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I'm reading articles that suggest that NYC hasn't been a working class city since the forties. Yet the city remained "affordable", depending on your definition of affordable, at least up until the eighties. So what does "working class NYC" really mean, in that context? And if the shift happened slowly, over an eighty year period, why do we hear so much about how unaffordable the city is today?
When the crime rate was completely out of sight, the city wasn't unaffordable, but it wasn't working-class either. What made the city non-working-class wasn't the prices but that a lot of the labor performed by the working classes moved out of the city; you don't see too many factories around any more.
NYC still has lots of working class people. Retail, construction, services, low level office jobs, etc. Obviously someone has to do the work that keeps the city running.
At the end of World War II, roughly half of New York's wage workers made, moved, or maintained physical objects for a living, everything from corsets to skyscrapers to aircraft carriers. In 1946, 41 percent of the employed labor force consisted of craftsmen, operatives, laborers, foremen, and kindred workers, the occupational groupings usually considered blue collar. Another 12 percent were service workers, many of whom performed manual labor: domestic servants, firemen, janitors, elevator operators, and the like.
In 1950 seven of the nation's ten largest cities had a higher percentage of their workforces engaged in manufacturing than New York did. Nonetheless, in absolute terms New York City had a goods-producing economy unprecedented in size, output, and complexity. In 1947, New York had more manufacturing jobs than Philadelphia, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Boston put together.
I'm reading articles that suggest that NYC hasn't been a working class city since the forties. Yet the city remained "affordable", depending on your definition of affordable, at least up until the eighties. So what does "working class NYC" really mean, in that context? And if the shift happened slowly, over an eighty year period, why do we hear so much about how unaffordable the city is today?
My impression is that a major shift began when higher rents began to force out the manufacturers and small stores - maybe in the 1970s-1980s? I mean, not so very long ago, there once really was meatpacking in the Meatpacking District.
I guess the reason we hear about it today is that it's become so in-your-face, with fewer stabilized apartments, fewer new graduates able to afford Manhattan, probably fewer non-finance jobs, the proliferation of banks and yuppie chain outlets like Starbucks on every corner.
My impression is that a major shift began when higher rents began to force out the manufacturers and small stores - maybe in the 1970s-1980s? I mean, not so very long ago, there once really was meatpacking in the Meatpacking District.
I guess the reason we hear about it today is that it's become so in-your-face, with fewer stabilized apartments, fewer new graduates able to afford Manhattan, probably fewer non-finance jobs, the proliferation of banks and yuppie chain outlets like Starbucks on every corner.
Meatpacking industry shrank in the West Village for mostly the same reason as the Fulton Fish Market, wholesale flowers and others; the City (beginning with Rudy G, then continued under Bloomberg) felt it was best to have such things consolidated at the Hunts Point: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunts_...erative_Market
This would provide one stop shopping if you will for those seeking whole meats, produce and so forth.
Those forces began before Bloomberg threw his weight (and money) behind saving the "High Line". However once that deal was done and the area began to change many businesses along West and Washington streets felt the pressure. Those who owed their own properties often sold up for more money than they ever could imagine. Renters got forced out as the property was now worth far more in terms of potential (luxury) residential development.
At the end of World War II, roughly half of New York's wage workers made, moved, or maintained physical objects for a living, everything from corsets to skyscrapers to aircraft carriers. In 1946, 41 percent of the employed labor force consisted of craftsmen, operatives, laborers, foremen, and kindred workers, the occupational groupings usually considered blue collar. Another 12 percent were service workers, many of whom performed manual labor: domestic servants, firemen, janitors, elevator operators, and the like.
In 1950 seven of the nation's ten largest cities had a higher percentage of their workforces engaged in manufacturing than New York did. Nonetheless, in absolute terms New York City had a goods-producing economy unprecedented in size, output, and complexity. In 1947, New York had more manufacturing jobs than Philadelphia, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Boston put together.
It is important to look at what sectors of manufacturing were in NYC to determine where and why they have shrunk.
By 1940 some 60% of the NYC workforce was involved in manufacturing. Today that number is down to around <20% IIRC.
By far the largest sector of manufacturing in NYC was the garment industry. Those jobs once plentiful from Maine through New Jersey began moving further and further south each generation in search of cheaper labor and better overall economic conditions (taxes, zoning, etc....). You can still see traces of former garment/textile manufacturing in Maine, MA, New Hampshire, etc...
New York and New Jersey received a large bulk of those jobs fueled by large numbers of immigrants from Europe, Syria, and in some places like Union City Latino/Hispanic (in that case Cuba).
The garment industry is very labor intense and thus subject to high employment costs. Manufacturing had already begun moving to the South in search of cheaper (and often non-union) labor. By the 1970's and 1980's helped along by various treaties and so forth things began to move to first Mexico than onto Asia or India.
Other shoe that dropped regarding manufacturing in New York City were changes in zoning in response to various issues (complaints or whatever) that made building new factories within Manhattan and other parts of NYC nearly impossible.
Turtle Bay area of Manhattan for instance was once a dirty, nasty area of manufacturing, slaughter houses and other industry. If you have seen old films (pre-1940's) of the area it looked much different than today. All that was cleared away for the United Nations, Tudor City and what we see over there today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtle_Bay,_Manhattan
All this being said New York City like many other places still has plenty of working and blue collar jobs. Especially if you go by textbook definitions of what jobs/persons go where. It is just that due to various influences (unions, high cost of living, etc...) the wages and benefits paid often make such jobs seem anything but working class.
If you punch clock, work for someone else on salary, have a non or low skilled job and so forth you are working class. Cleaners in union hotels of NYC are working class, but they make nearly $70k per year and have excellent health and other benefits. Plumbers, electricians and other licensed tradesmen are also working class but they can and often do make *very* good money.
Well I live in NYC and get up to go to work every day. I assume that makes me working class. Given you need to get a running start to jam into the subway in the morning, it appears there's quite a few other people going to work as well.
Its a tough job market. There are so many crap jobs. The areas of work mentioned above such as retail and office jobs are crap jobs. Its very expensive to live here. Eventually NYC as with Long Island will be completely uninhabitable. Also NYC is no longer an American city its a foriegn city that is a hollow version of what it once was.
Well I live in NYC and get up to go to work every day. I assume that makes me working class. Given you need to get a running start to jam into the subway in the morning, it appears there's quite a few other people going to work as well.
Should be clear; working class/blue collar jobs are those where you punch a clock & get a wage based upon hours worked. OTOH salaried employees are paid a set predetermined amount regardless of hours work. The difference is also expressed as salaried-exempt and non-salaried/non-exempt.
Exempt employees do not get over-time, while non-exempt do.
So the subway motorman, conductor, token booth clerk, etc... fall within working class/blue collar non-salaried etc.... The executive who takes the subway to work is non-exempt salaried.
As this plays out in the current debate about Obama's latest coup; revising overtime rules; many working class non-exempt workers make very good to excellent wages; especially if a decent amount of overtime is added. Proof of this can be found in the yearly compensation reports of various NYS and NYC civil servants who rack up vast sums in OT each year.
Historically exempt/salaried employees were found in the managerial, administrative, professional and executive levels. Coupled with the usual higher levels of education (college and perhaps post graduate), lends a certain middle class prestige in being above having to clock in and out. Even if that prestige and so called middle class came at the cost of earning less.
When I was starting out things were still 9-5, but people remained when there was something that needed to be finished, which wasn't often. No, you didn't get OT, but Brownie points that hopefully were reflected in your annual report and salary review. Fast forward to today where you are expected to remain many days well past five, come in on weekends and or be available via email or text.
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