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This paper analyses the effect of imports on US manufacturing wages using the NLSY79 data-set, estimating differential impacts on blue- and white-collar wages. I find that rising imports put downward pressure on wages between 1979 and 1988. This correlation holds for both white- and blue-collar workers, with a somewhat stronger impact on the latter group. Evidence suggests that imports from low-wage countries are responsible for the negative relationship between imports and wages, but only for blue-collar wages. A one-percentage-point increase in the low-wage import share is associated with a 2.8% decline in blue-collar wages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effects of the population turnaround on unemployment rates in a nine-county region in northern lower Michigan. Data from census reports and a mailed questionnaire were used to test the following competing hypotheses about unemployment impacts: (1) labor-market infusion (or positive employment impacts), (2) labor-market overload (or negative impact on unemployment and increased competition for jobs), and (3) a mixed model in which the balance of positive and negative impacts differs depending on occupational status. Our major finding is that blue-collar persons (both newcomers and long-term residents) experienced much higher unemployment rates than white-collar persons. In other words, for white-collar strata, labor-market infusion is supported; for blue-collar strata, labor-market overload is supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the demographic, economic, and psychographic characteristics of 324 blue-collar workers who were offered four options for either retirement or severance from the organization. Consistent with previous research, individuals who accepted retirement options have more organizational tenure and believed that the packages would provide stable financial futures. A key finding for those who accepted the nonretirement options is that comparable employment would be available. The study concludes with research limitations and suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous studies of public attitudes toward immigration have been set in economically developed areas such as the United States and the countries of Western Europe, implicitly applying the term "immigrants" solely to blue‐collar laborers. In this article, we extend the discussion to Taiwan, a newly democratic and nearly developed country in East Asia. Methods: Our study investigates public attitudes toward immigrants with different occupations and test predictions derived from both economic and cultural approaches. Results: From an analysis of the survey data, we find different economic factors for pro‐immigration attitudes toward foreign professionals and laborers. Conclusions: Specifically, people who have higher incomes are more likely to allow foreign professionals to become citizens, and people with positive assessments of national and individual economic conditions are more likely to favor the inflow of foreign workers. Furthermore, cultural tolerance and a high level of education are correlated to pro‐migration attitudes toward both foreign professionals and laborers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although considerable evidence indicates that public preferences for income inequality and redistribution vary across socioeconomic groups (i.e., occupation and income), much less is known about the temporal dynamics of these preferences. The purpose of this study is (a) to examine whether the attitudinal distance between managerial/professional workers and unskilled manual workers has changed (converged or diverged) over time and to (b) explore the reasons for and implications of the dynamics of preferences in the past several decades. Using data from the General Social Survey 1978–2016 (23 time‐points; N = 27,211), this study finds that the influence of occupational class has lost some of its significance in shaping public preferences for income inequality and that the declining effect of occupation can be explained in part by the attitudinal convergence between better‐ and less‐educated citizens. Findings suggest that proequality coalitions across educational boundaries play a remedial role in bridging the occupational divide over government redistribution in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the potential for a research agenda that includes scholarship on working class issues and organized labor. Such an agenda is consistent with the official mission of American Psychological Association-to advance knowledge that benefits society and improves people's lives. I focus on our paucity of interest in the institution that gives the American working class a voice-the labor union. We know that work is one of the central focuses in the lives of most people and that the work experience is deeply implicated in satisfaction with life. The efforts of organized labor to achieve economic fairness and justice, and a healthy workplace environment, are intertwined with multiple corollary consequences that constitute a wide and complex spectrum-from physical job safety and economic security on one end, to the psychological benefits of heightened self-esteem, respect, dignity, empowerment, and affiliation on the other-all related to satisfaction with life. In addition, by advancing and protecting the rights of workers, unions are part of the larger movement for civil rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using two sets of U. S. Census data and information from the U. S. Employment Service, this study analyzes the effects of mechanization on skill requirements of blue collar jobs, assessing changes in the distribution of employment in these jobs by race and gender. The results are discussed in the context of high and low levels of mechanization change. Although there was a tendency for mechanization to lower the skill requirements of production work, changes among labor force subgroups are found to differ substantially. Black males increased in high skill jobs regardless of whether these jobs were in industries undergoing high or low rates of mechanization. Females and white nudes tended to increase more sharply in low skill work, especially in the industries which had high rates of mechanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The beliefs about work of managers and blue-collar workers in the U.S.A. and Scotland were determined through a questionnaire. Both managers and blue-collar workers strongly endorsed humanistic beliefs and were indifferent to the work ethic. Blue-collar workers endorsed more strongly than managers beliefs about worker exploitation and the value of participation. In Scotland, there was a wide difference in the perceived value of leisure between managers and workers. It appears that the Scottish respondents hold fewer independent beliefs than their U.S. counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors comment on the article by Vernon M. Briggs, Jr. on the unexpected consequences in the U.S. immigration policy. The agree with Briggs' contention that the 1965 immigration reforms has lead to chain migration from developing countries and foreign-born populations that have low human capital levels. They oppose Briggs' suggestion that immigration policy can reverse the U.S. economic issues as such issues like the decline in blue-collar wages have different root causes. They add that green card program must be reformed to highlight skills instead of reducing the volume of immigration. They mention that Briggs ignores the role of skill-biased technological change and institutional factors on the decline of economy.