JOB SEARCH .AND ECONOMiC ABSORFTEON OF AUTOMOBiLE WORKERS Disserfafion fer the Degree of Ph. D. MECHEGAN STATE UNNERSETY JERRY NELSON JUDY E973 "v "m IllLlllLl\lLLlLlllLlLLLlLlllLlLIILlLllll if Um JC 4,; This is to certify that the thesis entitled JOB SEARCH AND ECONOMIC MORPTION OF AUTOMOBILE WRKERS presented by JERRY NELSON JUDY has been accepted towards. fulfillment of the requirements for Ph; D. degree in 500101031 Date (jar/2‘; /9Z5 WMCT JOB SEARCH AND ECONOMIC ABSORPTION OF AUTOPDBIIE WORKERS by Jerry Nelson Judy This dissertation is concerned with the gmeral problem: of the assimilation of migrants into new commities. The total assimilation process is recognized as being very complex and involving adjustment to new social, cultural and personality systems. It was argued however that participation of the imigrant in new role contexts rather than acculturation or personal adjustment. may be the most important form of assimilation and thus the key to total integration. Mther, particip pation in the economic system by obtaining a Job in the community is one of the nest inportant forms of participation for the adult sale. Problems of locating and obtaining jobs are important however not only for the recast imigrant to the commity. but has obvious importance for the local residmts as well. The methods of becoming economically absorbed depst to a great extent upon the integration of the worker into networks of intonation and assistance. Along the factors hypothesised to influence this integration which provides knowledge of the most direct and informative channels of employment are: 1) the nunber of shifts workers were making Jerry Nelson Judy from previous employers. industries. or occupations, 2) migration. 3) persons in the new consunity who could serve as a reception base to supply intonation and assistance in getting Jobs, and 1+) age of the Job seeker. Persons who differed on these characteristics were hypothesised to rely on formal or informal methods of job search to a greater or lesser «tent. to find certain search procedures more helpful. and to find some methods of job search more rewarding in terms of the information they produced. These concerns were tested by looking at the nnner by which workers located and obtained jobs in a new automobile body fabricating plant which opened in Kalamasoo. Michigan approximately four years prior to the time of the study. This plant provided several unique opportunities. Half of the workers who first got Jobs in the plant were migrants to the commity, making a comparison of migrants and locals possible. The plant uployed persons of different skill levels. Also. the plant provided a means of observing how industrial workers obtain Jobs as industries continue to move from the largest metropolitan areas to locations in medium sised comunities. A sample of 95 workers. approximately one-third skilled and two-thirds non-skilled. were interviewed in their homes by specially trained interviewers. The questionnaire was especially constructed for this study. The sample of workers was selected from the city and suburban directories of the conunity since neither company nor union uployee lists were available. The study revealed that remaining with the same mloyer. in the sane industry. or continuing the same occupation in the new plant . Jerry Nelson Judy were all important in influmcing the manner these workers located and obtained their jobs. Those who were remaining in these areas more often first heard of the new job through compaw and union sources while those who were shifting relied much more upon public sources of information. Those not shifting had knowledge of more direct means of obtaining their jobs and were much more aware of what they would be doing before they accepted the Job. Those who were migrants to the community were less often shifting employers. industries. and occupations so they possessed many of the characteristics Just mentioned. Also these persons were the ones wb met oftn obtained the skilled positions in the plant. Thus because of the newness of the plant. the migrants were better informed of the met direct means of obtaining Jobs and were the ones to obtain the higher skilled jobs. Migration and employment chains by which migrants learn of opportunities in a col-unity and are assisted upon their arrival by frimds and relatives to obtain Jobs, often in the same industries, were not found to be highly developed whm this study was conducted. However it was indicated by new persons in the samle that they had informed others of opportunities and that these persons often came to Ialansoo to find Jobs. While these chains were not highly significant for the first arrivals in the plant. there was evidence that future arrivals will find such networks of importance in finding work. It was also found that evm when migrants indicated that Mends and/or relatives were of assistance to then in locating their new job, these frimds and relatives need not be from the community to which the Jerry Nelson Judy migrants are moving. Thus manor of the assistance chains which are influmtial for workers may cover considerable geographical area. The experiences of the workers prior to the time they got their new Jobs were found to be highly significant in the means of locating and obtaining work. Since the automobile industry was first entering the community with the plant under observation net of the local workers were not part of the networks of information and experience which were available to mny of the migrants. Thus unlike mam studies of migrant assimilation. the migrants were more highly integrated into this limited economic sphere of the community than were those who were previous residents. JOB SEARCH AND EONOMIC ABSORPTION OF AU’I‘OWBIIE HORKEIS by Jerry Nelson Judy AN ABSTRACT OF A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of norms OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Sociology 1973 dc p6 N llo “5 ACKNOWIEDGMI‘S Listing all the persons who have assisted the author in the development and execution of this study would be impossible. Many persons have contributed in large and small ways. often without being aware of the contribution they were making. The material in this project was prepared under Grant No. 91-2h-69.25 from the Manpower Administration. U.S. Department of Labor. This sponsorship proved invaluable. Without the assistance of the workers who contributed their time and knowledge. the study could not have been done. Thanks should also be given to the persons who conducted the interviews. Considerable gratitude need be expressed for the faculty advisers whose criticisms and suggestions contributed to aw under. standing of the problems involved. Grafton Trout was extremely helme in the initial stages of the research. James Zuiches gave valuable assistance as Chairman of the Dissertation Committee. Others who ude iqortant counts and suggestions were Harry Perlstadt. William Faunce. Harry Schwarsweller, and William Form. Preparation of the first draft by Shirly Holtry and the expert typing of Mary Beth Fishel during the final stages were invaluable. Greatest appreciation goes to m wife Sandy whose constant encouragement and almost unlimited patience asmred the completion of the stub. TABLE OF CONTMS Page m‘r 0F Tm O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 v mmwmlon O 0 O O O O O 0 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 1 Chapter 1. THERY.......................... Higrantissimilation................. 1. Acculturation................. 2. Participation................. 3. Adjustment.................. moo-quiz; EconomioAbsorption.................. 2.WETOBBTETE.................. 17 Job Searchanduethods of Obtaining the Job. . . . . . 19 TypeofJobShift................... 21 higratoryStatus................... 25 Chainhigration.................... 28 AgeoftheJobSeeker................. 29 3.mmmmcr........................ 32 TheReeearchSite................... 33 EconomicSurveyofKalnmasoo............. 36 ThsflshchodyPlont................. 39 mu...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 1” iii Measurement of Correlations. DcsignChangcs....... lb. ANALYSISOFTHEDATA... JobShifts...... Total Job Shifts. . . SkillLevel...... Age.......... 5. MIGRATION......... DefinitionofMigrants 6. SUMMARIANDQDNCIDSIONS. . I. Relationships between Job Shifts andJobScarch........ II. Relationship between Job Shifts and Formal Methods of Job Search . . . Relationship between Migration and JOb Search Complexity. e e e e IV. Relationship between Raving Friends and Relatives in a Community and Using Them as Sources of Information andAssistancc.......... V. Relationship betwem Age and Complexity of Job Search . Furtherllplications.... e e e ”MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO iv Page 51 7a 81 93 93 109 111 112 115 117 118 119 125 139 Table 1 . 2. 9. 10. 11. 12. LIST OF TABLE Population Change of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the United States, 1960-1970, in POrcmtBe e e e e e Occupational Distribution of Enployed Male Workers in Kalamazoo and Michigan S.M.S.A.s in Percents. Conventions for Describing 0 Values. . . . . . . . Number and Percent of Workers Making Various W8 Of JOb Shifts (Total N=95) e e e e e e e a Total Number of Shifts Made in Either Industries, hpbyers . Occupations , hployment, Participation in the Labor Force. or locations When Obtaining Job at Fisher Body. . . Number and Percent of Workers Making Various Job Shifts Who Were Also Making Other Job Shifts . . Number of Workers Not Making Various Job Shifts ButmmeOthOrJObShifis e e e e e e Methods Used in Searching For Their Present Job by work”. With DiffOMt JOb Shifts e e e e e e Methods of Job Search Considered Most Helpful In Finding Job by Workers With Different Types OfJObShineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Means by Which Workers With Different Job Shifts FirstfieardlboutTheirJobs. e e e e e e e e a Number and Percent of Workers With Different Job Shifts Who Had Any Information About Different Aspects of Their Jobs Before ‘Mtngmnmteeeeeeeeeeeeee Methods Used in Searching For Their Present Job hymrk”.w1thFumdMJOb Shiftfie e e e e Page 35 45 52 52 55 63 66 69 71 h Table 13. 1h. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Methods By Which Workers With Few and Many Shin. Fmt Hm or The” Jabs . O O O O O O O 0 Methods of Job Search Considered Most Important in Finding Their Jobs by Workers With Few MMJObShifileeeeeeeeeeeeeeee The First Occupation of Workers at Fisher Body . . . Number and Percent of Workers at Different Skill Levels Who Were Making Different Job Shifts. . . . Skill Level of the First Fisher Body Job of WtBMdIflCdROSidmtse e e e e e e e e e e Methods by Which Skilled and Non-skilled Workers FirstHeardchheirJobs. . . . . . . . . . . . . Methods Used by Skilled and Non-skilled Workers in Searching For Their Present JOb e e e e e e e a Methods of Job Search Considered Most Important in Finding Their Jobs by Skilled and Non-skilledWorkcrs................ Information About Different Aspects of Their Job Before It Was Accepted by Skill Level. . . . . . . Age Distribution of Workers When They mnGOtThmJObBeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Information About Different Aspects of Their Job Before It Was Accepted by Age. . . . . . . . . Number and Percent of Workers Considering OthchcbsbyAgc................. lumber and Percent of Workers Making Diffeer JObShiftgbyAgeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Methods Used by Workers in Searching For TheirPrchtJobbyAge. e e e e e e e e e e e e Methods of Job Search Considered Most Important infindingThcirJobsbyAgc. e e e e e e e e e a Means of First Hearing About Fisher Body Job by Age. Reasons Given for Leaving Previous Job by Age. . . . Page 73 71+ 75 76 76 77 79 80 81 82 83 85 86 87 89 Table 31. 32. 33. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. Number and Percent of Migrants and locals mowerJObSMfiQeeeeeeeeeeeee Means by Which Migrants and locals First HMOfThOlIPI’OBthObe e e e e e e e e e 0 Means by Which Migrants With and Without Friends and/or Relatives in Kalamazoo First Heard of Their Present Job . . . . . . . . Means by Which Migrants Who Were and Were Not Former Fisher Body Employees First Heard O‘ThOuPrOBQltJobeeeeeeeeeeeeee Major Reason of Migrants and locals for AppWSCtFiBhOrWeeeeeeeeeeeee Major Reason of Migrants Who Were and Were Not Former Fisher Body Employees For Applying ‘tnahGrBOdYeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Methods Used by Migrants and locals While Searching For Their Present Job. . . . . . . . . Methods Used by Migrants Who Were and Were Not Former Fisher Body Baployees While Searching For Their Present Job. . . . . . . . . Method of Job Search Considered the Most Important Way of Finding Their Job by Migrants and Iocals. Method of Job Search Considered the Most Important Way of Finding Their Job by Migrants Who Were and Were Not Former Fisher Body Duployees. . . . htenttoWhichMigrantsandIocalsHadAny Information About Different Aspects of Their Job Before It Was Accepted . . . . . . . . Vii Page 95 100 101 102 103 101i 105 106 107 INTIDWCTION The integration of immigrants into the social systh of new communities has bean one of the most persistmat themes in sociology. Indeed the mvumt of rural people into urban centers and the change of peasants into industrial ivorkersnboth manifestations of the Industrial Revolution—have been considered the major factors which stismlated the usrgmcs of sociology as a discipline (McKee. 1969:21-2). In the United States. the absence of scholars in other disciplines who were concerned with these problems left a vacuum which sociologists filled. and thereby helped to justify their claim to separate academic depart- ments (Shils. 19%:25). The are gmsral theoretical problems of acculturation and assimilation continue to be major concerns of both sociolog and anthropology. The United States has witnessed the impact of migration on urban growth over a considerable portion of its history. Over 1&2 million persons have been recorded as arriving in this country as i-igrants (Bumst. 1963) and only a small percmtags of these persons were able to settle i-ediatsly outside the urban areas. While new of these persons lacked the capital or skills required for farming the frontier. mam others arrived with the express intention of rushing in the urban areas as industrial workers or in other urban centered occupations (Jones, 1960:308-13). The transition of the nation from an agricultural to a predominantly industrial. society was accompanied by the movusnt of 1 2 large nuflaers of persons from the rural to urban areas. While this trend continues. the more recent tendmcy of industries and businesses to locate in less catralised locations has been accompanied by even greater growth in medium sised cities and suburbs. The rural and urban regions of the South and Southwest have most recently supplied a much larger portion of the i-igrants to the large industrial cities of the Worth and West. but there is some question about whether these indi- viduals have been able to participate in the more recent movements away from the catral cities. The problus created by the increased concentration of Southern whites, Negroes. and Mexican Americans in the inner core of the cities (Sharp, 1962:169-85: Schnors. 1963:2fl7—53) and the adjustments of these persons in mdern cities which are usually characterized by greater specialisation of activities and the resulting high functional inte- gration. continues to make this movement of interest. This area of study used not be justified only on the grounds that this movement represents conditions which are defined as a serious social problem. Students of social change may find here one of the most fertile fields as they look at the evmxts which accompaw the i-igrants ' assimilation into the urban area, and also. the changes in the cultural and social structures of urban areas as adjustments are made to the newcomers. The attat to which different immigrant groups may desire to be. and are. assimilated into the larger cos-sanity is variable. However, there is an almost universal desire and necessity upon the part of migrants to find jobs in the new locality. This absorption into the econov is also seen as a necessary first step towards further integra- tion into the new social setting. Therefore it would appear that an 3 extensive understanding of the processes which are involved in this particular aspect of assimilation would provide a better understanding of the success of the total. assimilation process. Thus the job search will be the njor focus of this study. For these reasons this research is designed to add to our knowledge about the processes associated with the integration of various persons into the economic institutions of a medium sised urban area. More specifically the study will focus on and compare factors which influmce the manner in which recent i-igrants and older residents learn about and secure similar jobs. A second major concern will be the probl-s of finding jobs by those who have, or have not previously been part of similar social systems. Rather than focusing entirely upon the personal characteristics of inigrants. the study will be directed towards a more sociologically relevant problem of attupting to determine some of the fornl and informal patterns of relationships which influch how this form of assimilation takes place. By focusing upon new arrivals and long term residents who are seeking similar employment. it should be possible to answer questions concerning changes in job getting procedures as one presumably develops more diversified relations in an urban setting. CW1 THEE! Miggggt Assimilation The attempts to explain the processes involved in the learning or transferring of'ths ability to cope with an urban environment or way of'life are immediately confused by their semantic variations in.what the task involves and to what it refers. As a consequence of the long term interests in these processes. terms such as ”acculturation." "assimilation." ”adjustment.” and ”integration" have been conceptualised and operationalised for research in a great variety of ways. depending upon the problus and interests of those using the concepts. In some cases several terms have been used for the same or similar phmsomena (Hershovits. 1938); at other times the same term is givm very different meanings (Gordon. 1964). Mo attupt will be made here to go into a detailed terminological discussion of the assimilation processes. The focus will instead be to note some of the major dimmsions of assim- ilation.which are most relevant. whatever the labels which are used to idmxtify thu. ThslShannons have succinctly stated the problems associated with different approaches to assimilation when they note that these approaches "have usually revolved around the terms to be used in referring to some larger social.process and the position that this or that concept takes on a con- tinuum with cultural pluralism and assimilation at its opposite poles“ (Shannon, 1967: 52). a The fit“: B: 5 They thus see acculturation and assimilation as “points on a continuum. extending from a point of maximum difference between people to one where either two groups are no longer distinguishable. or members of an imigrant group have become indistinguishable from members of the host society" (Shannon, 1967:52). Assimilation, then. refers to a situation in which the hosts and migrants form a social group in which they are no longer distinguishable because of changes made by either or both of the original groups. Gea‘ni (196M165) considers it a state of affairs or a process in time in which migrants can no longer be distinguished from the members of the receiving commmity by their cultural patterns. by the extent of their participation in the social system, or by their personal adjustment or even self identity. These three processes-acculturation. participation. and adjustment-havs been variously identified by man labels, but they constitute the smjor dimensions generally associated with total assim- ilation. Whils these criteria have been considered valid mainly from a logical point of view (Eisenstadt. 1953) the value for research appears to be much greater. As Gsrmani (196M166) notes such distinctions in the total process must be made because they do not necessarily occur simul- taneously nor need they be associated with the same group or individual. Because they are conceptually distinct, each of these dimensions will be described briefly. 1. Acculturation. Because of the crucial relationship of the concept "acculturation" with new of their studies, cultural anthropolo- gists have been most influential in developing this concept.1 1. For a detailed analysis of the anthropological treatment of acculturation see Social Science Research Council Summer Seminar on Acculturation (1954) . Other reviews of acculturation and assimilation which deal more specifically with the assimilation of migrants into urban areas include Spiro (1955) and Peterson (1965). So: lie 11 16 ufihhhfi 6 Some of their earlier work continues to have great utility for concept- ualising the problus. For example. Robert Redfield. Ralph Linton. and Melville Herekivits attempted to outline the dimensions of this area of study during the 1930's for the Social Science Research Council. They concluded that acculturation ”comprehends those phenomena which result when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact. with subsequent changes in the original cultural patterns of either or both groups" (Redfisld. 1936:1119). Park and Burgess (19213735) saw acculturation as the process through which persons and groups. and. by sharing history and orperience. are incorporated into a col-on cultural life. These definitions contain two dimensions of acculturation which are generally accepted. First is the emphasis upon the acquisition and learning of new norms. values. knowledge. and customs (Germani. 1964: 164-5: Bismastadt. 