Working Class(lessness): Blue-Collar Families' Social Constructions of Class

• In Event: Organizations, Work, and the Social Construction of Socio-Economic Class

Abstract

In-depth interviews with 62 people with working-class ties (blue-collar workers and/or children of blue-collar workers) reveal a partial social construction of "working class." That is, blue-collar workers and their adult sons and daughters imbue working class with four core, positively-valenced values (i.e., strong work ethic, provider orientation, the dignity of all work, and humility). This particular meaning system elevates working class to the highest position in the social class hierarchy (i.e., above “privileged/elite” and “non-working poor” classes; see Lucas, 2006, 2009). However, it represents only a partial social construction in that there is no challenge raised against the socio-economic boundaries that delineate social classes. In other words, the social classes are accepted as naturalized, incontestable structures. Further, the ambiguous value-based system allows for these individuals to include others within “working class” boundaries based on a shared value system, rather than material criteria and conditions. As such, the partial social construction downplays important class-based material interests in ways that can have serious implications for political consciousness and collective action.

References

Lucas, K. (2009). When the dream and promise collide: Accounting for class mobility-based ambivalences. Paper to be presented at International Communication Association annual conference, Chicago, IL.

Lucas, K. (2006). No footsteps to follow: How blue-collar kids navigate postindustrial
careers. Unpublished dissertation, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Author

• Kristen Lucas, University of Nebraska, Lincoln