For Most Middle Class Americans, The Dream Of A Stable,

For most middle class Americans, the dream of a stable, well-paying job is a fiction of a past long-departed. With the arrival of the modern system of flexible labor, working class America has waved goodbye to the economic prosperity championed by its forefathers—and begrudgingly welcomed an economy marked by stagnant income levels, dismal prospects of upward mobility, and a lowered seat at the workplace bargaining table. But as many prepare to bury the American Dream as a relic of days past, there endures a spirit of hope within some circles about the prospects of a brighter economic future for working class Americans. While the debate persists over the admirable goals of re-arming America’s unions and implementing a universal basic†¦show more content†¦The disintegration of America’s middle class has not gone unchallenged, however. As American workers have seen their once healthy wages and robust benefits slip from their grasp, many have clinged tightl y to the protection of unions. Nodding to the well-documented victories of union members in the mid-1900s, unions in today’s flexible economy have often resorted to the tried-and-true methods of collective bargaining to defend themselves. But while these techniques proved successful in the Fordist economies of the mid-1900s, they have been largely ineffective in their attempts to protect workers in a post-Fordist economy that has made employers less dependent upon their workers. As a result, union participation rates in the United States have dropped from nearly one in three during the 1950s to a modern rate of only one in ten—with the U.S now donning one the lowest unionization rates in the world. Amidst Fordism’s collapse, American workers have found themselves questioning where they can find their footing in today’s economy. Many believe that a resurgence of the American middle class demands a reclamation of the formidable unions of our past. After all, stronger unions have historically led to expanded healthcare, stronger pensions, and increased productivity in the workforce. To achieve this revitalization, scholars have foregrounded an array of methods currently employed in workplaces in both the United States andShow MoreRelatedThe American Dream Through Various Eyes1270 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Dream Through Various Eyes In a country that is based around the idea that you can be anyone and do anything, one would think that most Americans all want the typical â€Å"American Dream.† Many would agree that when we think American Dream, we think fancy yachts, designer clothing, and big buildings, but is that really what the dream is all about? 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