1953:167-8). Second. there is an emphasis upon the fact that the changes are not in one direction only. The influence of the i-igrants' culture upon the receiving group must also be considered. whether the effect be minimal when compared with the changes demanded of i-igrants or whether the immigrants impose much of their cultural tradition upon the original population. In certain cases. such as a framework of tolerated cultural pluralism. conformity to certain norms which govern patterns of interaction between the groups are to be considered acculturation. Even in special cases such as ethnic enclo- sures. a well developed set of mtual expectations regulating iota-action between the various ethnic groups must be learned (Glacier. 1970). Such a situation may severely limit the extent of acculturation due to the limited areas of contact (Lisberson. 1961: 52.?) even while “a u “kw. 7 nking the personal adjustnent easier for new arrivals because of the new areas in which old faniliar cultural patterns nay be used (Dynes. 1956:25—8) . 2. Participation. Theoretically. acculturation nay occur without role or situational contexts in which the new cultural patterns are acted out. This is at least partially disputed by Broo- and Kitsuse (1955 344-8) who insist participation is necessary for validation of acculturation. In either case. actual participation in the various offices or positions of the host society is a distinguishable and essential dinension of the assi-ilation process. Eisenstadt (19533167) refers to this process as "institutional integration” and defines it as the 'axtat to which immigrants are 'dissednated' within the Iain institutional spheresufanily. econoaic. political. religious-wf their new country.” Gordon (1964370) follows Eisuastadt closely and refers to the process of entering fully into the societal network of groups and institutions. or social structure of the host society. as structural assimilation. Ger-ani (19643164) goes further and indicates that the tern involves not only the extent and degree of participation in roles within the institutions and social groups of the society. but also the efficiency with which roles are perforned and how the host social groups react with regard to the Iigrants and their social participation. There sons to be sound Justification for the ”basis upon the reaction of the host social systn. Participation lust be viewed fron the standpoint of the receiving society rather than the individual Iigrant. Although acculturation nay possibly occur with little contact with the receiving society. participation by definition can occur only by absorption within the larger group. An inigrant group my erect a 8 social system within the physical boundaries of the host conunity with institutions which are sufficiently couplets to satisfy the njor needs of the participants. However. this is not participation in the sense that the tern is being used here. 3. “auction . The concept of adjustment refers to the degree of personal integration which the i-igrant succeeds in nintaining in the face of diffimlties of transplantation and resettlenmt (Eisenstadt. 1953: 168). The qhasis here is won the inigrant's ability to avoid excessive or unbearable psychological stress as he performs his roles in the various spheres of activity in which he participates (Ger-ani. 1964:1634). Until the new inigrant no longer has feelings of inadequacy or insecurity in his new roles in the new social systu. it cannot be said that he has become adjusted. Urban life has often b0.) seen as a creator of personal and social disorganisation.z According to this position the inpersonal. secular. heterogeneous and non—traditional attributes of urban places nake adjustnent difficult for long tern residents . and even lore difficult for i-igrants. While this position has often been criticised (Lewis. 1965: Gans. 1962) it probably ruains valid to say that amr significant change in role relationships—either for unacculturated Wants or older residents—results in acne problens of adjustment. These three dinmsicns of assimilation have been the central concepts about which nest discussions and research in this area have been focused. However. there have baa few attupts to integrate then " " "'2. Two classic state-ent- of this position are fouis Wirth (1938) who nakes a general stat-ant about the influence of urbanisn upon social. cultural and personality systas. and Sinnel (1970) who deals specifically with the influuoe of urbanisn upon the personality. 9 theoretically in order to specify their relative importance and inter. relationships.3 Recognising the problus associated with such a theoretical schue. Germani notes that we are dealing with both processes and a certain state of affairs with each of these diaensions. is he has stated: ”The three processes are not necessarily sinultaneous and associated in the same group or in the sane individual. This. of course. is the prinry reason for introducing such distinctions. Also. a given degree of adjustment (or participation. or acculturation) nay be achieved in one sphere of activity. and not in another. A person nay be (or feel) quite adjusted with regard to the concrete technical tasks required in his job. and be unable to bear the psychological stresses introduced by the iwpersonal human relations. Acculturation to certain traits does not involve acculturation to others. participation in given urban groups nay be perforned with insufficient acculturation. etc. It is true that at least with regard to certain spheres of activity. adjust-ant. participation and acculturation will usually go together. but incongruities between different spheres of activity aey be quite frequent" (Geraani. 196M166). Boone-1c Absogtion Although few theoretical gmeralisations concerning the relationships of the three variables have been gmerated. in most of the literature it is implied that integration into the institutional structure of the host society. or participation. is the primary factor in the assinilation process. Gordon even takes the position that ”once structural assimilation has occurred. either simltaneously or subsequent to acculturation. all of the other types of assimilation will naturally follow. while acculturation. . .does not necessarily lead to structural assiailation. structural assin- ilation inevitably produces acculturation. Structural assimilation. then. rather than acculturation. is seen to be the keystone of the arch of assinilation” (0026011. 1%:81). 3. For attupts to do so see Gordon (lfi) and Eisenstadt (19E). 10 Here he is using the term structural assinilation in essentially the sane manner as participation was used before. While Broom and Kituse (1955) doubt if participation is a sufficimt condition for assinilation. it does appear to be necessary for nere than limited acculturation. and certainly for personal adjustmen . However. incorporation into basic roles seeas to have a t-poral priority because it is by successfully performing in such role contexts that the Wat is acculturated most rapidly. and his personal adjustnent is facilitated as role performance is improved. Eisenstadt has noted that assimilation fron the individual' s point of view "...¢:tails the learning of new roles. the transformation of primary group values. and the utensicn of participation beyond the prinary group in the main spheres of the social systuu. Only in so far as these processes are successfully coped with are the inigrant's concept of himself and his status and his hierarclv of values reformed into a coherent syst- uabling hill to become once more a fully functioning meaber of society“ (Eismstadt. 195039). While the number of different roles in which the imigrant my possibly participate is highly variable. and while it may be impossible to rank all the roles in which i-igrants ny participate in order of importance or priority. it is generally assumed that reasonable security of uployment is one of the most pressing problens facing any new arrival. Beyond matters of nere survival. it is difficult to conceive of an person becoming a fully participating nenber of society when he has no visible means of support. Boorie (1959310) is probably correct in suggesting that participating successfully in the economic institution of the host society is the essential foundation for the longer process of cultural integration. 01 ah de of 3c 01‘ 11 The basic nature of successful economic integration is emphasised by looking not only at recent arrivals in a social systma. but also by observing the effects of the loss of regular employment upon long term residents. While it my be difficult to make universal statements about the importance of work. at least in American society it has been found that the loss of regular uployment has as some of its met general consequences the loss of self and comunity respect. a lessened ability to control one's own destirw. and a readjustment of goals (Bakke. 1969a: Bakke. 1969b). The term ”economic absorption" refers to the process of securing work and becoming a part of the regularly employed labor force (Shannen. 1967353. Boorie. 19593101). It is possible to consider this term as referring to both the process by which an indgrant is able to secure mployment upon arrival in a new environment. and also. to a similar process uployed by the longer term resident who is seeking new or differmit employment. Economic absorption thus refers to the process involved in becoming structurally integrated (participt‘ulIB) in only this one limited area of the social structure of the co-unity. It is obvious that obtaining. and especially sustaining upley. malt. will also involve a certain capacity to understand the requirments of the position such as working conditions. hours. and probably the ability to change uploymmt (Boorie. 19593101). as well as a certain degree of personal adjustmt. This of course requires a certain degree of familiarity with the culture of the workplace. The degree of acculturation which is necessary for any particular type of position is of course a variable which depends upon the nature of the work and the sinilarities in the cultures among persons in the various positions. 12 Thus economic absorption when applied to the processes of obtaining and retaining work. will involve all of those aspects of assimilation which have previously hem: referred to as accultuation. participation and adjustmmt. However. the mjor emphasis here will be upon the processes by which the immigrant is absorbed into the various positions in the host society. rather than how he achieves the knowledge and skills which are required for that position and how he makes the personal adjustments which the position requires. Security of employment is almost always essential for the i-igrant's survival and phsicnl well-being. However. this is not the only. nor the met important reason for giving .phasis to economic absorption. Boorie (1959) has hypothesised this process may occur more rapidly than any other form of assimilation because fewer changes in roles and institutions are involved. It is possible for the Mgr-ant to be absorbed into portions of the oomnnity social structure related only to limited economic areas. and yet be able to exist within the setting. It thus serves as an essential foundation upon which all of the other dimensions of assimilation must be built. Lack of security in this area has been noted by Baimrater (196832118) as one of the causes of mm of the deprivations which lead to lack of assimilation of lower class persons. This does not mean that becoming structurally assimilated in this mnner will automtically lead to participation in other areas . to more extensive acculturation. or necessarily to personal adjustment. Omari (1956) has shown that a person's socio-economic standing and his satisfaction with the comunity are very separate dimensions and may not be highly correlated. Thus while a person may be absorbed 13 economically. this does not mean that he will have a favorable co-mnity relationship as expressed through his acceptance of group norms and values. and reciprocally. that the community will accept the migrant. While greater participation. acculturation. and adjustment will not necessarily follow after the migrant has been economically absorbed. it is highly unlikely that he can be assimilated far on these dimensions without security of employment. The relationship between economic absorption and acculturation is complex and apparently mutually supportive. While Boorie (19593101) has suggested that economic absorption is an essential way station to cultural integration. he also notes that a certain amount of cultural integration must have occurred before the imigrant will be able to successfully perform the roles he is entering in the new society. This is often true in the case of language. The contention then is that a limited amount of acculturation facilitates the immigrants' entrance into economic institutions. and . that economic absorption my then facilitate further and more complete acculturation (Shannon. 1964367) . This relationship between economic absorption and acculturation. while appearing to be very convincing over a long period of time. may actually be very misleading when one is considering the manner in which jobs requiring few skills are obtained by the persons in a particular labor market. Different degrees of acculturation are obviously necessary for different types of jobs within the dominant society. But. the worker who is seeking a position which is highly repetitive in nature and which requires essentially no training. may be required to be familiar with few of the cultural patterns of the dominant groups in a commity to satisfactorily obtain and maintain this type of employment. 14 Marv mre positions will of course require a greater ability to function effectively in mm areas which are directly associated with the work place. Without a knowledge of the language and norms of the society. a person's ability to perfora successfully in many roles would be very seriously impaired. It can be hypothesised that after a person attains a minimal degree of acculturation which is necessary for absorption into a particular occlmational role. the process of actually becoming absorbed will depend more upon the relationship the person has with the social structure of the co-unity. including knowledge of and contact with the places of potmitial emplonent. than with the degree of acculturation. Especially if we limit our discussion to those jobs which are not highly skilled. it can be expected that persons seeking such positions will obtain these jobs more because of their knowledge of the labor market. their migratory status. and the types of relations with persons in the co-unity who have the power to influence who gets a job. than with the degree of acculturation.“ This would suggest that differences in job search behavior would be such mre closely associated with the relation- ship a person has with the social structure of the host commity than with individual differences. The nature of the contacts is thus seen as the most influential factor in the manner of job search and likelihood of success. Organisations which reduce each complex operation to a series of simple operations. which require no extraordinary ability. facilitates 4. See Helvin Lurie and Elton Rayack (1966) for a discussion of differences in job search pattern of Negroes and Whites who had differential access to positions in a Northern industrial cosmunity. 15 the interchangeability of personnel since the required aptitudes for am one position are apt to be much below the maximum output of which aw individual worker may be capable. Hence. after a person has met some standardised requirements for uployment-ooften set by some number of years of education--there are comparatively few differences which matter between one worker and another (Caplow. 1954385-6). Sociologists who have studied migration have given little attmation to the networks of interaction which collectively compose the social organisation of the host community. Instead when discussing factors influencing the assimilation of immigrants more attention has been placed upon the individual attributes of the recent arrivals. Shannon has succinctly summarised the focus and findings of these “mags "A plethora of studies have focused their attention on the individual characteristics of the migrants at the time they leave their place of origin. their character- istics at the time that they enter the city. their adjustment at some later point in time. and in at least one case. their adjustment upon return to place of origin. To summarise the findings of studies dealing with the characteristics of migrants we need only say that the migrant comes to the city with little in the way of marketable sldlls but with kinship attachmmts that will enable him to survive while he becomes acquainted with the simplest demands of urban life" (Shannon. 1967356.7). Much uphasis has thus been placed upon the ethnic or cultural backgrounds and the psychological characteristics of the migrants rather than the social organisation of the community and the degree to which the persons are aware of this organisation. when discussing the manner in which migrants are absorbed. These studies have given us considerable information about how the migrant to an urban area differs from the non. migrant. how the migrant differs from urban reared persons at the time 16 of arrival. and the differences which might be expected after a period of time in the commity (Freedman. 1965). Unfortunately this type of information gives little knowledge about the processes which are involved as the migrant actually becomes a participating member of the community. The present study will attempt to add to these previous concerns by focusing upon the process of economic absorption. It may be argued that those persons who are interacting in a social systms with which they are not familiar will find full participation more difficult than those who are more highly integrated. Since the manner by which workers get jobs is influenced by their awareness of community organisation. the focus here will be upon some of those characteristics which serve as indicators of the extent to which these persons are aware of. and integrated into the social system of the community. Thus the study will look at some of the factors which facilitate the assimilation process. especially how workers become participants in a co-unity labor market. CHAPTER 2 HIPOTHBES TO BE TETED In this Chapter. some of the mjor lupotheses that can be generated Rom the theoretical framework of this dissertation will be outlined. Preceding these lvpotheses will be a summation of the theoretical considerations found in the proceeding Chapter and discussion of the theoretical framework that is specific to this dissertation. That is. a summary rationale for asserting the hypotheses will be given. The total assimilation of migrants into a new community is a complex and often long term process. There are three components of this process; acculturation. personal adjustment. and participation or integration into the social structure of the host community. Although all of these individual processes are conceptually distinct. they are at the same time highly interdependent. At the same time. active partici. pation is basic to the other forms of assimilation since it is by performing various roles within the society that acculturation occurs met rapidly. Personal adjustment is facilitated by successful role performance. The key aspect of participation for the adult male imigrant is economic absorption. Not only does it provide for the migrant's survival and physical well-being. but the occupation of the person provides one of the major means by which others evaluate and locate the 17 18 imigrant in social space. The means by which the immigrant becomes economically absorbed in a comrmity at ary givm occupational level depends mre upon the knowledge and information the migrant has about the available oppor. tunities and the social networks of which he is a part than upon the individual differences among the persons securing the particular positions. This is not to deny that such often noted factors as race. education. age. and personal aspirations for occupational mobility are not important in determining the type of occupation which a person is most likely to obtain. However. when one is comparing those persons who have been successful in ohm gaivalent msitions. it is hypothesised that such factors will have less explanatory value in describing the manner by which the job was obtained than the person's relation to these segments of the social system which can supply him informtion about available opportunities . Some attempts have been made to discover those characteristics which facilitate or impede the integration of persons into the total economic structure of a co-unity. but few have observed the means by which persons obtain similar industrial jobs.1 More often attempts have been mde to compare a variety of antecedent and intervmiing variables. especially as they are differentially found in various ethnic groups. and comers these with the levels of economic absorption and cultural integration (Shannon. 1966). The results of this approach for showing the actual process of economic absorption have been summrised by Shannon (19663161). 1. An exception is DeSchweinits (1932) who studied various methods of getting work in the hosiery industry in Philadelphia. 19 "Although we believe that we have discovered some of the antecedent sociological and intervening social psycholog- ical factors that facilitate economic absorption and cultural integration. it is also apparent that we do not have complete knowledge about the experience chains that facilitate or impede economic absorption and cultural integration.