American Workers Are More Beneficial And Cost Efficient Than Machinery

In the article Making it in America Adam Davidson takes time to interview different employees at Standard Motor Products to determine how it is treating them and how factories are changing in time. Adam is receiving a tour of the plant by manager Tony Scalzitti where he sees many factory workers in blue lab coats, hair nets, and protective eyewear. This is where Adam first runs into Madelyn Parlier.

Mike Rose has spent most of his life watching those defined as “blue-collar” workers with much appreciation. He would watch his mother, Rosie, and his uncle, Joe, work to their fullest potential with skills he had never really seen anywhere else except in their “blue-collar” world. Mike believes that the way his family worked, as well as others considered “blue-collar”, are intelligent in their own ways and are underappreciated compared to the way he sees them.

As the cost of transportation decreased, the opportunity for industrialization grew. The North began industrialization first by processing raw materials, but soon the north industrial factory adopted the “disassembly line.” This “disassembly line” would transform how factory work evolved forever, because with this more efficient way of working, “competition from cheaper less-skilled workers… created job insecurity and few opportunities for advancement.” (Norton, et. al., Mindtap, 10-3a) American factories soon developed the American System of manufacturing which “used machinery to produce interchangeable parts.” (Norton, et. al., Mindtap, 10-3a) This system promoted the

To start off, the article “The Case for Working With Your Hands” is about Matthew B. Crawford and his decision to start a car repair shop after getting his Ph. D in political philosophy. Crawford starts off the article by discussing a television show called “Deadliest Catch,” and how in today’s society, many people can never see the effects they are having in their career. He goes on by creating a stance that in today’s society, many people will assume that a student must attend a college or university to achieve an overall success instead of following their “own inclinations” (Crawford, Matthew). Crawford talks about how he chose to open up a motorcycle shop to work as a mechanic instead of

Workers in Packingtown were subject to conditions similar to slavery. Sinclair describes the situation explaining that “they were tied to the great packing machine, and tied to it for life” (Sinclair 94). Most of the workers could not escape the grasps of the Beef Trust, a monopoly on the beef industry that was above even the law. They were forced to work in dangerous and filthy conditions, earning barely any compensation for their work. All of the workers were seen as “cogs in the great packing machine,” replaceable and cheap (Sinclair 74). By objectifying their workers as simply moving parts to a machine, employers could find moral high ground in the poor and inhumane working conditions, and they could replace old and damaged “parts” with new ones without so much as thinking about what they had done for that worker. Sinclair hoped to promote Socialism with these depictions, spending the last few chapters of the book detailing how Socialism could fix all of the problems detailed in the beginning. His ideas of “‘Communism in material production, anarchism in intellectual’” were never realized in the United States (Sinclair 291). He believed that people should be given equal resources and then allowed to have as much intellectual gain as they wanted. The general public did not respond to this argument. They saw the problem in a different perspective, blaming not capitalism but

Throwing to the wind the artistry of craftsmanship. . The mind frame of American capitalism was forever altered - from one that cherished the creativity and or dexterity of labor, to one, which manipulated and oversimplified the division of labor in order to maximize profit. In expanding cities, Big business’, the corporate world, began to dominate the market. The trade a craftsman once took pride in became dismembered – each man allowed assembly of only a fraction of the product. The prosperity of the corporation undermined that of the individual. Such reforms of the work process created an abundance of profitable businesses. Despite the fact that workers risked their lives in the industrial environment they received lower wages, as the available jobs required little skill. The average factory worker had to work “15 to 18” hours a day in order to earn a “living wage” in 1860. All the while the government disregarded the bleak circumstances of the factory worker, allowing big business’ owners to control the market. As these once pioneering minds began to apply their tact to the economy, they came to realize their cumbersome power and the bourgeois began to dwindle. The affluent prospered, and the lower class fought destitution with no viable prospect of government

The factory is a deafening cacophony of machinery. The air around you is smothering and dusty. Diligent workers handle the looms—1, 2, even 3 machines, beads of sweat dripping down their concentrated faces. The work is exhausting; however, you manage to survive a 13 hour shift, as the benefits are a decent bundle of cash, far more than you could ever earn anywhere else. On the other hand, some workers are dissatisfied with the conditions they must work in—going as far to sign a petition. In “Lyddie” by Katherine Patterson, Lyddie, a hardworking13 year-old factory worker, contemplates on whether or not she should sign said petition. She is confronted with the challenge of determining which means more to her--her job or the safety of her and

