Rust Belt Union Blues: Why Working-Class Voters Are Turning Away from the Democratic Party
Lainey Newman · Theda Skocpol
Oct 2024 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Rachel Perry
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7 hr 52 min
Unabridged
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About this audiobook
In the heyday of American labor, the influence of local unions extended far beyond the workplace. Unions were embedded in tight-knit communities, touching nearly every aspect of the lives of members and their families and neighbors. They conveyed fundamental worldviews, making blue-collar unionists into loyal Democrats who saw the party as on the side of the working man. Today, unions play a much less significant role in American life. Lainey Newman and Theda Skocpol provide timely insight into the relationship between the decline of unions and the shift of working-class voters away from Democrats. Using western Pennsylvania as a case study, Newman and Skocpol argue that union members' loyalty to Democratic candidates was as much a product of the group identity that unions fostered as it was a response to the Democratic Party's economic policies. As the social world around organized labor dissipated, conservative institutions like gun clubs, megachurches, and other Republican-leaning groups took its place. Rust Belt Union Blues sheds new light on why so many union members have dramatically changed their party politics. It makes a compelling case that Democrats are unlikely to rebuild credibility in places like western Pennsylvania unless they find new ways to weave themselves into the daily lives of workers and their families.
About the author
Lainey Newman is a JD candidate at Harvard Law School. She is a graduate of Harvard College and a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Theda Skocpol is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University. Her many books include The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism (with Vanessa Williamson); Upending American Politics (coedited with Caroline Tervo); and Diminished Democracy.
Rachel Perry narrates audiobooks from her home studio in Los Angeles, California. With a background in fine arts, she has been a TV host, performed comedy, acted in TV shows and commercials, and worked in radio.
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