“ As this study examines the processes associated with becoming economically absorbed. an attempt will be made to answer the following types of questions. What differences are there in the patterns of search of the recent migrants and established residents? Are the same types of job information channels open to all persons? What are some of the mjor factors in determining the types of information channels which are available? The concepts discussed on the following pages are those most relevant in delineation of the problem to be investigated and in the selection of a sample. Job Search and Methods of Obtaflg the Job The mjor dependent variables in this study are: 1) the method and extent of job search. and 2) the manner in which the job was actually obtained. Throughout the study the methods of job search will refer to seven specific operations which when used either individually or in any combinations. may serve as ways of locating and obtaining jobs. Specifically these sevmi include a) the use of an employment service. b) newspapers and newspaper want ads. c) union assistance. d) company assistance. recruitment or recall. e) the use of friends. f) the use of relatives. and g) direct application at the work place. The mrtent of job search refers to the number of these different methods which were used and also to the extent to which the worker sought and applied for more than one job. The mnner by which the job was obtained will refer 20 to the specific method or combination of methods of Job search which have been mentioned which were actually used in securing the worker's Job at Fisher Body. These methods of Job search may have located other Jobs for the worker but these are not considered here. It is apparent that these two variables are highly interdepen- dmit. and are in nny respects impossible to separate. For example. if a person searches for work only by applying in person at one plant of which he is personally aware. and if he is successful in getting the Job. it is obvious that the manner of searching for and obtaining work are very similar. It is also easy to imagine instances in which there is a much more extensive searching procedure with mam unsuccessful attempts to obtain work. We can expect a situation more like the latter case in instances where workers have several sources of information about possible Jobs. use a number of methods to look for work. and eventually find only one or a limited number of these resulting in job offers. Despite the similarities in these two variables. they must be considered separately if one is to explore the various processes and channels used in finding work. Previous studies of job search patterns have been rather consistent in dividing the responses to questions about how workers search for and find Jobs into categories described as "formal" and "infoi'aal."2 Formal methods can be defined as those methods which involve the use of intermediaries whose specific objective is to assist workers in locating Jobs. kamples of formal methods of Job search include the use of the public and private employment services. "'""""""'z.' "s_"'—'('i'u Lurie 9E6:§&T for a tabulated summary of the resul'mt—s of the most important of these studies. 21 newspaper. radio. or television advertisements. welfare agency place- ment. and company and union placement services. Informal methods involve the use of intermediaries whose purpose is not specifically designed to assist workers in their Job search. These informal methods met often involve the use of friends. relatives and acquaintances as sources of information and assistance. as well as direct application to the place of employmmt by the Job seeker (Rees. 1966). These different methods of looking for and obtaining Jobs are in several studies treated as though they were independent of each other (here. 1951). What is most likely however. is that nary of these methods of finding work. especially the informal methods. are not inde- pendent. and any chain of experiences in finding work may result in the use of several methods by a particular Job seeker in getting a single Job. For exasple. when "direct application at the gate” is given as the means by which a Job was found. this may actually be misleading. The way has often bean prepared by friends and relatives in the plant. Tips also establish the order in which plants are visited (Adams. 1957371). For the purposes of this study the terms 'fornl' and 'informal' will be retained for convmience in nking certain gmeral types of statemmts about both Job search and Job finding. M of Job Shift The types of Job shifts or Job mobility experienced by the worker prior to accepting his new position is hypothesised to influence the manner in which the new Job was sought and obtained. Kerr (1954: 104) has outlined six distinct types of worker movements which could possibly be explored individually or in combination. These movements LA. 22 are: 1) one occupation to another. 2) one employer to another. 3) one industry to another. it) one geographical area to another. 5) be‘hreu uploymmt and unemployment. and 6) into and out of the labor force. Numbers 5 and 6 are distinguishable only by the fact that number 6. labor force shifts. is a subcategory of number 5 referring specifically to persons who are entering the labor force for the first time. or in other words. are receiving their first full-time Job. In the analysis these two types of shifts will be reported together because of the small number of persons involved. Hovuent between geographical areas will be discussed more thoroughly under the heading of "Migratory Status." The precise manner in which institutional rules governing the relations between uployers. workers. and their unions influmice the ”cents of workers in these areas is not known.3 but such rules certainly influence persons in various types of occupations differently. For example. a skilled craftsmen may often move between uployers while ruining in the same occupational level. a production worker. on the other hand. may be reluctant to move between uployers because through snicrity rules he may receive greater bmlefits and opportunities if he ruins with one uployer but would lose this opportunity due to a loss of seniority if he changes uployers. Thus the institutional rules may influence the types of Job shifts which persons in differmat occupa- tional positions are likely to find easiest to make. The relative difficulty of making am one of the six possible types of shifts is not known. It might be possible to give some very 5. See Kerr (354210373) for a brief discussion of the influuce of these factors. 23 general relative weights for some specific types of occupations which indicate the extent to which the Jobs are open to all persons who seek the position. or on the other hand. the security of those already in those positions. It would be expected that the greater the security of those in a position. the greater the penalty for being an outsider and the less mobility between such positions (Kerr. 1954). Nevertheless despite the difficulty of nking such judgments. as a gmeral topothesis we can state that Job shifts which involve mbility between occupations. employers. industries. geographical areas. or situations where one is returning to ark after an absence. will involve more atensive Job searches than when these shifts are not involved. Few. if any. job shifts will 9_o_t_ involve shifts in at least one of these areas. and while the relative difficulty of my shift is unknown. it can be assumed that Job shifts which involve shifts in an combination of two or more of these areas will involve a more complex Job search pattern than where fewer shifts are involved. These lupotheses are based on the assumption that the worker will have knowledge of the most direct means of becoming economically absorbed in those situations with which he is lost familiar and for which he has the necessary qualifications. DeSchweinits (1932:95) found that length of experience in a particular industry appears to be of greater importance than age or occupation in creating a sense of independence and knowledge of where to go for work. These long term Qloyeee in an industry need to rely less upon the mediation of friends and relatives in locating new positions. Bakke (1969a:265.7) found Job- hunting to be a job in itself which duands experience to be most successful. These persons who have been the least mobile and identified 24 with one job in one form for long periods of time. are likely to place much aphasia upon the methods which were successful in previous job searches. Whiz forced to seek new positions. these persons appear to rely upon using a variety of methods of finding work. even if these methods show little inventiveness. Frinds and relatives have often been found to be major suppliers of information which eventually leads to a worker finding industrial Jobs (DeSchweinita. 1932:86—104; Sheppard. 1966:89; Myers. 191:3:47; more. 1951:53: Adams. 1957:70; Reynolds. 194909). If it is assumed that many friends and relatives of Job seekers will have similar types of employment.“ this would give further support to the hypothesis that shifts in employers. industries. and occupations would result in more extensive job search patterns. The information friends and relatives would supply would. in this case. be sidlar to that which the worker possesses from his own experiences. This is further supported by the finding that most industrial workers have little inferntion about Jobs and wages in jobs other than their own. even in nearby plants (Reynolds. 1949:%). Thus the most popular source of Job infomtion may be inadequate for Jobs which require the types of shifts which have been mentioned. Thus it can be hypothesised: I. If: The knowledge of how to secure a particular Job is most complete in those occupations. industries. and with those employers with which one is working. 7+. There appears to be considerable support for this assumption. For example. many workers tend to seek and accept Jobs within their immediate neighborhoods largely because they learned of openings or secured jobs through the influence of employed friends and relatives (Myers. 19%) . Palmer (195“) indicated it was unusual when workers reported they had no family or relatives working in the hosiery ”nah-ye If.“ 25 And if: Changes in am of these factors reduces the knowledge of the most direct channels for securing a particular 3013. Thai: The pester the number of shifts. the more complex will be the Job searching procedure. Further: II. If: Friends and relatives are a major source of information about Job openings. And if: Hany friends and relatives have similar types of employment. Than: The pester the number of shifts the more complex will be the Job searching procedure with pester emphasis upon formal methods of Job search. mm Status It was determined to be advisable to make the distinction in this study between mipation and other job shifts. The particular qloyer. industry. and to a lesser extmt. set of occupations observed here. were not previously found in Kalamasoo. Therefore these persons who did 923; shift occupations. employers. and industries were almost by necessity shifting locations. A considerable number of studies have att‘pted to show the differmxces between those persons who have resided for a considerable time in an urban setting and those who are more recent arrivals. Freednn (1965) found that farm-reared persons are over represented in low status positions whether the measure of status is education. occupation. family income. or self-perception of status. While such studies show the idpsnt to be in a disadvantaged position in cowieon to urban reared residmts. it has also been shown that such differences tend to disappear after the inipant has spent a period of time in the co-unity. Omari (1956) found time in the area to be one 26 of the major variables in mqalaining the adjustment of immigrants in terms of socio-economic status and co-unity satisfaction. Ultiamtely some rural-reared mipants rise above the median of their urban-reared counterpart- (Beers. 19%) . This greater ability of rural—reared persons to function more effectively in the urban environment after a period of residence there can be accounted for by their partial assimilation into the new social system. If. as has been argued. economic absorption is one of the earliest forms of assimilation for the immigrant. it would then be expected that those persons who have resided for a period of time in the enmity will have different job search patterns from those persons who are recent arrivals from a geographically distant and diverse labor market. This is supported by there (1954:70) who notes that workers tad to seek and accept Jobs within their imediate neighborhoods. largely because they learned of and secured Jobs through the influence of qloyed friends and relatives. The dpatory status of the job seeker is thus assumed to be of importance in determining the extent to which he will have infor- mation about the types of Jobs which are available. and. the extent to which he will be aware of the means by which information about Jobs can be obtained. These persons who have recently migrated to the area can be expected to have less information about the available types of Jobs and the proper methods of obtaining these jobs. than those persons who have lived in the area for a longer period of time. In addition. those persons who have mipsted from more distant and diverse areas are hypothesised to have different job search patterns than those persons who have mipsted from nearby areas with similar Job markets (Lurie.1966) . 27 A note of caution should be inserted here. It is well recognised that the social distance between migrant and long term resident may be much more significant than the physical distance which separates them. The support for a ghetto type of existence. in which each group has its own spheres of innumce. may come from both parties. In addition it is recognised that job searches for some occupations normally take place over wide geographical areas. This is largely the case for a few highly skilled crafts and for specialised nnagerial and professional jobs (Rees. 1960:565-6). The co-unications networks for persons in these occupations are normally more limited than for persons with less specialized skills. Thus the following typotheses are limited to situations which do not involve categoric exclusion of the immigrants nor do they necessarily apply to highly skilled crafts or professionals. If we consider only low skilled or semipskilled workers it can therefore be hypothesised that the more familiar the Job seeker is with the area. the more information he will have about potential places of employmmt for a person with his skills. and the channels one goes through to obtain that employment. Therefore persons closest to the labor market can be expected to 1) have Job search patterns which lead more directly to Jobs. and 2) to have pester knowledge of alternative jobs within the area. Therefore it can be lypothesised: III. If: Residence in plysical proximity to a labor market gives one pester knowledge of opportunities within that smrket. And if: Persons with similar skills who seek similar employment represent both migrants and long-time rCMNIue Then: Migrants to the labor market can be expected to have are complex Job search patterns. Chain mtion The term "chain mipation" has been used to describe how previous mipants inform later arrivals of opportunities and assist them with transportation. accoamdations and possibly arrange for new jobs (MacDonald. 1964:82). This phenomena in which mipants are absorbed into a pattern of established relationships which has been formed between their friends. or relatives or ethnic poup and the larger cos-unity. has hem: noted in a large number of settings (Glaser. 1963: W. 1961). These subcommunities can serve as buffers between the mipant and the larger commnity—a place with a somewhat familiar cultural environment which could be used as a base for further participation in the new setting. They can also provide barriers which hinder to some utmt the participation within the larger co-nnity. In either case. the means by which a mipant worker goes about seeldng employmt in a new setting is likely to be influenced by the extant to which he is following in a migration chain. or entering a community with no previous migrants to provide assistance in the adjustment (Lorie. 1966). In other words. the migrant's adjustment can be lypothesised to depend upon the reception base which exists in the new cos-unity. It can be expected that those persons who arrive in a new cos-unity in which they have frimds and relatives to serve as a reception base. will have different job search patterns than those without such a source of potential assistance. Such persons can be expected to have a greater number of informal contacts who can supply informtion about job openings and working conditions in the local area. Such sources of infonation often provide detailed facts about 29 specific working conditions which are unlikely to be available from such formal sources as the employment service or newspapers. With such sources of information opm: to him. the mipant with a reception base will therefore rely less on formal methods of job search. Since friends and relatives can be emected to be most able to assist the new migrant in those occupations with which they are most familiar. chain mipaticn can be expected to result in "chain occupa- tions”-"particular niches in the American employment structure to which successive i-ipants directed their follows on the basis of their experimace" (MacDonald. 1964290). Examples might include Irish policemen. Polish autoworkers. Chinese railroad workers and many more. Therefore. not only will a reception base influence the unner by which jobs are sought. but it will also influence the types of jobs which the mipants will seek. Consequently it can be hypothesised: IV. If: Hipants to a community have friends and/or relatives already living in that comaunity. And if: Friends and/or relatives my serve as a reception base providing information about employment in the community. Then: The migrant with friends and/or relatives in the new commity will find these an important source of information and assistance in the job search. gs of the Job Seeker Ioung workers seeking their first job do not typically use various methods of searching for work with the same frequency as more ewerienced workers (more. 1951: 52-7; Adams. 1957:73-7). Young workers do not have the same exposure to information about jobs. nor have they had the opportunity to learn about the various channels of 30 employment (Myers. 1951: 52). The young worker has often not become identified through experience or training with particular skills and will consequently not be expected to personally know the channels of approaching the factory. nor will he be lmcwn to the factory with the possibilities of being recalled or reinstated in a former position. Therefore we can hypothesize that younger workers will rely much more upon friends and relatives and other informal methods of finding work. This does not mean that older workers will abandon these methods if they have proven to be a successful route to jobs in the past. Indeed for persons in certain low-skilled occupations. most if not all jobs throughout an occupational career may be located in this summer. But at the same time. the older and more experienced worker can be expected to be more aware of alternate methods of looking for and sewing work. As a result they can be expected to rely more upon selling the particular skills one possesses and has become identified with directly to the place of employment. Adams (1957:75) found workers do continue to use successful methods of getting jobs. Thus as a collectivity. older workers can be hypothesized to use more diverse methods of finding work. At the same time. their greater smosure and knowledge of a job market may lead the more experienced worker more directly into a job. Thus individgly. the older workers can be typothesised to have less complex job search patterns for any particular job. The diverse methods at his disposal can be expected to lead the older worker more directly to the best places of finding work. Thus it can be lupothesised: V. If: Knowledge of the channels of maployment is learned most often by using those channels while searching for jobs. And if: Then: 31 Young workers with little or no job experience have little knowledge of the most direct channels to jobs. Young workers will rely more upon the assistance of persons they know who have knowledge of the channels most likely to lead to jobs. This will mean that friends and relatives are used more often by these younger. inexperienced workers than by older workers. dc sh so: in! ”la CHAPTEI 3 METHODOIDGY Ary study of job search patterns inediately becomes influenced by the nature of the community or oomunities which are being observed. Although such factors have never been explored on a systentic basis. it has been found that city sise has an impact on the methods of job search. Institutional intermediaries are used less often in smll cities (Lorie. 