Table Of ContentWHEN LABOR
VOTES
A STUDY OF AUTO WORKERS
Arthur Komkmuer
Harold L. Sheppard
Albert /. Mayer
Wayne University
✓
U N I V E R S I T Y BOOKS
New York
FIRST EDITION
AC right* reserved, including the right of
reproduction in whole or in part to any form
Copyright, 1956, by University Books, Inc.
Published by University Books, Inc.
404 Fourth Avenue, New York 16
Designed by Marry M. Cropper Associates, Inc.
Manufactured in tne United States of America
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 56-7839
Preface
This study was made possible by a research grant to Wayne
University from the automobile workers’ international union, the
UAW-CIO. No strings were attached to the union’s gift It was
dearly understood that we would have complete freedom in the
conduct of die research and in the publication of our results.
The union’s purpose, as stated in a letter from Walter Reuther
to the University, was “to contribute to better understanding,
and thus to improved functioning, of our democratic political
system as an instrument for meeting die needs and fulfilling the
legitimate aspirations of Americans in all walks of life.” He
added: “In order to serve its purpose effectively, the survey must
be as objective and free from bias as it is humanly possible to
make it* It was also specified that the union would receive the
same report that would be made available to others.
These facts may be as important as the content of the study
itself. Industrial and political organizations have been reluctant
to support research into their own activities under conditions of
the kind described. The UAW*s decision to do so offers evidence
of increased security and self-confidence on the part of the
union and bespeaks respect and trust in regard to university
social research that we find most encouraging.
The research reported here aims to have practical significance
in reference to the current political scene; it provides useful
information for persons concerned with the participation of
5
6 Preface
organized labor in politics—whether they are for it or against it
But the study is by no means limited to immediate applications.
The results, it is hoped, will help provide deeper understanding
of working people’s motivations and feelings as these affect their
political outlook and behavior. The findings furnish a basis for
challenging speculation about what lies ahead. In our final
chapter we attempt to define this larger frame of reference
within which data of the kind turned up in our survey need to
be examined.
In weighing the results of the study, it is necessary con
stantly to bear in mind that our generalizations are based on a
particular sample of people and on particular questions ad
dressed to them. All the data refer to members of the auto
workers union in the Detroit area and to comparisons among
sub-groups of these workers. Except in the matter of voting, we
do not have comparable figures for other parts of the population.
The study, then, is not an evaluation of these Detroit workers
in contrast to others; it is an analysis of certain politically signif
icant characteristics of this one group.
However, this is an extremely important group—both because
of its own political impact (it includes large numbers of union
ists in a union that is unusually active politically) and because
these people are probably not very different politically from
millions of other industrial workers (as they are, or as they may
become if unions continue to step up their political action
programs). Conclusions regarding these auto workers, conse
quently, have suggestive value that transcends the limitations of
the particular sample.
Within the population of Detroit area UAW members, we
attempted to interview a random sample. In fact, however, not
all workers are equally available; many cannot be located or
cannot be found at home. Consequently our results are not fully
representative—particularly not of the most transient, the very
young, those having short periods of employment, etc. It is best
to think of all generalizations in this report as pertaining pri
marily to the more settled, less mobile parts of the union mem
bership—which includes the great majority.
Due to the limited number of interviews, moreover, it is
Preface 7
a
necessary to recognize that statistical results are all subject to
margin of error. We have tried to avoid drawing definite con
clusions wherever the numerical relations are such that they
could easily have occurred by chance. Nevertheless, since the
directions of such differences are often suggestive, we do point
to certain of them as indicating interesting tendencies. For the
statistically inclined reader, a table is given in Appendix B to
aid him in roughly estimating the reliance that can be placed
on percentage comparisons of different size.
On die matter of whether we asked the right questions—and
precisely what the questions meant to the people interviewed—
we can only emphasize that these are serious problems for all
survey research and that we have sought to keep die dangers
clearly before us. A principal safeguard against unjustified inter
pretations of responses lies in full reporting of the questions.
Accordingly, we have provided the reader with this type of
information, thus enabling each to judge for himself whether
our conclusions are reasonable and permitting him to draw his
own alternative inferences.
The preceding comments are not intended as apologies. While
the limitations are to be kept in mind, the results presented
throughout die report appear to us to justify significant con
clusions—conclusions that contribute to a better understanding
of working people's relations to union political activities.
We wish to express our sincere appreciation to die UAW-
CIO for their support of this research and for the fine spirit with
which the union staff has cooperated with us in the course of
the study. Our hearty thanks go, too, to the officials of Wayne
University who have aided with the resources of the University
and the encouragement of our independent research endeavors.
We are also grateful to Dr. Angus Campbell and his staff at
the University of Michigan Survey Research Center for gener
ously making available to us the plans and interview schedules
of their own extensive national study of die 1952 election. Pro
fessors Peter Blau, Morris Janowitz, William Komhauser, and
Harold Wilensky read a preliminary draft and offered valuable
critical comments. Finally, we are glad to acknowledge the help
of our assistants in die research and we offer a special word of
8 Preface
thanks to the hundreds of auto workers who were willing to
sit down with our interviewers and answer die long list of ques
tions that provided die indispensable data for this report
A. K.
H.L.S.
A. J. M.
Contents
i Introduction: The Union and the Study 11
n How They Voted and Why $ST)
m Campaign Influences 76
iv Political Orientation and Political Interest 94 ;
v Attitudes Related to Political Behavior 146
vi Four Types of UA.W. Members 201
vn Conclusions: Union Members and the
Future of Political Action 261
Appendices
A. The Interview Questionnaires 300
B. Sampling Procedures and Errors of
Sampling 322
C. Construction of Indexes and Ratings 328
D. Supplementary Tables 332
Index 349
C H A P T E R 1
Introduction: The Union and the Study
This is a study of labor union members in an industrial
metropolis. It is a study of how Detroit auto workers voted in
1952, why they voted as they did, how they feel about labor’s
political action and, above all, what basic attitudes are asso
ciated with their political views and behavior.
Why, it may be asked, single out labor union members for
special study? Briefly, the answer is that unions are becoming
new centers of power on the American political scene; that con
sequently, great importance attaches to the question whether
their current political activities are mere flashes in die pan, top-
level maneuverings and manipulations without mass following,
or whether they are built on rank and file support and are aimed
at goals genuinely popular among the members. This is the most
direct, practical answer. Society needs whatever knowledge can
be accumulated concerning unions in national politics, including
knowledge of how the organizations’ participation in politics is
viewed by their members.
When die inquiry deals with one of the largest and most
dynamic unions in the nation, the findings take on special sig
nificance as a basis for interpreting political trends and for as
sessing the changing role of organized labor in politics.
But the research also serves a more general purpose. It aims
to add a litde to our slowly growing understanding of socio
political processes in industrialized mass society. What are die
shifting and the stable elements of motivation and oudook that
e j,
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