young, Just yesterday..." lastlib Jun 2016 #93

I grew up in the '50s madokie Jun 2016 #105

Not to mention 1950's diseases like polio, measles, etc. Childhood leukemia was a death sentence. SharonAnn Jun 2016 #95

This message was self-deleted by its author rjsquirrel Jun 2016 #4

They were awesome for straight white men. Women not so much. nt sufrommich Jun 2016 #5

This message was self-deleted by its author rjsquirrel Jun 2016 #6

I thought I heard that women Urchin Jun 2016 #23

Do you have a link to back your statement? lunatica Jun 2016 #26

YES! brush Jun 2016 #29

You can find it Urchin Jun 2016 #103

I didn't realize this was such a big secret Urchin Jun 2016 #102

It's not that it's a secret or not lunatica Jun 2016 #107

Do you usually just believe things you thought you heard? Mariana Jun 2016 #63

Look for my reply to lunatica Urchin Jun 2016 #104

White straight men. Gay people were considered mentally ill in the 1950s. yardwork Jun 2016 #37

Yikes,of course you're right. I'll edit. nt sufrommich Jun 2016 #48

No problem. I knew it wasn't an intentional oversight. yardwork Jun 2016 #51

It was unintentional,but I like to be historically accurate. sufrommich Jun 2016 #52

Yes. There was never a time that women spooky3 Jun 2016 #90

+1 uponit7771 Jun 2016 #25

Bingo! "Racism...that's the basis of the nostalgia." Surya Gayatri Jun 2016 #67

Rec - because JustAnotherGen Jun 2016 #7

My son is a Middle Milleanial.. Peacetrain Jun 2016 #9

You are probably my mom's contemporary JustAnotherGen Jun 2016 #13

It's not The Bomb and White Citizens Councils that people miss. It's stable jobs with pensions leveymg Jun 2016 #8

Did you read the op? Peacetrain Jun 2016 #10

Did you read his post? We recognize that the jobs are gone. That doesn't mean we can't rhett o rick Jun 2016 #14

Again what the hell are you talking about and to whom? this addressed to the Trumps Peacetrain Jun 2016 #18

It's pretty clear that this is more than Johnson and Trump. JonLeibowitz Jun 2016 #54

But the service jobs of today Freddie Jun 2016 #15

The service jobs of today are demeaned.. Peacetrain Jun 2016 #21

Yes. But, the "'50s type job" (full benefits) and a generous social net is still worth fighting for leveymg Jun 2016 #16

We should raise the income tax to 90+ percent again Urchin Jun 2016 #31

Hear, hear... Surya Gayatri Jun 2016 #68

Scotland and Northern Ireland call bullshit on your analysis. nt pkdu Jun 2016 #17

How so? Scotland and the Northern Ireland stand to gain by keeping EU membership, even if they have leveymg Jun 2016 #20

Did you even reread your own post?..Scotland and Northern Ireland are just as impacted by income pkdu Jun 2016 #22

The regions of the English Midlands and South are the one that lost industry and jobs. leveymg Jun 2016 #60

+1,000 HughBeaumont Jun 2016 #77

Some stuff was good, some stuff was bad. TheCowsCameHome Jun 2016 #12

We're on our way to 1950s homeownership rates unless something changes! Yo_Mama Jun 2016 #19

I completely disagree Urchin Jun 2016 #27

The '50s were great if you were white and male. POCs and women need not apply back then though. brush Jun 2016 #33

My 2 grandmothers were housewives in the 1950's and were very happy yeoman6987 Jun 2016 #44

Did your grandmothers not want their own careers? How about you? You want to be a housewife? brush Jun 2016 #46

Lol. I'm a dude for one yeoman6987 Jun 2016 #55

Did you ever ask them if they wanted a careeer, instead of assuming, as men often do, . . . brush Jun 2016 #64

Don't expect a cogent reply any time soon. Surya Gayatri Jun 2016 #69

I guess their husbands didn't beat them. because back then raccoon Jun 2016 #74

I don't get your meaning Urchin Jun 2016 #30

Rates, not percentage increase. Link to Harvard study Yo_Mama Jun 2016 #62

Life was simpler in the 50s bucolic_frolic Jun 2016 #32

We have traded Urchin Jun 2016 #36

Cher couldn't do it, and neither can you or anyone else. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be... Surya Gayatri Jun 2016 #70

The Founders Did it Urchin Jun 2016 #100

I was a teen in the 50's. FlaGranny Jun 2016 #92

"the 50's sound" niyad Jun 2016 #35

Just because something rhymes Urchin Jun 2016 #38

and your point is? niyad Jun 2016 #43

Well done! JTFrog Jun 2016 #91

kristin lems is one of my favourite singer/songwriters. niyad Jun 2016 #98

Unions made the difference in the 50's jg10003 Jun 2016 #39

we need to re-unionize. pansypoo53219 Jun 2016 #40

K&R nt ProudProgressiveNow Jun 2016 #42

One minor change to a great post.... fob Jun 2016 #47

There were no internet crimes back then and less terrorism IronLionZion Jun 2016 #49

Born in 68 awoke_in_2003 Jun 2016 #50

The average jobs back then could susport a middle class lifestyle davidn3600 Jun 2016 #53

Middle Class now has Cryptoad Jun 2016 #56

It took a world war and tens of millions of deaths to make it possible for us AZ Progressive Jun 2016 #58

The 50 s rocked maindawg Jun 2016 #57

40% of the workforce, in the private sector, was unionized. One unionized job could support a family demosincebirth Jun 2016 #59

The era of automation is hardly going to be a "great movement". HughBeaumont Jun 2016 #61

Change may not be intrinsically "good" (a value judgment), but it IS inevitable and inexorable. Surya Gayatri Jun 2016 #71

I dunno, do you have a magical way to consume with no income? HughBeaumont Jun 2016 #76

It is neither good nor bad, it just IS, as the ruling principle of the universe. Surya Gayatri Jun 2016 #78

Yes, I suppose it's far easier to just wash our hands of the whole upcoming mess . . . HughBeaumont Jun 2016 #83

Couldn't agree more: " We need tangible solutions..." and Surya Gayatri Jun 2016 #86

Strom Thurmond SheriffBob Jun 2016 #65

And, THIS IS REALITY. Too many people refuse to look it in the face and deal with it. Surya Gayatri Jun 2016 #66

Houses were a lot smaller then. houses built in the 50's raccoon Jun 2016 #72

This is neither here nor there, but I came across it again today and like it. betsuni Jun 2016 #75

Some of the best Vehicle designs of all time... ileus Jun 2016 #82

I wasn't "around" for the 50s BUT... leeroysphitz Jun 2016 #85

Interracial Marriage... TNProfessor Jun 2016 #87

On some levels I agree, but with caveats..... LongTomH Jun 2016 #88

"Leave It to Beaver" was not a documentary. Ilsa Jun 2016 #89

... and neither is the EU coming back. Brave New World was Joe Chi Minh Jun 2016 #94

duck and cover and fallout shelters? no thank you dembotoz Jun 2016 #99

Logical fallacy: if industry is so automated brentspeak Jun 2016 #101

It's was about income distribution AgingAmerican Jun 2016 #106