1966:94). Adams (1957:69) noted persons in small towns , can also learn about and compare job opportunities more easily than in large areas. According to Wilcock (1963: 125). the industrial and occupational composition of the comlunity influences the scope and nature of the job search. including the number of applications. It is apparmatly easier for workers to compare jobs when a few large firms dominate the area. The worker entering a commity when there is a shortage of workers will obviously have different opportunities for assimilation than when economic conditions are less favorable. Each of these factors will be present in ary study of this sort. However since their influmice is so poorly understood when introduced into a study of how workers received particular jobs. the findings become somewhat ambiguous. It is possible to control their influence however if one restricts the scope of the study. This study was designed to be conducted in one community. in one industrial firm. and to be concerned with economic absorption of workers over a relatively 32 tb ph d2 org NO the Stu 1M1 ”'1: Crew “1:: u. ' 33 short period of time. It is assumed that these important factors will have a uniform impact on all persons over the period covered and consequently can be assumed to have minimal impact upon the study. This should make it possible to better compare the experiences of those encountering the social cyst- of a cosmonity. Obviously a comparative study which can consider differences in these important variables is needed for a more complete understanding of the problems being investigated. The Research Site The purpose of this section is to give a description of the unity and plant in which the research was conducted. In gmeral. this site is representative of medium sised cos-unities which are plysically apart from the largest metropolitan areas. yet which are directly intepated into the activities of such places. Part of this integration comes from the increasing tendency of large manufacturing organisations to move part of their operations from larger cities to such locations. Kalamssco is one of a number of medium sised cities which dot the southern part of Michigan. In 1970 the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area had a total population of 201.550 persons. Table 1 indicates the change in this population over the past decade as it oeqares to the state of Michigan and the United States. The S.H.S.A. : pew at a rate very similar to all such places in Michigan. and only slightly more rapidly than these urban areas in the United States. The Ialamasoo urbanised area. which is a more accurate representation of the area sampled in this study. had 152.083 persons during the year the 34 study was conducted. This represented a 31.5 percent increase over the previous decade. an increase greater than for either Michigan or the United States. However the Kalamasoo central city and the area outside the central city are each growing at a rate between the rates for comparable areas in Michigan and the United States. What is found here is a cantral city which is growing at a modest rate while the urban areas inediately surrounding this core increase much more rapidly with the introduction of new manufacturing concerns such as the one which is the focus of this study. Thus in general the area represents an urbanized area which is growing at a rate similar to all urban areas for the state and nation. but this is also a comsunity expressing the general tendency of urban fringes to grow rapidly as more industries locate in such areas. Table 1 - Population Change of Kalamazoo. Michigan. and the United States. 1960-1970. in Percents location Kalamasoo Michigan United States % 16.-1970 as as s.u.s.n. 18.8‘ (201.550)‘ 19.8“ 16.69 Urbanised Area 31.5‘ (152.083)‘l 15.5‘ 21:.6d Central cities 4.2” ( 85.555)° .u.o‘ 6.4b Outside central 32.1:b ( 66.528)° 37.0“ 126.8" cities a. Census of Population: 1970. General Pepulation Characteristics. Final Report PC(1)-B2!& Michigan. Table 16. p. 59. b. Census of Population: 1970. Number of Inhabitants. Final Report PC(1)-Al United States Smnary. Table 34. pp. 180-186. c. Census of Population: 1970. Number of Inhabitants. Final Report PC(1)-AZ# Michigan. Table 12. p. 37. d. Census of Population: 1970. Number of Inhabitants. Final Report PC(1)-Al United States Sunmnary. Table 47. A: 0! Ta 35 Although these general population characteristics are rather similar between this eo-unity and others in the nation. there are important differences however. The Kalamasoo urbanised area has only 6.5 percent Negro and other non-white races in its population. Michigan has 16.9 percent of such persons in its urban areas. This relatively small non-white population is represented in the sample interviewed for this study. Here 7.4 percent (7 of 95) of the persons were either Negro or Spanish-speaking. The occupations of the persons in Kalamasoo are also somewhat different from those found in other large urban areas in the state. As indicated in Table 2 which shows the percentage of males in different occupational categories. the community contains a larger proportion of Table 2 - Occupational Distribution of Bnnployed Male Workers in Kalamazoo and Michigan S.M.S.A.s in Percents Occupation Michigan 1970‘ Kalamazoo 19705 Kalamazoo 1960° % Professional. Technical and Kindred Workers 13.0 15.9 12.4 Managers and Administrators 8.8 10.6 12.6 Sales Workers 6.1 7.8 7.7 Clerical and Kindred Workers 6.4 7.2 6.2 Craftsmen. Foremen 21.5 19.9 20.7 Operatives. including transport 24.0 22.4 22.9 Laborers 5.3 5.4 6.4 Service Workers 7.4 9.2 5.9 Others 2.0 1.6 .2 Total I00.0 100.0 00.0 a. U.S. Census of Population. General Social and Economic Character- istics - Michigan. Final Report PC(1)—C24. Table 46. p. 245. b. U.S. Census of Pepulation. General Social and Economic Character- istics - Michigan. Final Report PC(1)-C24. Table 86. p. 334. c. U.S. Census of Pepulation and Housing: 1960. Final Report PHC(1)-69 Census Tracts. Table 3. p. 25. Sea to: “Is 36 white collar workers than is characteristic of all large urban areas. This is particularly apparent in the larger percentage of professional and technical workers. and also in the number of managers and adminis- trators. Sales. clerical and service workers are to a lesser extent lore highly represented. As a consequence of this concentration in these areas. the blue collar workers constitute a smaller percentage of the male labor force. This is true for both skilled craftsnen. operatives and unskilled laborers. As we shall see later. this somewhat caller blue collar labor force was to have an important impact when the d-and for such workers was greatly increased. Econoaic Survgy of Kalanasoo The economic survey of the comunity which the local newspaper lakes at the beginning of each year gives a general picture of the conditions before the General Motors plant started production and the inpact upon the commity of this plant going into operation. Even before the Fisher Body plant was built. Kalamazoo was experiencing a tins of relative prosperity. During 1963 the economic activity in Kalansoo reached a new high. surpassing a previous peak set four years before. This prosperity was occurring despite the fact that factory uploynent had actually declined to 25.900 persons from an average of 26.300 the previous year. This reduction was part of a general decline in this type of euploynent which had been occurring for about 10 years (Kalahasoo Gazette. January 1. 1964) . However there was at the sane tine growth in education and some service industries so that the picture for the entire conunity remained prosperous. During 1964 Gmeral Motors began construction of their plant. Per for I'm 37 But even without this important project. there was sufficient other growth in the co-unity to set records for construction. This was a tine when law of the major industries in town were expanding (Kalamazoo Gazette. January 1. 1965). As a consequence of this mansion. a shortage of skilled and experienced workers began developing in 1965 (Kalamazoo Gazette. January 2. 1966). This shortage became accute during 1966. As the local paper indicated: "personnel directors are worried about how to hire the skilled worker and keep him; union leaders are worrying about his lack of class consciousness and a tmdency to reject new contracts that an older generation considered pretty good" (Kalamazoo Gazette. January 1. 1967:1). During October 1966. unuploymt actually dropped to 1.9 percent of the labor force. The Fisher Body plant had about 2.500 persons employed at year' s and and there was considerable competition for the skilled worker. According to the Michigan Employment Security Conission. the number of persons uployed in manufacturing had reached a low level slightly below 26.000 persons in 1963. This number did not increase greatly until 1965 when the yearly average rose to 26.000. The following year saw this nunber in manufacturing rise to about 30.000 persons. a figure found at the tins of the study in 1970. In only about a two year period. the manufacturing sector of the labor force had to expand by about 4.000 workers. This occurred in a city which Ind an average unenploynent rate of only 4.5 percent during the 6 year period fro: 1959-64. As a result of this very rapid rise in demand for workers . there was considerable competition to attract those available. Ur 196 Gen f0:- 38 The General Motors plant was in a somewhat enviable position in the competition for workers because it was willing to pay wages which were above those previously existing in the col-unity. However even this comparw had problems of its own in attracting a sufficient number of workers and even took steps to train its own workers for higher skilled Jobs rather than rely upon the number who could be recruited locally and in other southwestern Michigan communities (Kalamazoo Gazette. January 1. 1967). Despite higher wages. not all local workers were willing to shift from their former employers and go with Gmeral Motors. Because of the competition for workers. m of the unions in other companies were in a position to demand. and often receive. comparable wages. Also as we shall see later. Fisher Body was considered by some workers to be a less desirable place to work than some of the other plants. During 1966 the Fisher Body plant raised its work force from a very few hundred to nearly 2.500 persons. This figure was only gradually increased to about 3.000 persons in 1968 and reuined about this point until the time of the study in 1970. Thus there were almost no employees in the plant in 1965: this changed greatly in 1966. After 1966 the number increased only slowly until 1970. Consequently. and by design. this study was conducted in a community with very little unemployment. and in fact. there was a need for more workers than were available locally. Such a situation gives us an unique opportunity to explore a situation where: 1) a large number of Jobs were available for skilled and semiskilled workers. 2) workers within the commnity had an Opportunity to secure new positions. and 3) the comunity was attractive to migrants because a ti 0V1 cut 801‘ Met; ”a 39 large number could easily be absorbed. Such a situation gives us an omortunity to explore how both local and non-local residents learned of new opportunities and went about finding them. The Fisher Bod: Plant It was first announced early in 1964 that the Fisher Body fabricating plant which served as the focus of this study was to be built in the Kalamazoo area. Gmeral Motors purchased about this time over 350 acres of land in Constock Township adjacent to Kalamazoo and began an investment of well over $30 million dollars in land. buildings and equipment. Actual construction started soon after the announcement and it was then possible to start limited production in late 1965 or early 1966. The dedication of the site did not take place until October 1966 however. At that ceremoxw Gmeral Motors Board Chairman. Fredrick Donner announced along other things that the facility was drawing workers from over one hundred commities in southwest Michigan (Kalamazoo Gazette. October 26. 1966). The main facility was a combination fabrication and administra- tion building which covered over 40 acres of land under one roof. with over 1.5 million square feet of this in the production area. Within this complex was eventually installed over two dozen machines for cutting and processing steel as well as nearly 500 presses of various sorts and sizes for staining and assembling the variety of fabricated metal products. These parts were mainly such items as roofs. doors. trunk lids and quarter panels which eventually found their way to most or all of the Fisher Body and General Motors Automotive Division plants in the United States and Canada. Access to the railroads and the I. “5 We: no location beside an interstate highway made it relatively easy to bring in about 350.000 tons of steel annually and to ship the constructed M.e y}; The data for this study was collected during the months of June and July. 1970 by a team of seven interviewers specifically trained for the task. Each of the interviewers was a senior or graduate student in the Department of Sociology. Western Michigan University. A total of 95 interviews. each lasting approximately 45 minutes was conducted at the homes of the respondents. The sample of respondents was drawn from two similar sources. First was the Kalamazoo Suburban Directory. a listing of persons living in the urban areas immediately sm'rounding the central city. The second source of names was the Kalamazoo City Directon. The first of these sources was published in November. 1969 and the second in February. 1970. This made the lists less than a year old when they were used. Both of these sources indicated the names. addresses. place of employ. ment. and occupations of the heads of household living in the areas covered. It was thus possible to select samples of persons engaged in particular occupations. From the directory of suburban residents a total list of 457 General Motors employees was compiled. An additional 313 workers were located in the city directory for a total of 770 names. This list tha: contained approximately 25 percent of the total work force employed in the plant. Mentioned in this total list was 135 separate occupations held 41 by the workers at Fisher Body. Some of these job titles were of no interest for this study. The most important of these were the several managerial. clerical or white collar jobs. Another group were persons such as waitresses or guards who were not managerial workers but neither were they associated with production. and consequently they were excluded also. The design of the study called for approximately one hundred interviews with one-third of these being persons who entered the plant as skilled workers. Tool and die makers composed the largest category in the lists with 180 individuals listed as having this occupation and consequently the skilled workers were selected from among this group. The single largest listing of non-skilled workers were the 64 press operators. Since this was not a sufficiently large list to obtain the desired number of interviews. an additional listing of 88 persons identified only as factory workers was selected to be added to the group of press operators. Since the names and addresses of all listed nployees had been placed on indent cards. it was possible to draw the cards for the persons in these three selected occupational categories from the total 770. to place them into two categories according to skill level. and to select a sufficient number from each group to have the desired totals. A total of 161 persons was eventually selected to be inter- viewed. Of this number 95 persons gave complete interviews which were used in this study. Three interviews were eventually discarded because of incomplete information. Eighteen persons refused to be interviewed. 16 had saved and could not be located. one person was deceased. and 28 were reported to be on vacation or otherwise unavailable at the time 42 of the interview. The precise breakdown of the occupations of the sample will be prosmted later but it can be pointed out here that 42 of the 67 non-skilled workers in the final study were press operators and 25 of the 28 skilled workers were tool and die makers. There are two major reasons why more than two occupations were represented. First. because of the relatively small number of press operators. those listed as factory workers were included. Second. some of the persons inter... viewed had changed occupations after going to work in the factory. Since the study was comparing occupations when they first entered the plant. the listed and first occupations could and did vary. The decision to use the directories as a means of obtaining a sample was made with considerable reluctance. It was realized that a sample drawn from these sources has at least three disadvantages. First. this source of names did not include those persons working at Fisher Body who had not recently moved to the co-unity. Second. the sample was probably biased towards those persons who were most settled and who had established the most permanent ties in the co-unity. The small number of individuals who were no longer living at the listed addresses tmds to support this notion. However. while no systematic analysis was made of this problu. some of the persons contacted were known not to own the places in which they resided. Thus the sample did include some individuals other than home owners. but at the same time. very few individuals were located in rooming houses. hotels. or similar temporary quarters. The third problem with such a sample has to do with the extent to which the list does not include all persons living in the area covered. 43 The major advantage of this source of information was the fact that it was available while other more desirable sources were not. Neither General Motors nor the United Auto Workers union were willing to supply the names. addresses. and occupations of the persons currently uployed in the plant. These sources could have been expected to have available mre current. complete. and more accurate listing of the specific occupations in which the individuals were engaged. It was not possible to obtain a list of the number of persons uployed in different occupational categories in the plant so that some notion of the validity of the sample could be obtained. The procedure of personally interviewing each person was considered to be the most successful means of gathering the type of information required by a study of this type. First. there was most certainly a higher participation rate. Second. since previous studies had dealt with the present problems only in general terms. there was an opportunity to ask more open ended questions which could be probed. It is doubtful if successful returns could have been obtained on such questions if there had been no interviewer present. Two important steps were taken to insure that the information for everyone included in the study would be as complete as possible. First. after the interview was completed. the interviewer was instructed to go back over the questionnaire and double check to make certain that all questions had been asked and that there was a response for each question. Second. the interviewer was requested to obtain mm each person in the sample an address and telephone number where the person could be reached at a later date in case there were any additional questions after the supervisor rechecked the schedules. IO' d1 t‘ If M We: in. After the questionnaires were rechecked. additional information was requested in approximately 20 percent of the cases. In most of these instances the information was unclear rather than missing and it was eventually possible to contact all of these individuals. Because of the relatively small number of these instances. the data which was eventually collected was very complete. and to the extent to which the respondents gave accurate information. there were few inconsis- tmcies which could be detected. Measurement of Correlations The most frequently used means of determining the strength of a correlation in this study will be by the use of Iule's 0.1 The formula for Q is: (3‘6)- lap on ‘ CB‘C)+(A*D; where a. B. C. and D refer to cell frequencies in a fourfold table. Thus what we are calculating is "the difference in cross products divided by the sun of the cross products" (Davis. 1971:151). When the two variables x and y are independmt. the cross products are equal and a numerator of sero is the result giving a value of Q equal to zero. If the variables show some correlation. Q will reflect this association and consequmtly vary within the limits of 1; 1.00. The aeaning of the value which is obtained has been described as follows: ”A Q value of leans that we would do better than chance in predicting order on one variable from order on the other by always predicting that X's are Y's and NOT X's are NOT I's or vice versa" (Davis. 1971:1t8-lb9). 1. For an extensive discussion of the properties of this coefficient see Davis (1971). 45 If for example a Q of +.85 is calculated in a particular table. this would mean that we would do 85 percent better than chance if we always predict that an "x" was also a "y." A uniform method of describing Q values has been developed and will be followed in this study. These conventions are given in Table 3. Table 3 .. Conventions for Describing Q Values2 Value of Q Appropriate Phrase +1.00 A perfect positive association +.70 to +.99 A very strong positive association +.50 to +.69 A substantial positive association +.30 to +.’+9 A moderate positive association +.10 to +.29 A low positive association +.01 to +.O9 A negligible positive association 00 No association -.01 to -.09 A negligible negative association -.10 to -.29 A low negative association ”30 to -.’+9 A moderate negative association -.50 to -.69 A substantial negative association -.70 to -.99 A very strong negative association -1.00 A perfect negative association When a particular value of Q is calculated we then have a value which describes the association. correlation. or relationship between the variables being explored. As a means of testing the statistical significance of this association it is necessary to calculate upper and lower linits within which the value of Q can be expected to fall with a certain level of confidence. This study used a .95 confidence level and thus the formulas were calculated as follows: Upper limit a on, + (1.96) 1 1 1 1 <1.oo-o§[)2 (x+§+e+is) l4 2. Table adapted cm Davis (1971:49). 1 1 1 Iowerlimit . c)Ky - (1.96) (1.00..c¥§y)2 (X+'1§+E*'115> 4 It was necessary to use this particular calculation rather than tables since Q is influenced by the particular number of cases in the universe for which these limits are being calculated. In addition to limits within which we can expect to find Q in the universe from which the sample was drawn. these calculations provide an additional feature. By observing the sign of the upper and lower limits it is possible to predict whether the relationship which has been observed is statistically significant or alternately whether the value of Q which has been observed came from a universe where the true value of Q is sero. Thus when the upper and lower limits have the same sign. either positive or negative. we are confident that Q did not come from a universe where the variables showed no relationship. Where the signs are mixed. the relationship will be interpreted as if Qxy :- .00. Des es The original design of this study called for a comparison of the means by which whites and racial minorities such as blacks and Spanish-Americans went about searching for and obtaining their jobs. Because of the relatively large number of minorities who are employed in the automobile industry in other parts of Michigan. it was antici- pated that the situation would be similar in the present instance. However instead of a sizable sample of minority members. the study only included 5 Negroes and 2 Spanish speaking persons. numbers which were insufficient for meaningful analysis. This number does however approximate the 6.5 percent Negroes found in the Kalamazoo area. l—h it 01 i? re 47 There were two major sources of inspiration for including a comparison of minorities. First was a study of Mexican-Americans in Michigan which indicated the increasing reliance of this particular group upon the automobile industry as a substitute for their previous migrant farm labor jobs (Trout. 