Working Class in a Post-Industrial Economy No Worker Left Behind? Tales from the Rustbelt

• In Event: 088 - Section on Sociological Practice and Public Sociology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 03. Studying the U.S. Population: Implications for Communities

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the US has experienced a widening gap of inequality which has severely undermined the ability to achieve the American Dream. Fundamental shifts in the US economy have led to serious declines in the manufacturing industry. An epicenter of manufacturing, the Midwest in general, but Michigan specifically has been hard hit by this shift. Although manufacturing has remained the central economic driver for the State of Michigan, the occupations within the industry is becoming more concentrated in “knowledge-intensive” areas. As the economy shifts from an industrial to a post-industrial society, will working-class families be excluded from the achievability of the American Dream without shifts in policies and societal paradigms. The need for educational opportunities has become a more integral factor in economic mobility than ever. Despite the evidence that achieving an education is highly correlated with the ability to move of the socioeconomic ladder in the US, particularly as blue-collar jobs are either disappearing or becoming increasingly lower paying, there are real barriers for middle and working class families in terms of achieving an education – and thus the American Dream. Using previous interview data conducted with working class families, and data obtained from a medium-sized, Catholic University in the Metropolitan Detroit area, I will highlight their struggles to achieve higher education in an economic environment that is more than ever demanding educational attainment as a means to achieve the American Dream.

Author

• Michelle Marie Proctor, Madonna University