{"product_id":"rust-belt-union-blues-why-working-class-voters-are-turning-away-from-the-democratic-party-9780231208826","title":"Rust Belt Union Blues: Why Working-Class Voters Are Turning Away from the Democratic Party","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 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--mostly men--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. In industrial and formerly industrial Rust Belt towns, Republican-leaning groups and outlooks have burgeoned among the kinds of voters who once would have been part of union communities. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLainey 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. Drawing on interviews, union newsletters, and ethnographic analysis, they pinpoint the significance of eroding local community ties and identities. 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eRust Belt Union Blues\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eLainey Newman is a J.D. candidate at Harvard Law School. She is a graduate of Harvard College and a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTheda Skocpol is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University. Her many books include \u003ci\u003eThe Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism\u003c\/i\u003e (with Vanessa Williamson); \u003ci\u003eUpending American Politics\u003c\/i\u003e (coedited with Caroline Tervo); and \u003ci\u003eDiminished Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Columbia University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50619048296722,"sku":"9780231208826","price":98.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_cb2a659c-a7e0-4b43-8b05-3eabe8f42314.jpg?v=1737282395","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/rust-belt-union-blues-why-working-class-voters-are-turning-away-from-the-democratic-party-9780231208826","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}