1969) . This study also indicated that the ties which this minority population had with relatives and friend s in other parts of the country. especially Tamas. remained very strong even after a considerable period of time in Michigan. Also. these ties were found to be an important influence upon the occupational opportunities of new migrants to the state. A second reason for desiring to include minorities was a study done by Lurie (1966) in which he found that Negro migrants to a medium- siscd northeastern labor market did not have the same network of ties. especially those of friends and relatives. as did white workers. As a consequence he concluded that even though these minority members may have similar skills. they did not have the contacts which would have made it possible for them to locate and obtain many of the more desirable jobs. even when the influence of racial prejudice was of no consequence. Consequently it was hoped that this study might explore the ability of these persons to locate jobs in new communities and plants. While no substantiated conclusions can be drawn from the data. it is interesting to speculate why minorities were represented in such limited numbers. First. and most obvious. because of the small number of such persons in the comunity the number of local minority workers available was not great. and consequently they would not be highly represented in the sample. As noted before percentage of minority ft 1‘e as as members in the sample and local community were very similar. Second. because the Fisher Body jobs were often seen as desirable by the local population. especially because of the higher wages which were offered. it is possible that patterns of discrimination were developed which made it difficult for minorities to obtain these desirable jobs. There is no evidence to support this notion and because of the industry's considerable reliance upon minority labor in other areas. it is doubtful that this was an important consideration. However if the number of applications exceeded the number of available jobs. and if hiring was done strictly upon qualifications. it is possible that the local persons were willing to accept less skilled occupations in return for higher wages. Consequently these persons were hired before minority persons who may not have been as highly skilled. even if these skills were not required for the particular jobs being contested. With regards to migrants it is possible to speculate about the possible reasons minorities were not more often represented. First. those persons who were remaining in the automobile industrwaere in almost all cases skilled workers. Apparently these persons were more inclined to migrate to a new'plant more often than were non-skilled automobile workers. If an assumption is made that minorities were less often represented in skilled jobs in the previous plants. than it could be expected they would also be less often represented among former automobile workers getting jobs in the new plant. Second. the small number of minority members in the commmity would supply a smaller reception base which might supply information about jobs. Thus as Lurie (1966) has indicated those blacks who do not have others to assist them in locating jobs are in a distinctly disadvantaged position. 49 Not only may it be more difficult to learn of new job opportunities. but without friends or relatives. the advantage of a job may be overweighed by the disadvantages of living in a community where these ties are lacking. CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS OF THE DATA This and the following chapter will look at some of the factors which have been discussed previously as being associated with the way persons become integrated into the social system of a commity. For aforementioned reasons. the emphasis will be upon economic absorption. that part of the total assimilation process which serves as a very important if not necessary first step towards complete integration. As the typotheses have suggested. the assumption here is that those workers who have had previous experiences in the type of social system which they are entering will find the adjustment process less complex and consequently will have different patterns of job search which reflect this familiarity with the system. Because of the newness of the plant which was studied. there is here a unique opportunity to observe a commity which is experiencing social change. Consequently for all workers there is the necessity of responding to a social system which is both somewhat similar and somewhat different from ary they have experienced previously. An attempt will be made then to assess how various persons become integrated into this new situation. The first part of this analysis will be concerned with a discussion of the experiences of workers making distinct types of job shifts: later emphasis will be upon the job search patterns of those who made a combination of either few or many shifts. Because of 50 51 important differences in those persons who were making job shifts and migration shifts. these categories also will be discussed separately. Job Shifts We will first look at the differences in job search procedures used by those persons who were making different types of job shifts: 1) shifts from one occupation to another. 2) from one industry to another. 3) from one employer to another. 4) from a state of unemploy- ment to employment. and 5) those persons who were first entering the labor force when they obtained their job at Fisher Body. This discussion will essentially be concerned with the first three of these categories since there were only five persons in the entire sample who were not working just prior to getting their jobs. Three of these were temporarily unemployed before going to Fisher Body and only two were entering the labor force for the first time when they received the job under consideration. For convenience the five previously unemployed persons will be reported together as workers making labor force shifts without making the distinction between those getting their first job and those re-entering the labor force. The number and percent of the total sample uking each type of shift is given in Table 4. An important factor to keep in mind when discussing the differences between those workers making different types of shifts is that may of these individuals were making more than one type of job shift. As Table 5 indicates. the modal number of shifts was three. Thus. if there is some degree of similarity in the characteristics of those persons making two different types of shifts. this is partially 52 Table h .. Number and Percent of Workers Making Various Types of Job Shifts (Total N a 95) Type of Shift Percent 33 Occupation Shift 62.1 59 Workers obtaining a different occupation Industrial Shift 72.6 69 Workers first entering auto industry hployer Shift 83.2 79 Workers first working for General Motors Deployment Shift 5.3 5 Workers fornlly unemployed Labor Market Shift 2.1 2 Workers obtaining their first job Higrant Shift 50.5 48 Workers loving to Kalamazoo Table 5 - Total Number of Shifts Made in Either Industries. hployers. Occupations . Esployment. Participation in the Labor Force. or locations When Obtaining Job at Fisher Body 22221.2 .11 One shift 1%? 11+ Two shifts 15.8 15 Three shifts 50.5 48 Four shifts 15.8 15 Five shifts 3.2 3 Total 100.0 95 53 due to the fact that the same individuals are mking both shifts and thus are included in both categories. For example. a worker who is being employed by General Motors for the first time has a high probability of both shifting into the automobile industry and into a new occupation while doing so. Consequently when each shift is discussed individually. the characteristics of the same individual are used as part of the description of those shifting occupations. indus- tries and employers. A precise breakdown of the number of persons making any one type of shift and who are also making other shifts is given in Table 6. The number of workers making one type of shift but who are not making other shifts is given in Table 7. Table 8 provides a summary of how often different methods of looking for work were used by those who were and were not making different types of job shifts. These are methods which were used by the workers in looking for their present job. whether the particular method was successful or not. For example. a worker may have consulted the newspapers about job openings. but may have had no success in locating his new job at Fisher Body by this method. This was. however. still. considered as one avenue of job search which was used. It was hypothesised that workers making up of the job shifts would have less knowledge of the most direct methods of obtaining a particular job and thus would be more likely to use more methods of looking for a job. As indicated in Table 8. those workers making occupation. or industry or employer shifts did indeed have a slightly more diverse job search pattern in all cases than those remaining in the same category. Of the seven methods of looking for work. those shifting in every case used a mean of 1.9 methods while looking for 54 'T‘Bls e 6 - Number and P-Trcmt of Workers Making—various Job S__—-hifts Who Were Also Making Other Job Shifts Type of Job Shift o m tn 3 s e a g s :3 a a :2 s a a 5 .. Type of 3 .3 .8 Job sum. (N) g .5 E ,3 Migrant 48 - 19 23 32 3 Occupation 59 -- 55 57 4 Industry 69 -- 69 4 uployer 79 - 5 Labor Force 5 .. Percents Acro ss Wt .- 39e6 t“7e9 66s? 6.2 Occupation .- 93.2 96.6 6.8 mm D- 1 .0 5 e 8 Labor Force .. Percents Down Migrant -- 32.2 33.3 40.5 60.0 Ocmpation "- 7907 72e2 80.0 Industry -- 87 e 3 80 e0 Labor Force .. Table 7 - Numb; of Workers Not Making Various Job ShiRs But Who Were Making Other Job Shifts Not Shiftigg Shifting H 9. .. E L Migrant 1+7 .. no 46 47 2 Occtpation 36 29 - 14 22 1 Industry 26 25 4 .. 1o 1 hployer 16 16 2 O .- 0 Labor Force 90 45 55 65 74 .. 55 emm. no. awn. so no 58. . ~.~ m N m N n u z coach eons." ~.~ a.“ we o.mm om m.ea an «an a $3 8 tan a win n n; a Tom u. tn. n «.m« on o.a~ n m.«« NH s.m« « m.n a u z a menu so» mean oz 533 an“. am. No. 3. 3. mm. sa.$sss ~.N m!“ nu e.mm ma «.dm pm m.~n n n.m« an m.«e N m.~« m m.n a m.me u: :1: m «.dn «a m.m~ « a.» mu n.cu u: 1:: z a z a mmflz men was: oz tanned ~.~ m.« an o.om mm p.on am 0.3 p «.3 mm n.an me a.en n «.m m e.m« u: :1: n m.nu pm n.on n m.nu .3 5.3 N $6 a a z a anuz eeH onsz oz moaveacooo RS. w 3 a :58 sfisgfi . Bus seats «o songs 53: sausage muses 8538 sesame consumes: goo s38 «anemone: sorta egg to... .85... no none—E seem 8333.5 asses menace—“om eosoE eon-“3.3: goo :35 genome: cow-hem pica: scale as. as 85.: .p reacts Um .E 56 their Fisher Body job. Those who were shifting occupations in every case used a mean of 2.2 methods. While these differences are in the twpothesised direction. the differences are not large. Of greater interest than the total number of different methods used is the differences found in the specific methods used by those nking and not nking shifts. When the workers who did and did not shift occupations. or industries or employers are compared on the basis of how .13 used various methods of job search. certain consistencies are found for those making each type of shift. A higher percentage of shifters in each of the three categories used direct application to either Gmeral Motors or some other companies. friends. relatives. newspapers or an uployment service in looking for their job. The differences as measured by Q are statistically significant (P 5 .025) in all cases for the use of the employment service. newspapers. and all cases of direct application where the cell. sise was sufficient for a test. While the shifters used friends and relatives more often. the differences were not always significant. 01: the other hand. non- shifters were the only ones to attempt to find work by using a union. These persons also used oompaxv assistance more often than those who were shifting. A somewhat detailed discussion of the actual hiring procedure at the plant being stuiied will help caplain why these particular patterns were found. It is not surprising that those persons who were continuing in work similar to what they had done before. in some cases even with the same employer. but in a different plant. would use compam assistance more often in locating their new job. However. this means was not used exclusively by those remaining with General Motors. 57 In the case of one shifter. he was assisted by his former comparv when it went out of business: another was anticipating a company recall when his new job became available. On the other hand. General Motors did assist a small number of its workers from other plants to locate in Kalamasoo. When the new plant began its first limited production in early 1966. approximately 280 of the 300 hourly uployees were skilled workers who were responsible for the installation and testing of new equipment. Most of these persons were former General Motors uployees who came from other plants for this purpose. As indicated by one Union official who was cementing on these very early employees in the Kalamazoo plant. "only a few local persons were thrown in to keep the local community happy.“ After this initial group with my former General Motors employees had started to work. fewer persons transferred from other plants. This occurred for at least two reasons. First. the demand for skilled labor was greatly reduced with only about 40 percent of the labor force being skilled workers at the end of 1966 when production really began. as contrasted to the approximately 90 percent skilled earlier in the year. Also. the number of skilled workers which could be secured by any means was limited during this period. This would eventually lead the compamr to initiate an on-the-job training program for skilled workers. This resulted in approximately 800 of the 2600 .ployees at the time of the study being in some phase of a training progrun for skilled workers which lasted about four years. Workers from other Gmeral Motors plants who did not arrive with this early group may have been somewhat reluctant to make the 58 transfer because of the particular conditions which covered such mves. If word of a new plant reached a worker in an older General Motors plant. as it reportedly did rather quickly by informal channels. a worker in the old plant could apply at the new plant for work there. If they desired him as an uployee. the new plant would then write the old plant asking for a release. Whether this was granted appeared to depend to some extent upon how valuable he was perceived to be in the old plant. If he was a reliable worker with a good record. there night be considerable reluctance to give him to the new plant. In such cases his request could be refused or possibly delayed until such a transfer us not in the worker's best interest. The worker could quit his old Job and take the new position. but this would also mean giving up those benefits which were transferable. One of the most important reasons why a worker might desire to transfer from one General Motors plant to another is that of seniority. Only in cases where a large segment of an old plant is transferred to a new location is seniority also transferred. This did not apply to Ialanasoo: here a new smiority list was started. Thus the delays which night result from a reluctance to grant a transfer at a tine such as 1966. night result in several hundred persons being ahead on the list with the consequent loss of choice in shifts. opportunities for promtion. security of enploynent. and all the other benefits which accolpany high seniority. This single factor was mentioned volnntarily by several workers and unless there were other considera- tions. a forner General Motors usployee at another plant might be quite reluctant to leave unless the time of his mve was at the proper moment. Besides seniority there were other factors which might also be 59 considered such as retirement and vacation credits. These were not as easily lost by a transfer as was seniority. In summary. the assistance of the compam was fairly important for a few of the very early workers in the new Kalamazoo plant. A very limited number of persons were actually recruited for their new positions. However. even for those persons who were remaining with the same company. they received such assistance in less than half of the cases. and as some individuals indicated. the company was somewhat of a hinderance in finding desirable employment. rather than an asset. Indeed comparv assistance was not seen by an of the workers as the met important means of finding their Job. For those who were shifting from other occupations and industries. as might be expected. company assistance became an even less important means of finding a new job except for those few cases which have alreacw been noted. Only five persons from the entire sample found a union a useful means of Job search. and none of these was Imking a shift in occupation. industry. or employer. Obviously the United Auto Workers could be of only limited service to anyone outside the industry. and even within the industry apparently relatively few persons considered this an important means of finding work. as might be the case with some other types of occupations such as building trades where the union acts as a major source of information about openings. The local union was not formed until after some persons had been uployed at the plant. Eva) had it been in operation from the very beginning. there is no official ability of the union to get amone hired. This is not to day that unofficial and informal arrangements are of some importance in getting jobs for a limited number of 60 individuals. There are some union officials who are in daily contact with company personnel in important positions. It thus might be possible for these persons to cooperate and place a particular person at the top of a waiting list or to otherwise give him some similar advantage in securing work at the plant. But it should be aphasized that such contacts are limited to relatively few individuals and probably cannot be used extensively. especially if the action is a serious violation of official procedure. Those who were shifting either occupations. industries or employers consistently used means of searching for their jobs which were less directly associated with either companies or unions. The shifters relied more often upon means of job search which could be expected to provide more diverse information about jobs. rather than the specialised information which might be expected from a particular company or union. This group of non-specialized sources of information consisted of greater emphasis upon newspapers. employment services. and relatives. The use of friends is the only method of job search which shows a lack of consistency between those shifting occupations. indus- tries and employers. Just over one third of those who did and did not shift occupations and industries used their friends as a resource in hunting their present job with Q not being statistically significant (P I .025) in either case. This would presumably indicate that friends my or may not be fellow employees and that friends may both provide a diverse group to supply information from many sources. or on the other hand. may provide more specific information if one is to continue in the same field. What is both surprising and unexplained is why only 61 2 (12.5%) of those persons who were former General Motors employees used this source of information while 41.8% of the shifters found this a useful Job search technique. It is possible that former General Motors employees had information of jobs from more formal sources such as written material or were transferred. Whatever the reason the differences were statistically significant. More easily explained is the large percentage of both shifters and non-shifters who applied directly at the gate in their Job search. Even former General Motors employees almost always found this a necessary procedure since very few if any of these workers were trans- ferred directly from one plant to another by the com; they had to apply for their job even though they were continuing to work for the same employer. Eyen those few persons who did not apply directly to the plant gate had to fill out the same forms. But even while most of the workers did apply directly at the gate. the differences were significant only for occupation shifts because the number of cases was insufficient to test for industry and employer shifts. However both of these appear to show much the same tmdency as those making occupation shifts. This would support the notion that those persons who were not shifting had some means of applying for their Job without appearing personally at the gate. In some cases this my have been accomplished by sending application forms through some company channels. but more likely. these non-shifters were able to have friends or others pick up and deliver the necessary forms. While these methods of Job search show some important differences between those who were shifting and those who were remaining with their previous occupations. industries. or euployers. the 62 hypothesised differences in formal and informal methods did not appear. The formal methods in Table 8 would include the employment service. newspapers. and company and union assistance. As hypothesised the persons who were shifting used the first two of’these significantly more often. However. with both company and union assistance the group which made the greatest use of’these was the non-shifters. Also with the infbrmal.methods which include the use of’friends. relatives. and direct application. the results are mixed. Those who were shifting employers used friends significantly more often. However in all other cases there was no significant difference in the use cf’friends and relatives. his hypothesised direct application was used more by the shifters. but it was also used very often by those who were not shifting. Table 9 shows the particular methods of’job search.which were considered to be most important in helping these workers find their jobs. ‘An important difference between.this table and Table 8 is the absence of’two of’the Job search categories on the "most helpful” list. Home of the workers considered company assistance or the union as their most helpful methods. Thus they found either the employment service. newspapers. friends. relatives. or most often. direct application to be most useful. Interestingly. none of these methods would indicate that am of the workers were actively recruited by the company nor that their unions were highly influential in assisting thu. even though some workers have attempted to use these methods in locating their new Jobs. This suggests that all workers had to rely either upon th-selves or someone outside the company to find these particular Jobs. 3 6 m as “.00.