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Labor's Love Lost

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Labor's Love Lost SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... Labor’s Love Lost: The Influence of Gender, Race, and Class on the Workplace in Post- war America A Dissertation Presented by Stephen Raymond Patnode to The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Stony Brook University May 2008 Copyright by Stephen Raymond Patnode 2008 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Stephen Raymond Patnode We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Christopher Sellers – Dissertation Advisor Associate Professor, Department of History Nancy Tomes – Chairperson of Defense Professor and Chairperson, Department of History Herman Lebovics State University of New York Distinguished Professor Michael Kimmel Professor, Department of Sociology, Stony Brook University This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Lawrence Martin Dean of the Graduate School ii Abstract of the Dissertation Labor’s Love Lost: The Influence of Gender, Race, and Class on the Workplace in Post- war America by Stephen Raymond Patnode Doctor of Philosophy in History Stony Brook University 2008 This project reexamines questions of labor history in the United States. It traces the story of people who worked for three large defense manufacturers in Long Island from the 1930s to the 1970s. Race, class, and gender had a profound impact on identity formation and decision making for the workers of Grumman Corporation, Republic Aviation, and Sperry Gyroscope. This project contributes to the history of labor relations by reexamining the question of declining unionization rates in the U.S. following World War II. In addition to generally recognized factors such as deindustrialization and anti-union campaigns, this study assesses the role that gender, class, and race played in the decision of some workers to reject unions. In particular, femininity and masculinity were mutually constitutive categories that influenced the way men and women thought about themselves, the workplace, and organized labor. One significant contribution relates to the impact of masculinities on male workers’ identities, which in turn shaped preconceptions regarding unions. Many men at Grumman resisted union campaigns because they perceived that membership would impinge upon their ability to define the workplace as a rough, masculine space. In practice, this meant that workers at Grumman feared that joining a union would reduce their autonomy within the workplace, while simultaneously weakening their job security. In other words, joining a union was actually perceived as emasculating. Union organizers had to combat these gender anxieties as they fought to recruit workers at other locations such as Republic. Defending the workplace as a manly domain reinforced existing ideas about the male worker’s identity and place in a changing social order. Some men and women embraced the emerging social order of the 1960s and 1970s, while others responded equivocally. iii Table of Contents List of Figures................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................viii Introduction....................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: “No McDonald’s to work in.” Sperry, Grumman, and Republic in the twentieth century ............................................................................................................ 18 Introduction................................................................................................................... 18 Companies’ Origins and Contexts ................................................................................ 20 Loyalty and Employee Relations Prior to WW II......................................................... 30 Ethnicity and Race prior to WW II............................................................................... 39 World War II and the Changing Workplace................................................................. 44 Women and Men, Femininity and Masculinity ............................................................ 51 Unions, Ethnicity, and Race during WW II.................................................................. 74 Chapter 2: “She just completed forty successful missions through the shop.” Re- creating Separate Spheres in the Wake of World War II........................................... 88 Introduction................................................................................................................... 88 Femininity in the Workplace ........................................................................................ 92 Questioning Motives................................................................................................... 109 Fashion and Femininity............................................................................................... 118 Masculinity in the Workplace..................................................................................... 125 Domestic Strife and Other Tensions over Gender Roles............................................ 131 The IAM Organizes Workers and Wrestles with Masculinity.................................... 138 Chapter 3: “Pay Attention and Learn.” Redefining Masculinity in the Post-War Years............................................................................................................................... 157 Introduction................................................................................................................. 157 From Hypo to Hyper: Changes in White-Color Masculinity, 1940s to early 1950s .. 159 From Cross-Dressing to Weight Lifting: Changes in Working Class Masculinity, 1940s-1950s ................................................................................................................ 184 Worker Identity and Responses to Changing Gender Representations ...................... 199 “An Illegal Stoppage of Work”................................................................................... 206 Chapter 4: Problems of Perception: Masculinity, Job Security, and the Decline of Unions in Post-war America ........................................................................................ 221 Introduction................................................................................................................. 221 Unions and Labor Relations........................................................................................ 224 Unions, Strikes, and Job Security ............................................................................... 235 Perceived Impact of Unions on White- and Blue-Collar Masculinity, 1950s-1960s . 256 Chapter 5: “I Want Diplomatic Immunity”: The End of the Big, Happy Family, 1960s-1970s .................................................................................................................... 269 Introduction................................................................................................................. 269 Prizing Femininity: Miss Sperry and Other Regal Rewards....................................... 272 iv Classified Masculinity and Male Agency at Grumman, early 1960s ......................... 285 The Beginning of the End of the Big, Happy Family................................................. 297 Responses to the Breakup of the Big, Happy Family................................................. 307 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 334 Appendix........................................................................................................................ 337 v List of Figures Figure 1.1 .......................................................................................................................... 53 Figure 1.2 .......................................................................................................................... 54 Figure 1.3 .......................................................................................................................... 55 Figure 1.4 .......................................................................................................................... 59 Figure 1.5 .......................................................................................................................... 60 Figure 1.6 .......................................................................................................................... 62 Figure 1.7 .......................................................................................................................... 63 Figure 1.8 .......................................................................................................................... 67 Figure 1.9 .........................................................................................................................
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