Throughout the 19th and 20th century capitalism was on a rise and many writers had different perspectives on the positives and negatives of capitalism and how it shaped America. Thomas DiLorenzo who wrote How Capitalism Enriched the Working Class, focused on how the world became better because of capitalism. Melvyn Dubofsky’s Industrialism and the American Worker, focused on how the lives of working people were deteriorated because of the development of labor and what conditions these people faced. Douglas Blackmon’s Slavery by Another Name, provided evidence that slavery did not end along with the Civil War and that African-Americans continued to be enslaved and exploited under the system. DiLorenzo agrees that capitalism helped improve wages and workers in America, but Blackmon and Dubofksy show evidence of other arguments that prove to us that capitalism was not a positive impact.

Throughout the 19th and the early 20th century, American businesses have taken advantage of naïve immigrants who leave their country in order to fulfill the “American dream”. During this period of industrialization, millions of poor immigrants that flocked to the United States met with terrible working conditions and barely livable wages. In the book “The Jungle” written by Upton Sinclair, is able to convey these dreadful events through a family who experience firsthand this harsh environment that led them to experience tragic events in a town called Packingtown, Chicago. In” A People’s History of the United States” by Howard Zinn Chapter 11 and 13, explains how the government/presidency has manipulated the system in favor of a small majority of people and themselves which has brought enormous failure which have contribution throughout the years. This had modified how we think about certain ways and how modern politics is performed and affects us in our daily lives. We can all relate to the injustices we go through as a result of the inequality of the government has put us in. Specially, during the late 19th and early 20th century labor was not an admirable situation that anyone should face. An abundant of individual had to confront abuse, crime, and discrimination all due to their lack of unions and regulations. Not only did immigrant go through a harsh time, but we can all examine that human beings all around the world have gone

If you ever question whether American made matters, consider the way that the U.S. automotive industry has devolved. At one time, American auto makers led the world in their sector. Today, jobs that were formerly held by Americans have been outsourced to workers in other countries. In order to inject new life to the Middle Class and level the playing field once again, we must insist on the availability of American made products. Our buying decisions could make all the difference for Americans now and in the future.

During industrialization many changes took place that were difficult for American workers to adjust to and accept. Workers were replaced by machines, worked very long hours, and received little pay. Large businesses and corporations that grew out of the industrial age did not care about the individual employee and only cared about how much money they could make. Employees were no longer valued and bosses believed that any employee could easily be replaced by another body. The extremely low wages, unsafe working conditions, and long hours eventually led to many people trying to organize unions to stand up to the large corporations. Businesses did not want the workers to organize because they wanted to keep wages low and keep the workers powerless.

In early America the value of Labor was very high, especially labor that was cheap and affordable, when it came to working in the fields harvesting crops and other jobs around plantations and farms. This demand caused and influx of Europeans to come to the new world for opportunity as an indentured servant. Meaning they would work certain term of years along with slaves working the fields and harvesting the crops to pay for their voyage to the new world. Servants also were looked upon in the same manner as slaves receiving similar punishments in the beginning. But, as time went on the treatment began to change in favor of the servants.

The article goes on to state that we could be the leader of industry again. Americans need to relearn how to be a patriot again we have lost sight of this and we have become more divided then any time in our history. When I was growing up the saying was cheap junk made in Japan now that is how other countries view our products.

Employees in the America workplace usually devote much of their life to their employers, but instead, they don’t receive the wages or salaries that are equal to their efforts. The employees may also receive an increase in their salaries and wages. They should also receive health care benefits and be given paid leaves by their employers. Instead, the employees don’t get enough of what they offer to their employers. They are not even subjected in the decision-making process. American workers are thus compared to drones. (Michael Ventura)Drones are male bees that live to work only for the colony in their entire life. They do the same thing repeatedly over and over again without any freedom. They are more like prisoners. Ventura draws thus

James Follows, the author of the article, Why the Maker Movement Matters: Part 1, the Tool