“ 3 0.8 mm «.03 cm min mm 0.00.“ on 0.03 m... we! mice 3.. ~43: 9.... «4% fl! «4% a... mine mm. flaw... H NH «.3 N m.~a Nd 3.5 N m4. m Nfiu n 0.9 I. 3 ad." a «.0 m of: 3 3.3 m m6 5 3.3 a 3 in I I. n 3.3 a m.n N 3.n m 9m 1. 3 «.n I. I... n 3.3 H w.n m «an « m.m I. z a z a z a z a z a z a nnz new mmuz new 3am oz monz new emu: oz «we: no» wnnz oz couch .8535 Enema sfiéoo hoped” gm ooh. co 25 333 cannofler 388 35:2 .efifla 8.3.2.4 5&8 cans nonsense 2 Spam ago-mama haste o... a. 35.x in non. E. :5 a... Essa s Earnedéo 3...: .. E. whet thei diff moth run the that had a hi thu: won: 0rd. ass: she. 36a Bhl 3111 Bhol €35 new ind; 64 It is obvious from Table 9 that over 58 percent of all workers. whether they were shifting or not. found direct application at the gate their most important way of finding work. There are some interesting differences between different types of job shift and the use of this method however. If an assumption is made that those workers who are ruining with the same employer are met likely to be familiar with the most direct methods of finding another job with that employer. and. that those in the same industry would also be more aware than those who had the same occupation after getting their new Job. then we can develop a hierarcty of the importance of different types of job shift. We can thus assume that workers shifting employers. industries. and occupations muld be most aware of the most direct methods of finding work in that order. Also if we assume that application at the plant gate without the assistance of others is the most direct method for this purpose. then we should find the correlation between direct application and type of job search increase as we go from occupation shifts to industry shifts to employer shifts. This trend was indeed found. The association between occupation shifts and the use of direct methods as contrasted to all other methods was a low negative association (Q = -.20) . The association between shifting or not shifting industries and the use of direct application showed a low positive association (Q I .15). A moderate positive association (Q 8 .47) was found between remaining with the same employer and finding that direct application was met helpful in finding the new Job. The means by which persons first hear of their Jobs is somewhat indicative of the quality and reliability of that information. and to some at two oft public circula first c which 1 concur! indica‘ had to and th upsci lore p ties 1 first ‘ Sub: 65 some extent. the type of Job search which will follow. For example. two oftm mentioned but highly diverse sources of information. 1) general public informtion in the community. and 2) information published or circulated in an auto plant. are likely to have very different social meaning for those receiving the information about a new plant. In the first case. information available to the general public in a community which has never had this type of industry may be extremely vague concerning the nature of new jobs in the plant. Several respondents indicated they did not know what was being done in the factory. but they had reasoned correctly that a place of this size would need nary workers and that the respondmt's skills would probably be useful in some capacity. On the other hand. information in an auto plant may both be sore precise and have greater meaning in terms of individual possibili- ties for those who are recipients of that information. Those who shifted and those who did not indeed received their first information in very diverse ways. As shown in Table 10. there is a substantial positive association between shifting occupations (Q I .56) and industries (Q I .69) and receiving the first information through some form of public information which made the plant general knowledge in the conunity. There was a very strong positive associa- tion betwoen shifting employers (Q = .89) and public information as the first source. In all cases Q is statistically significant (P f: .025). In addition four of the five persons making labor force shifts heard of the job first in this manner. It is not surprising that over 50 percent of all those shifting would have received their first information in this manner. Headlines in the local paper (Ialaamzoo Gazette. March 18. 196i!) and followup 8. no 30.7... a... .o m .IIII a. a «3. no It a s a... .o m u 2 new eoaom none-A mo 0.03 0« «.mm M... «null «I Mun! . m« 0.03 m m.w« «0. so I... 0!. ma 0.0m 30.1.0 an mom n «.3 3n. so 2 a a a 8:: 8H omnz oz g5” gm of. no as E .62 3 .63 fill all "III ”III. an «.8 n or: H n; .2 can 9 a...“ a «.0 zfiuz .m» zfluz .m 923.35 m... .63 on 98“ ml flu] «I maml «« QR ma “.3 a a.“ «a n.nn 3m 0.5m 0a o.u« z a z a emu: new onnz oz Radiance 38. w. an a sense afidofiuEnH a 3.309 952 aging wok—”venom . e052 93m 354 5" seduce—hog sodvaanousH cash defiance egos boiwd assuming 85.3.: . .nsflm £18 33 5 833.3 convened 3.32— 1.898 a... £53 3.8m tau. .8... S.» a...“ wax: 2.5 E .wflm h... .833. 55 8.3.83 53?? .5... .. 3E 67 stories with pictures and information about the number of new Jobs which were to be created in the community were one way in which the arrival of the plant was made known. Presumably this information was also available on the radio and television. Besides this, some respondents indicated that they regularly passed the construction site and assuned that am; place of that size would require workers. Thus while there was awareness on the part of new persons. especially in the local area of the plant. often there was little specific information about what was later to be done there. For many it was seen as a general. Opportunity to be checked. Another non-specific form of information which was more inpor. tent as a source of first information for nost shifters was that of friends and relatives. While there was a negligible association (0 I .02) between occupation shifts and receiving first information from friends and relatives, there was a moderate positive association between this source and industry shifts (Q a .30) and employer shifts (Q 2 #9). However none of these were significant. Thus we must conclude that the use of friends and relatives was not statistically significant (P>_ .025) as a first source of information for workers asking any type of shift. For those who were not shifting. these general sources of information were mch less often the first source of information about Jobs. Hot surprisingly. those who were not shifting were much more likely to receive their first information from a source within an auto plant. This was especially true for those who were not shifting Qlcyers. Seventy-five percent of the former General Motors employees indicated they learned of their job in this manner. It is interesting to note that employment agencies of all types. publi non- I even three about occu; one I pravf proof of a: abou‘ Tabl. the . thou' of g Ware thei “Dull “brk. 'hicl c389. 68 public and private, were of almst no benefit to either shifters or non-shifters in making them aware of their jobs. This was the case even for those persons who were unemployed or not yet in the labor force before accepting their jobs at Fisher Body. Those persons who are continuing to work under conditions similar to those in a new plant can be expected to have more information about the nature of their new Job than those who are shifting into new occupations and industries. Also. if the sources of information which one uses to learn about a new Job are the general sources which have previously been discussed, again they can be expected to provide less precise information about the new Job. Those who were shifting versus those remaining in their types of employment were asked about the amount of information which they had about their Job before they accepted it. A summary of this is given in Table 11. Without exception those persons who were remaining in either the occupation, industry, or with the same employer had more information about those aspects of their new job as indicated by the five areas sampled as representing a variety of concerns which were assumed to be of some imortance to most workers. Those persons who were not shifting were mrs knowledgeable about exactly what they would be doing. what their pay would be. who they would be working with. what shift they would be on, and how often they could be expected to be laid off. Table 11 also shows another regularity which was found through- out this study. Almst without conception among all. categories of workers there was a rank order with regards to the amount of information which they possessed about different aspects of their Jobs. In all. cases pay was the one item about which workers claimed to have the 69 s ea c m. an on n6: 9 N. S .3 .56 a n. S on 3:. 3 3m 8 man 3 98 z a z a Roz 8» 3% oz and: N in a «do 8 tun .n 5.8 8 “.3 on fine on in on 33 5 Name on are a a z a «man so» onnz on 83019500 Rue. w .0 a 2:8 afieoaHEnH . 5E mango: £3 to 33 93.8 8m 38 35 house no ecu—so: gm be fie: noise: 3: no 23 .33 :8 “2:8 .35 house no site: go 83133 as. no 25 98..»an muses: unseen Boa. hose W. 38.84 sous-hen « e I. ans. no I .35. no n ma. .0 a as. no n a z OOH 8.8a ~23 a n 3.: n 0.3 $05. no 30. no mm min 3 9Q. Rm. no In. so an 9mm «N 0.00 30. a0 3. no we 9% «a 9% can. no .3... no an 9% so Que see. ..o z a z a $1. 3» 8oz oz ESE gm n2. no 25 use: 833.3 .84 one a m wig 70 greatest knowledge before they began work. This was followed by 2) information about the time they would be working or the time shift they would be on. 3) about what they would be doing, 4) about the continuity of the job or how much they would be laid off, and lastly. 5) they had least information about the people they would be working with. There appears to be no definite explanation for this consis- tacy. yet two reasons might be suggested. First. these were the items about which the workers Inst desired to have informtion. Or second. informtion was available in this order. Seeningly regardless of the category of workers or of the means they used to seek their Jobs, these sale itelas appear in this order. This would suggest that the letde of Job search did not change the rank order of the categories in which there was met information. But again. there were certain categories of workers which did have considerably more informtion than other categories, even while the rank order remained consistent for both. Total Job Shifts In addition to the influence of individual shifts upon the job search procedures of workers. it was hypothesized that the greater the author of these individual. shifts, the are couples: will be the total Job search. In order to test this hypothesis the total sample was divided into groups representing those who had made few and those who had nde several Job shifts. This was done by arbitrarily assigning those persons with two or fewer Job shifts to the "few shifts" category. and those persons with three or more shifts were considered 71 to have new shifts. Using this criteria we have 29 persons making few shifts and 66 making nany shifts. It say be noted in Table 12 that those who were making a larger nunber of shifts did indeed use a larger nunber of nethods in searching for their Jobs. The mean number of methods used by those with few shifts was only 1.8 while those shifting more often used a nean of 2.3. While looking for their present Job therefore. these nking more dranatic breaks with their past job activities were nore likely to use. either by design or necessity. a nore varied job search procedure. Table 12 also indicates that of the seven methods considered. those nking many shifts used five of these nethods more often than those nking few shifts. In addition the two methods in which the persons making few shifts are more highly represented. union and conpaw assistance. are the two least often used methods. While there Table 12 - Methods Used in Searching For Their Present Jobby Workers With Few and Many Job Shifts Method of Job Search Number of Job Shifts Few Marv f» N S N hploymt Service 6.9 2 16.7 11 Q a .46 Newspaper 13.8 4 28.8 19 Q a .43 man 1702 5 .- -- Q B ‘ Conpaw Assistance 24.1 7 4.5 3 Q a -.76 1 Friends 20.? 6 43.9 29 Q s .50 # Relatives 17.2 5 36.4 24 Q :- .46 1} Direct Application 75.9 22 97.0 64 Q s .82 It Mean number of methods used 1.8 2.3 ‘ Insufficimt cases 9 (P g, .025) “8| diff: those appli shift °°“P‘ use I the 1 more occu; they dire: diffs 50b 1 sh1r1 th081 lent 30b: their Wig “the F18he: 72 was a moderate positive association between the use of both the employment service and newspapers and having many shifts. these differences were not statistically significant (P z .025) . However those making new shifts did use friends. relatives. and direct application significantly more often. On the other hand. those who were shifting less often were significantly more likely to use both union and compaw assistance. Thus for those methods of job search in which there was a significant difference. those making many shifts in all cases used the informal methods more often while those naki.ng fewer shifts were more likely to use formal methods as was anticipated. While it is to be expected that persons who are entering new occupational areas will have a more coupler job search procedure because they lack the experience which would give them knowledge of the most direct manner of finding a Job. this may not account for all of the difference observed in Table 12. These persons who were making many job shifts also indicated that they considered more jobs besides the one they obtained at Fisher Body. Although only 2 (6.9%) means making few shifts considered taking other jobs. 21 (31.8%) of the workers making many shifts looked for more than the single job at Fisher Body. Because these latter workers were looking at my alternative sources of qsloy. ment. it is possible that they used nore methods because of diversity of jobs they were seeking. The workers making few Job shifts also often first heard of their Jobs in a different manner from those nking many shifts. As indicated in Table 13. those with many shifts had essentially two methods by which they received their first informtion. They heard of Fisher Body as the plant became general knowledge in the community or 141 G. 73 Th e 13 - Methods by Which Workers With Few and Many Job Shifts TFir Heard of Their Jobs Methods of First Number of Job Shifts Hearing About Job Few Mam i N i. N Gmeral Knowledge. Newspaper 31.0 9 53.0 35 Q = «43 i‘ Information from Source in Auto Plant 44.8 13 .- .. Q a: 1.00 i' mmfl. ROhtiVOG 20e7 6 43e9 29 Q . -050 * haploymmt Agency :24 1 J; __2 ‘ Totals 100.0 29 100.0 66 " Insufficient Cases at (P3. .025) friends or relatives informed them. Those with few shifts had a more diversified pattern to their first knowledge ninly because they had the additional advantage of having information from a source in an auto plant. All of these differences are significant. As indicated elsewhere. employment agencies were of little assistance in informing either group of the existence of their new jobs. While these two groups both first heard of their jobs in very different manners and also used different manners of looking for work. there were no important differences in the methods which they considered Inst important in finding their Jobs as shown in Table 14. This would lead us to believe that all persons eventually had to go through some essential steps such as applying at the factory in order to obtain work. but that these steps were reached more directly by those who were remaining mre in their previous areas of employment. 74 75.51. 14 - Methods of Job Search iconsidered Most Important mming Their Jobs by Workers With Few and Marry Job Shifts Method of Job Search Number of Job Shifts Few Many 1. N % N Employment Service 3.5 1 4.5 3 * Newspaper 6.9 2 3.0 2 * Union -- -- -- -- Comparw Assistance .- -- —- -- Friends 10.3 3 13.6 9 Q a: .16 Relatives 10.3 3 16.7 11 Q a .27 Direct Application 69.0 20 62.2 41 Q a -.15 ‘ Insufficient cases Skill Level While it has been seen that shifts are important in many aspects of the Job search. the immediate question is whether it is the shift itself which is most influential. or whether it is some characteristics of the persons making these shifts. The latter notion receives considerable support when we divide the employees according to the skill level of these persons when they first entered Fisher Body. They have been divided according to skilled and non-skilled categories. This division of skilled and now-skilled is based upon distinc- tions made in the local Agreements existing between the United Auto- mobile Workers local union and Fisher Body at the time of the study. The agreuents divide non-managerial workers into three main categories: productive classifications. non-productive classifications. and skilled classifications. The latter two categories are what have been designated here as non-skilled. A are detailed breakdown of the actual first occupations of the sample is shown in Table 15. 75 Tag: 15 - The First Occupation of Workers athisher Body Non-skilled N Press operators 42 Welders. salvage—repair 8 Scrap handlers. roll operators 10 Drivers. loaders 2 Total 67 Skilled Tool and die makers 25 Contour machine operators 2 Total 28 While all the jobs in each category are not exactly equivalent. there appears to be justification for the dicotomous distinction. Few of the Jobs classified as non-skilled did indeed involve more than limited skills. Some of the press operators indicated their Jobs could be learned in half an hour. Some of the other jobs required more detailed instructions. but this in no way involved the extensive training required for the skilled occupations. Also in all cases the pay received for the skilled occupations was greater. with the range for press operators at the time of the study from $3.39 to $3.49 per hour and die makers receiving from $4.45 to $4.65. There is a very strong association between being a non-skilled worker and all types of Job shifts as shown in Table 16. Because of this very high and significant (P 1. .025) correlation between skill level and all types of Job shift. many of the findings for shifters apply to the non-skilled workers and the skilled workers resemble the non-shifters. Besides the Job shifts. the skilled workers were also making 76 55516 - Number and ficent of Workers it Different 8km Levels Who Were Making Different Job Shifts Type of Job Skill Level Shift Non-skilled Skilled 1. Nab? 1» N228 Occupation Yes N=59 82.1 55 14.3 4 Q a .93 I Industry Tea N-69 91.0 61 28.6 8 Q as .92 {1 Malaya You N=79 97.0 65 50.0 14 Q . .94 I Migrant Ies N-48 35.8 24 85.7 24 Q s .83 In labor Force Yes Na 5 5 .- s " Insufficient Cases 8' (P $ 0025) another type of shift as shown in Table 17. Of the skilled workers. only 14.3 percent of them were from Kalamazoo while 64.2 percent of the non-skilled workers were from the local community. The plant attracted both skilled and non-skilled workers from out of town and the sample indicated that they came in exactly equal numbers. But while the local residents shared non—skilled Jobs with the migrants. few of the locals shared in the skilled jobs. Another way of saying this is that of the 47 persons who were originally from Kalamazoo. only 4 or 8.5 percent of them obtained skilled Jobs at Fisher Body. There was thus a very strong positive association (Q I: .83) between being a migrant and also being a Table I? - S—ki—fi 17.731 of the First Fisher Body Job of Migrants And local Residents Skill Level Migrant Shift No - local Yes - Migrant % N f N Non-skilled 91 .5 43 50.0 24 Skilled 8,5 4 2.0 24 Q = .83 # Totals 100.0 47 100.0 48 f (P 1. .025) 77 skilled worker. This relationship will be discussed further in Chapter 5. The methods by which workers with different skills first heard of their Jobs varied considerably as indicated in Table 18. These findings are not surprising in light of the continued association of the skilled workers with particular industries and occupations. Thus while 42.8 percent of the skilled workers mentioned they first heard about their Job while working in another auto plant. this "inside" knowledge was the initial source of information for only a single non- skilled worker. This was not secret information since it was often published eventually in compam newsletters. but it was not likely to be available to the general public. Eyen if the information were made public. those who were already associated with the industry could be assumed to be better able to evaluate the opportunities which it offered since they had conditions about them which could serve as an iamediate reference. For example. if the information includes a note about which products are to be produced. one who is already involved in the production of —Table 18 - Methods by Which Skfiied and Non-skilled Workers first Heard Of Their Jobs Methods of First Skill Level Hearing About Job Non-skilled Skilled 15 N 3% N General Knowledge. 3.8941)” 55-2 37 25.0 7 Q . -.57 i Information from Source in Auto Plant 1.5 1 42.8 12 Q a .96 # Friends. Relatives 40.3 27 28.6 8 Q a: -.26 hploymmt Agency 2.0 __§ 3.6 _1 * Totals 100.0 67 100 .0 28 ; lggffaggrxt cases 78 similar products will probably be more aware of a number of factors which may influence whether he will seek a job in the new plant. He will. for example. be more aware of which jobs are involved. which specific jobs to apply for. which skills will be required. and what beaefits may result from the nave. While the first source of information need not include all the knowledge a person will obtain about his job before he takes it. it might be reasonably assumed that information received in this manner will be more accurate and detailed than the more public sources first used by most of the non-skilled workers. Over half (55.2% of the non-skilled first heard of their job as it became public and general information in their communities. which for most was Kalamasoo where the plant received wide press coverage when it entered the co-unity. Only 25 percent of the skilled workers first heard of their Jobs through these general channels. Thus because the non-skilled workers lacked the information from an automobile plant. over 95 percent of th- first heard of their Jobs through either general sources or through friends and relatives. The actual methods used by workers at different skill levels was expected to be a reflection of the extent to which they were shifting from their former occupations. industries. and uployers. The methods actually used are given in Table 19. Most important is the finding that only one method. the use of relatives. was statistically significant. The unskilled workers in euro cases relied upon the assistance of their relatives in finding work. While the differences were not significant. it can be noted that skilled workers did use company and union assistance while the non-skilled very seldom attempted to use these 79 $.51. 19 - Methods Used by SWn-skilled Workers in Searching For Their Presext Job Method of Skill Level Job Search Non-skilled Skilled % N=67 % N=28 hployment Service 14.9 10 10.7 3 Q a .19 Newspaper 28.4 19 14.3 4 Q a: .41 Union .0- .- 1709 5 * Comany Assistance 3.0 2 28.6 8 * Friends 37e3 25 35s? 10 Q a e03 Relatives 37.3 25 14.3 4 Q a .56 # Direct Application 94.0 63 82.1 23 * Mean number of methods used 2.1 2.2 * Insufficient cases i (P :- 0025) methods. 0n the other hand. methods which are less likely to have close association with particular occupations or industries such as the use of newspapers. and application at the plant gate. were the methods of search which were used more ofta by the non-skilled. While the employ. ment service was used by relatively few persons. surprisingly it was used almet as often by the skilled workers as it was by the non-skilled. but again those differences were not significant. While there were some few differences between the ways the persons at different skill levels first heard of their Jobs and the methods by which they went about searching for work. the patterns which were considered most important in finding work only showed one method which indicated an important difference. The non-skilled relied upon their relatives much more oftez. as shown in Table 20. just as they had used relatives as an important means of searching for their jobs. For approxintely two-thirds of each skill group. direct application at the plant gate was see: as the most important means of finding work. As mhasised previously. the skilled workers could be 8O m - Methods of Job—“Search Co: nsidered MostZImpo' Lrtant in Finlding Their Jobs by Skilled and Non—skilled Workers Method of Skill Level Job Search Non- skilled Skilled % N % N Employment Service 3.0 2 7.1 2 Newspaper 4.5 3 3 . 6 1 Union m .. .... -- Compaq Assistance m .. ... .. Relatives 19.4 13 3 .6 1 Direct Application 62 . Z £2 62 . 2 _1_2 Totals 100 .0 67 100 .0 28 anticipated to be much better informed about their jobs before they took than than the non-skilled workers. There are two major reasons for this difference. First. relatively few of the skilled workers made job shifts. Only 14.3 percent changed occupations. 28.6 percent changed industries. and 50.0 percent changed employers. In contrast for the non-skilled. 82.1 percent changed occupations. 91.0 percent changed industries. and 97.0 percent changed employers. Thus the sldlled workers could be expected to be working under much the same conditions as they were before their Fisher Body job. Therefore even if they did not specifically seek informtion about their new job. most of the: would have some knowledge about what conditions would be like. Second . the manner in which the skilled workers first heard of their jobs was considerably more often through some source in an auto plant. a method which has been argued is likely to supply more complete information. Table 21 indicates that in all the specific areas sampled. the skilled workers indeed had more information about what their job would be like before they took it. Informtion on wages was the only area in which there was not a statistically significant difference between 81 Table 21 - Information About Different Aspects of Their Job Before it Was Accepted by Skill Level Type of Job Skill Level Informtion Non-skilled Skilled f N=67 $ N228 Pay 82.1 55 92.9 26 Q a .48 Shift would be on 67.2 45 89.3 25 Q a: .60 I! How often Laid off 38.8 26 67.9 19 Q m .54 Who Working With 4.5 3 25.0 7 "' * Insufficient cases i (P f; 0025) those at different skill levels although there were too few cases to give a valid test of the differences in knowledge about who they would be worldng with. In summary it can be seen that the skill level of the employees at the time they were first employed at Fisher Body had an important impact upon several areas of job search. The skilled workers were overwhelmingly represented along those who were not shifting occupations. industries. or employers. While exactly half of the migrants were unskilled. 85.7 percent of those persons who received skilled jobs migrated into the commity. As a consequence the skilled workers did not hear of their jobs through the public information channels to the same extent and were able to obtain this information in their previous places of elployment considerably more often. Not surprisingly. the skilled workers who were less often changing jobs were considerably better informed about their new job before they took it. £9. The age of the workers at the time that they first obtained their job at Fisher Body was hypothesised to be influential in the job 82 search processes in three major ways. First. because of their lack of experience in the job market. the younger workers will use different methods of seeldng work than older workers. They were hypothesised to rely sore often upon frieads and relatives for information about jobs and will use the compaw and unions less often because of their lack of msure to these channels. Second. younger workers were assumed to be less certain about the types of work they wanted and would consequently be seeking a number of different jobs besides the one they finally accepted. And third. because of their lack of experience. younger workers were impothesized to have less information about the jobs they were assuming. A distribution of the workers by their age at the time they first got their job at Fisher Body is given in Table 22. In general the age of the workers studied was reasonably young. with 80 percent of the sample under 35 years of age. The youngest workers were 20 years old and the oldest 55 with only 10 persons over 40 years of age and only one single individual over 46 years. For purposes of analysis. the salmle was divided into two groups; the young consisting of those 27 individuals (28.4%) under 25 years and the older workers consisting Table 2 - Age Distribution BTWorkers When They First 5t Their Jobs is: 2 Total .1! 20-24 28.4 28.4 27 25.29 30.5 58.9 29 30.31} 21.1 80.0 20 35-39 9.5 89.5 9 over 40 10.5 100 .0 10 Totals 100.0 95 83 of the remaining 68 (71.6%) persons 25 years and over. As Table 23 indicates. the younger workers as hypothesized had less information about their job before they took it than the older workers. However. the differences in three of the five areas showed a negligible or low association and in the question about who they would be working with. very few of the older workers had information even though they were the only ones who answered affirmatively to having any knowledge. Thus in general. the findings of other studies which show younger workers with considerably less information about jobs is not supported by these findings. The younger workers in this stow were almost as well informed as the older workers. T—I. . 23 -_Information About Different Aspects of 7511.1:- Job B'mefore f—t Was Accepted by Age Specific Types of Age Job Information Igung N=27 $0M N=68 N N Pay 74.1 20 89.7 61 Q a .51 i What Shift On 70.4 19 75.0 51 Q m .12 Exactly What Doing 59.3 16 61.8 42 Q =- .05 How 0ft.) Laid Off 37.0 10 51.5 35 Q m .29 Who Working With «— -- 14.7 10 e " Insufficient Cases 8' (P s 0025) While the young did have considerable information about their Fisher Body job. they were also considering other possible jobs at the same time significantly lore often than the older workers. There was a substantial positive association (Q :- .61) between being young and con- sidering other jobs. as is shown in Table 24. This leads to at least two possible conclusions. First. the young workers were less certain about which job they desired or were capable of obtaining. and thus 84 m - Number andgl'Percent of Workers Considering Other Jobs by Age Did Workers Consider Age Other Jobs Young Old 9 N 1» N Yes 44.4 12 16.2 11 Q a .61 f Totals 100.0 27 100.0 68 ’ (Pf, 0°25) considered more alternatives. And second. the younger workers appeared to be sufficiently concerned about the job they accepted to get a considerable amount of information about the nature of the job before considering it. Therefore. these young workers appeared to be making a are systematic and purposeful search than other studies have pictured tha as making. Just as the younger workers considered more jobs than the older workers. the association between being young and making job shifts is substantial. in all cases. however. only for occupation and industry shifts is Q statistically significant. 0n the other hand. young persons were significantly less likely to enter the community in search of work. As indicated in Table 25. at least 85 percent of the younger workers were shifting occupations. industries. and employers. At the same time. only 33 percent of the younger workers migrated from another co-unity. Considering only the extent of the young workers shifts. this is evidence to suggest that the younger workers were less well identified with an particular type of employment before accepting their jobs at Fisher Body. Home of those younger workers could have had more than a few years of time invested in any occupation. Their 85 fan—3r .. Number and Percent of Workers Making—b—ifi‘erent Job Shifts by Age Type of Age Job Shift Young N227 Old N268 i N as N Occupation ' 85.2 23 52.9 36 Q a .67 # Industry 88.9 24 66.2 45 Q = .61 # H1813“ 33-3 9 57. 39 Q = -.46 # Labor Force 2 3 f (P 5 .025) reasons for leaving their previous jobs also suggest that the younger workers considered themselves to have been in undesirable jobs and desired to leave. Consequently when the opportunity arose at General Motors. they were willing to make the shift. While the number of young workers making all types of shifts is greater. it is somewhat surprising to what extent the older workers were also shifting. In no case were less than half of the older workers ruining in their previous type of employment and almost half were leaving their old oommities. This would indicate a general willing- ness of all these workers to make major changes if the opportunity presents itself. Table 26 looks at the various specific methods used by younger and older workers in looking for work. whether these methods were successful or not in locating am jobs. While there are some differ- ences as twpothesized between the two groups. the most general conclu— sion is that the two age groups had very similar search profiles. Direct application at a plant gate was by far the most pepular method of job search for both age groups. being used by all but one of the younger workers and all but 8 of the older ones. 86 Tafie 26 - Methods Used by Workers in Searching For Their Present Job by Age Method of Age Job Search Young N=27 Old N=68 $ N f N Employment Service 11.1 3 14.7 10 Q = .16 Newspaper 25.9 7 23.5 16 Q a -.06 Union 3.? 1 5.8 4 # Company Assistance 3.? 1 13.2 9 * Friends 44.4- 12 33.8 23 Q a -.22 Relatives 44.4 12 25.0 17 Q n -.41 # Direct Application 96.3 26 88.2 60 * Mean Number of Methods Used 2.3 2.1 * Insufficimt Cases * (Pf; 0025) As hypothesized the younger workers used their friends and relatives more often in looking for work than the older workers. Because of their limited experience in the labor market. it was expected that the young workers would have more limited contacts with potential sources of job information and consequently would rely mre heavily upon persons close to themselves. even if these might not be the most informed sources of information. But even though young workers did contact their friends and relatives more often. the use of relatives was the only method of job search where there was a significant difference between the two groups. The use of the other search methods showed little difference between the age groups. Thus it may be seen that the younger workers used only slightly are methods than the older workers. a mean of 2.3 and 2.1 methods respectively. Also. the younger workers were found to use the same techniques in much the same proportion as those who were older in age. This evidence does not indicate that the older workers 87 had aw special methods of job search which were not equally available to their younger colleagues. Although a particular method of job search is used by a worker this does not necessarily mean that it will be of equal importance in helping him to succeed in finding work. Therefore. if we look at Table 27 for particular methods which were considered to be met ignortant in finding their Jobs it is possible to get some indication if the younger workers were using essmtially the same methods of looking for Jobs. or if they were finding some methods more useful than others. "_‘T'rable 7 .. Methods of Job Search Considered Most Important in 'Frinding Their Job by Age Method Considered Age Most Important Young N=27 alder N=68 N N Deployment Agency -- -- 5.9 4 Newspaper -. -- 5e9 4 Union .- .. -- .. Compam Assistance -. .- .. .. Friend 11 . 1 3 13.2 9 Relative 18.5 5 13.2 9 Direct Application 70.4 19 61.8 42 Totals 100 .0 27 100 .0 68 As Table 27 shows. the older workers did consider two methods of job search. uployment agencies and newspapers. the most important method of locating their Jobs while none of the younger workers considered these useful methods. Despite the older workers' use of these two methods. there were no inortant differences between the age groups. It was Impothesised that as a collectivity. older workers will use more diverse methods of looking for and finding work because of their greater exposure to the job market and because of their greater 88 awareness of alternative channels which might be useful to them. It was also hypothesized that individually older workers would have less complex Job search patterns. again because their greater knowledge would lead them are directly to desired jobs. Tables 26 and 27 show a tendency of older workers to indeed rely less on am one particular method. or on only a few methods. In both tables the younger workers were shown to concentrate their search more in some areas and to also find fewer methods to be the most useful. But while these tendencies are in the expected directions. the differences are not important. Table 26 indicates that the younger workers were the individuals who were more likely to use more methods while looking for their jobs. While these findings were in the twpothesised direction. the correlation betwema young workers and using more methods was small. again the differ-aces were not important. Thus. collectively the older workers did use a more diverse pattern of job search with less reliance on am one method. They also considered a larger number of methods to be the most useful for them. Individually the younger workers did attempt to use me methods. Both of these differences were in the hypothesized direction but neither was significant. Another means of assessing the importance of the influence of triads and relatives for younger workers is to look at the means by which workers in the different age groups first heard of their Jobs. This evidmce is give) in Table 28. The means by which the two groups first heard of their jobs does not show a great deal of variation. General information in the co-unity was give) most often by both groups as their first knowledge and was nationed by almost equal percentages of workers in both groups. 89 m e - Means of first Hearing About Fisher fiody Job by Age Means of First Age Rearing Young 01d 9% N 73 N General Knowledge From a Source in an Auto Plant 3.6 1 17.6 12 Q = .70 1. Relative. Friend 48.2 13 32.4 22 Q = -.32 uploymmt Agency .... .. 4,4 3 a Totals 100.0 27 100.0 68 " Insufficient Cases * (P fi, 0025) Apparently the sise of the plant was such that its presence was felt by man persons in the co-nnity whether they were experienced workers or not. More surprising was the finding that although the young workers used friends and relatives are often as hypothesized. the differences were not statistically significant. The only significant difference in the means by which these workers received their first information is that the older workers were more likely to get their information first from a source in another auto plant. This is not surprising considering the much greater extent to which the older workers were remaining in previous occupations and industries. While the Job search procedure which has been discussed does show large differmces behIeen young and older workers. the reasons these two groups were looking for a new job is significantly different. Table 29 indicates that for approximately half of each group. the pay . at Fisher Body was the mjor attraction which was responsible for the 90 Table 29 - Reasons Given for Leaving Previous Job by Age Reasons for Leaving Age Previous Job Young Old 75 N 7% N Pay at Fisher Body 51.8 14 48.5 33 Q a -.07 Security. Seniority 3.7 1 35.3 24 Q = .87 f Undesirable Conditions on Previous Job 29.6 8 10.3 7 Q = -.57 # Family. Other _L4 __2_ -... :_ a Tom. 99e9 27 100.0 68 9 Not Sufficient Cases , (P s 0025) switch from their old Jobs to the new ones. There was a negligible association (Q II -.07) between age and pay as a reason for changing. What is more important. however. is the association between the desire to achieve security. advancement. and/or seniority. As had been discussed before. these factors are all a product of long experience. There is a very strong association (Q a .86) between age and desire to achieve security. On the other hand the younger workers were more concerned with leaving undesirable conditions on their previous job. There was a substantial negative association between age and undesirable conditions. The older workers in the sample were much less likely to be shifting occupations (Q a .67). industries (Q = .61). and employers (Q I .53). Thus the older workers apparently were more highly satisfied with the types of work and the places they were employed than were the younger workers. and if their new job was a good indication. they are more inclined to continue the same type of work in the future. However. 91 when similar work becomes available in a new plant with the added bonus of being high in seniority. these older workers were willing to become geographically mobile for the added security and benefits. In contrast. the extent to which the younger workers were shifting occupations. industries and employers would indicate they were not well established or satisfied with what they had been doing previously. To some extent the undesirable conditions which they mentioned were sufficiently important to influmce them to seek other work. As has been noted. younger workers were much more inclined to consider other Jobs. Thus in general. the older workers much more often expressed the fact they were satisfied with their old Job. They took the new job in Kalamazoo because it was in many cases very similar work. but had as a bonus. greater security and more desirable working conditions. It is interesting to speculate whether these persons would have left their old jobs if they had had equal security there. The fact that the older workers were not really old leads one to suspect that these workers may have been low in seniority on their old jobs and would not have left if they had been more secure. 0n the other hand. the younger workers did not express this satisfaction with the old job as often and my have been seeking an area of employment which they might wish to consider as a more permanent career. Factors not related to the Job were seldom mentioned by either group. In summary the following factors are associated with the age of the Job seekers. The young workers were more often from the Kalalmsoo area where they had previously been employed more often in different occupations. in different industries. and by different 92 employers than the older workers. They were also seeking jobs at Fisher Body for different reasons. and, they considered more jobs than the older workers. Yet while these factors would suggest the young would have very different search patterns. this was not the case. As hypothesised the young individually used slightly more ways of looking for work. found fewer methods to be successful in actually locating their Fisher Body job. first heard of their jobs in different ways. used their relatives slightly more often. and. had somewhat less information about their Jobs before they were accepted. these differences were not greatly different from the older workers. CHAPTER 5 MIGRATION Job shifts which involve movement from one community to another will be considered separately from other job shifts because of the somewhat unique situation of a new plant and industry moving into a community. Most previous studies which have analyzed the influence of migration have argued that migrants with limited skills are at a disadvantage in finding employment because of their ignorance concerning the social systems of communities. The migrant has thus been seen as lacking knowledge about which jobs are available. and further. how to obtain those which are open (Lurie. 1966). This was hypothesized that migrants to Kalamazoo would have more complex job search patterns and also would have less information about alternative jobs to the one they obtained. Definition of grants. To be considered a local residmt for this study it was necessary for workers to have lived in Kalamazoo continuously for a period of five years prior to the announcement of the Fisher Body plant and until the study was conducted. The rationale for this decision was to include as local persons only those workers who were relatively long term residents of the community. and thus supposedly persons who were well informed about local labor market conditions. As a consequence of this decision migrants then included persons who: 1) had become residents of Kalamazoo within a period 93 94 beginning five years before the plant was announced and lasting until the time the study was conducted. or 2) persons who had been former residents of Kalamazoo but who had been living in another community for a period of over one year after news of the plant became public information. The decision to include as migrants persons who had arrived in Kalamazoo just prior to announcement of the plant was not in fact an important decision. Fully 87.5 percent of the migrants knew of the plant before their arrival indicating that at least this number migrated to the community after the news of the plant was made public. While it is generally assumed that migrants have less informa- tion about the nature of a particular labor market than those from the local area. this should in no way be interpreted as implying that an persons have complete knowledge about job opporttmities. The costs of having relatively complete information about available jobs. the wages paid. working conditions and other relevant information is likely to be prohibitive. even for an active job seeker in any but the least complicated labor market (Reynolds. 1949; Myers. 1954; Parnes. 1960; Stigler. 1971). Because of the costs involved in obtaining information, workers without highly specialized skills have been found to have not only limited knowledge of the labor market. and to the extent to which they are informed. to have greater knowledge of openings closest to home. Thus workers have been found to seek and accept Jobs within their inediate neighborhoods. largely because they learned of Openings through the influence of employed friends and relatives. Even displaced workers were found to stay in the same industry and community (more. 1954:70-2). 95 During the course of this study it became apparent that an important factor which has not bemi considered in most of the previous studies of job search was very important in this particular instance. That factor was that the commity structure will always be altered to some extent by the introduction of a new industry or other source of employment. When this situation arises. as it did in Kalamazoo. then the local resident may be in a disadvantaged position in relation to a person from another area for obtaining work in the new industry. This particular situation will be discussed below. When we observe the relationship between migrant shifts and other job shifts in Table 30. it is possible to get some understanding of the influence which this new industry had upon the Job opportunities for migrants and locals. Since both Gmeral Motors and the automobile industry had not previously been located in Kalamazoo. it is not surprising to find that all of those persons who had formerly worked for this comparv had migrated to the comaunity. and. only one of the Kalauzoo residents had been uployed in the automobile industry prior to getting his Fisher Body Job. What is are important is the fact that sang the local workers only 14.9 percent were doing the same Teas 50 .- Number and Percent of Migrants and fo—c-afi Making Other Job Shifts Type of Local Migrant Job Shift 75 11:47 93 N=48 Occxnaation Yes (59) 85.1 40 39.6 19 Q a .79 1' Industry Yes (69) 97.9 46 47.9 23 Q a .96 # nupioyer Yes (79) 100.0 47 66.7 32 Q s 1.00 1} Labor Force Yes ( 5) 2 3 * * Insufficient cases i (P 5 .025) 96 type of work (had the same occupations) at Fisher Body as they had done previously. In contrast to this. 60.4 percent of the migrants were ruaining in their old occupations. 0f further interest is the very strong association (Q = .83) between being a migrant and the skill level of their first Fisher Body job. As was previously shown in Table 17. only 8.5 percmit of the local workers obtained skilled Jobs compared to 50.0 percent of the migrants. Or to put it another way. of the 28 skilled workers sampled. 24 or 85.7 percent of these were migrants. Thus while the migrants were equally divided between skilled and non- skilled. those who arrived with skills appeared to have little competition from the workers from the local commity. The skilled and non—skilled migrants who came to Kalansoo were differently prepared to enter the new plant. Although both groups were highly aware of the plant before moving. 95.6 percent of those who were skilled had accepted their Job before they arrived versus only 68.2 percmt of the non-skilled. Not surprising then is the fact that before their arrival the skilled workers gathered much more information about the specific Jobs which were available at the Fisher Body plant and they had considerably more information about their specific job before they took it. In one area the skilled workers were less informed and that was with regards to the information which they had about other jobs in the conunity. Here the non-skilled workers did have greater information. This association between skilled workers and greater informtion about the Fisher Body plant is not surprising when it is realised that 14 of the 24 skilled workers were former Fisher Body uployees. Only two of these persons who were not changing employers were non-skilled. 97 The presence of the Fisher Boob plant in Kalamazoo was a very important factor in the reason most migrants chose to settle in Kalamazoo. The migrants were asked what was the most important reason for mving or returning to the commity and 39 or 81.2 percent gave one of a variety of reasons which indicated they moved primarily for a reason associated with the Fisher Body plant. For «ample they said they moved because they had a job with Fisher Body. because they could receive more money with their new job. or because they found a number of specific conditions such as a work shift or seniority associated with the plant desirable. Of the nine who did not indicate that the plant was the major reason for moving. three wanted to be living near their families. and the six others gave a variety of specific. but non-Job related reasons for moving. Since the respondents were aware that the major thrust of the interview was to get information about how they received Jobs at Fisher Body. it is possible that the reasons which they gave as most important for the move may have reflected this general topic. However when one compares the number of persons who did and did not know of other plants in the area. one gets a further impression that the specific Job at Fisher Body was very important for a considerable percentage of these migrants. 0f the 48 persons who migrated or returned to Kalamazoo. #2 or 87. 5 percent indicated they knew of the Fisher Body plant before their move. In contrast to this. only 8 or 16.6 percent said they knew about ary other companies in the conunity. Indeed 37 of the 1+8 migrants had actually accepted their jobs before mving or returning. Since persons who were originally from Islalasoo but who had been in the armed services or out of the town for other reasons and who were returning were considered as migrants. the 98 attractiveness of the Fisher Body plant as the primary goal of mamr is enhanced. Since the migrants to the cosmunity were highly aware of the plant before their arrival. it seems reasonable to assume that they obtained this informtion outside the community and consequently the sources by which the migrants and locals first heard of their jobs should be different as hypothesized. When we look at Table 31 we find that this is indeed the case. Table 31 - Means by Which Migrants and local—ls I'First Heard of Their Present Job Means of First Bearing About Job local Migrant % N % N General Public Information 77.6 36 16.7 8 Q = -.88 # Information in Auto Plant .— -— 27.1 13 Q a 1.00 1} Friends. Relatives 23.1% 11 50.0 24 Q a .53 {I Euployment Agency -- __—; 6.2 _2 * Totals 100 .0 1+7 100 .0 48 " Insufficient Cases For the overwhelming majority of local workers. they first heard of their Job as knowledge of the plant became public in the community. While 23.4 percent of then did hear of their job from friends and relatives. it might be assumed that this was one specific manner in which the information was spread throughout the community. The migrants on the other hand used a wider variety of means to obtain their first information. Exactly half of the migrants relied upon their friends and relatives to supply them with this information. The importance of friends and relatives as a source of 99 information can be seen in Table 32 where migrants have been sub- divided into those who had friends and relatives to serve as a reception base and those who had none in the city before their move. Surprisingly. having friends and relatives in Kalamazoo was not as important as might be expected. In terms of job awareness. those with these persons in Kalamazoo used them approximately three-fifths of the time (59.1%). Those workers without this reception base heard about their Fisher Body Job opening approximately two-fifths of the time (42.3%) from friends and relatives outside of Kalamazoo. Thus while friends and relatives were the first source of information for exactly half of the migrants. many of these friends and relatives were not from the Kalamazoo area. TaBlIe 32 .. Means by Which Migrants With and Without Friends and/or Relatives in Kalamazoo First Heard of Their Present Job Means of First Friends and/or Relatives in Kalamazoo Hearing About Job No Yes % N fa N General Public Informtion 1 1 . 5 3 22. 7 5 Intonation in Auto Plant 42.3 11 9.1 2 Friends. Relatives ’+2.3 11 59.1 13 haployment Agency 12.2 __1_ 2.1 __2 Totals 100 .0 26 100 .0 22 If we make another subdivision of the migrants into those who were former Gmeral hotors employees and those who had worked elsewhere. it becomes apparent that those persons who were working for this 00M before had very different means of first hearing of the job. As shown in Table 33. 75 percent of the former General Motors employees first heard of their jobs in the auto plants where they were working. Friends and relatives were a distant second as a source of information. However 100 Tasle 33 .. Means by Which Migrants Who Were and Were Not Former Fisher Body Employees First Heard of Their Present Job Means of First Migrants Hearing About Job Former Bap. NotfiFormer limp. N N Guneral Public Information 6.2 1 21.9 7 Information in Auto Plant 75.0 12 3.1 1 Friends. Relatives 18.8 3 65.6 21 mployamt Agency ..- _._._ 2.4 _2 Totals 100.0 16 100.0 32 these friends and relatives were the initial source for almost two- thirds of the persons who had not worked for Fisher Body. Thus friends and relatives in this study were a valuable source of information mainly for those who were changing employers. Unlike most instances where friends and relatives within the industry bring their acquaintances to work with them (Wars. 1943; Palmer 1954). friends and relatives were more valuable here for those who were making job shifts. This is probably due largely to the newness of the factory and the fact that the persons who were interviewed were some of the first persons in the plant. Consequently they did not have the advantage of others who had been .ployed there previously. The migrants and non-migrants were asked why they applied to Fisher Body for a job after they heard of the plant. The two groups indicated that the major reasons for desiring to be workers in this plant were significantly different as indicated by Table 31+. Each of the two groups indicated that the undesirable conditions on their previous jobs. including unemployment. were about equal in importance in making than want another job. The important difference lay in the extent 101 Table 34 - Major feason of Migrants and £631. for Appfir'n—g at Fisher Body Major Reason for Am local Migrant at N s N Undesirable conditions on previous job 17.0 8 14.6 7 Q a -.09 Pay at Fisher Body 63.8 30 33.3 16 Q s -.56 f Other desirable conditions 14.9 7 50.0 24 Q a: .70 i All other reasons 4.} __2_ 2.1 _1_ * Totals 100.0 47 100.0 48 * Insufficient cases to which pay or some other conditions to be found at Fisher Body were considered the most important factor in drawing these persons to the plant. For those from the local community the pay which was promised was of greatest importance. As indicated previously General Motors was willing to pay the wages which prevailed in other parts of the auto- mobile industry at that time and these were generally higher than those which existed in the community. A much higher percentage of the migrants found some conditions other than wages as the factor which attracted them to Fisher Body. When we control the migrants for those who were and were not previously working for Fisher Body in Table 35. we can see that pay was of relatively little concern for those who were staying with the same employer; instead. other conditions such as security. benefits. and opportunities were the attraction for almost 70 percent of these persons. Also as would be expected. undesirable conditions on the previous job was not major reason for former General Motors employees changing jobs. 0n the other hand. the migrants who were not formerly employed by this 102 EST. 33 - Major Reason of Migrants E Were and Were Not Former Fisher Bow Ehnployees for Applying at Fisher Body Major Reason for Migrants Applying Former mp. Not%Fcrmer flap. 1» N N Undesirable Conditions on previous job 6.2 1 18.8 6 Pay at Fisher Body 25.0 4 37.5 12 Other desirable conditions 68.8 11 40.6 13 All other reasons .... __.= 2.1 _1 Totals 100.0 16 100.0 32 company applied much more often because they found their previous jobs undesirable and because they were attracted by the pay. Other benefits were not as much an attraction as for the former Fisher Body uployees. but considerably more so than for the persons who did not leave the community. Because of their differant associations with the labor market. migrants and locals were mpothesised to have different methods of looking for their jobs. As shown in Table 36. this was the case. While there was only a low positive association between being a migrant and using the uployment service. friends and relatives. these differences are in the twpothesised direction. More important was the association between migrants and the use of company assistance and the union. Those from the local area had no previous contact with General Motors and apparently they received almost no help from other companies and none from unions. Most interesting is the fact that only one of the local persons did not apply directly to the company while eight of the migrants did not. Apparently those persons from out of town obtained 103 Tahle 3 - Methods jfiLsed by Migrants and We Searching for Their Present Job Method of Job Search local Migrant % N-47 i 11:48 bloymmnt 10.7 5 16.7 8 Q m .25 imp“. 29e8 14 18e8 9 Q 8 -e30 Union ” -- 10a“ 5 Q 8 1.00 # Company Assistance 4.3 2 16.6 8 Q m .64 1: Friends 29.8 14 43.8 21 Q a: .29 Relatives 25.5 12 35.4 17 Q s .23 Direct Application 97.9 46 83.3 40 Q I -.80 I Mean number of methods used 2.0 2.2 the assistance of friends or relatives to turn in the application forms or else these were sent through conpamr channels. When we compare the methods used by those migrants who were and were not former Fisher Body employees while looking for their jobs. we find that many of the differences observed between the locals and migrants are really due more to the past employment of these persons than to migration. The migrants who were coming from other employers had job search patterns which more resembled the locals than the migrants who fornlly were with Fisher Body. These similarities and differences are shown in Tables 36 and 37. The comparison between the migrants who were and were not Fisher Body Duployees and those who had not migrated shows several of the patterns which have been found previously. The former employees were the only ones to make extensive use of union and conpany assistance in locating their jobs. They were also much less likely to use news- papers. an employment service. friends and relatives than were the 104 TaEIs 37 - Methods 033 by Migrants Who Were and Were Not Former Fisher Body hployees While Searching For Their Present Job Method of Migrants Job Search Former Esp. Not Former Elup. $ N=16 f N232 kploymmnt Service -- .- 25.0 8 Newspaper 6.2 1 25.0 8 Union 31.2 5 an -- Company Assistance 43.8 7 3.1 1 Friends 12.5 2 59.4 19 Relatives 18.7 3 43.8 14 Direct Application 81.2 13 84.4 27 migrants who had been employed elsewhere or those from the local conunity. What we appear to have is another instance of persons who were more assimilated into the social systmn of the plant and conse- quantly found different methods of approach more beneficial. While there are some differences in the above methods which were used by migrants and locals in looking for their jobs. these differences are not as great as those expressed when the workers were asked to name the particular method which was most important in helping them find their job. As shown in Table 38. major differances between migrants and non-migrants occurred with three of the job search methods: the use of friends. relatives. and direct application at the gate. There was a very strong positive association (Q a .71) between being a migrant and considering friends the most important means of finding their job at Fisher Body. There was also a substantial positive association (Q I .63) between being a migrant and finding relatives helpful. Thus almost 43 percent of those persons who moved into the community found using these personal contacts the most important method of job search. It is not known exactly in what manner these friends and relatives were of assistance but some of the migrants did indicate 105 Table 38 - Method of 305 Search Considered the Most—Important Way of Finding Their Job by Migrants and locals Method of Job Search local Migrant % N f» N ”unto SOMOO "- 0- 8e3 4 Q 3 . Newspaper 6.4 3 2.1 1 Q a * Union --- -- um -- -- Ccmpam Assistance -- -- -- -- --- mmd. 4.3 2 20e8 10 Q 3 e71 * Direct Application 82.0 _22 45,8 __gg Q e ..70 # Totals 100.0 47 99.9 48 Mean number of mm, “a“ 2.0 2.2 " Insufficient cases 0 (P 5 .025) that friends picked up job application blanks and delivered than to the plant so a personal application at the plant gate was not necessary. It is also possible that many of the migrants who had relatives and friends living in the con—unity may have obtained information from these persons about the existence of jobs and may have used these persons to assist thu in applying for jobs. It appears likely that friends and relatives were used extensively to submit applications since only 45.8 percent of the migrants indicated this was the method that they personally found to be most helpful. There was a very strong negative association between being a migrant and finding direct application the most helpful method attempted. These findings appear to support earlier findings that those persons who are geographically closest to a labor market will have knowledge of the mast direct methods of locating and applying for the jobs available. Evan before the Fisher Body plant was constructed and 106 before it began production. the compatw had established an employment office in downtown Kalanscc. The location of this particular office was apparently reasonably well publicised so that after the local workers heard of the Job and decided to apply. going directly to the office and subnitting an application was a reasonably simple method . For those who lived at a distance. the problen of applying in Kala-awe was apparently somewhat more difficult so that friends and relatives were asked to intervene in the process. This becoaes even mre apparent if we again divide the migrants into those who did and did not work for Fisher Body before coaing to Kala-am. As indicated in Table 39. the fcraer General Motors employ- ees also overwhelmingly applied directly at the gate. Only three of the sixteen considered friends or relatives the most important way of finding their Job. These persons who were shifting locations and qlnyers used a nuch are diversified approach to locating work. Only 28.1 percent of those workers considered direct application must inortant. The sane percentage used friends as well as relatives. This was also the only group to find the cplnyment service of an Table 55 - Method of 305 5&3 Eonsidered the Heft Tiportant Way of Finding Their Job by Migrants Who Here and Here Not Fcraer Fisher Body Diployees Method of Migrants Job Search Former nap. NotfiForaer hp. f I N hployaent Service .— - 12.5 4 lewspaper m .. 3.2 1 Union _— .. ... .. Colpsm Assistance _— .. ... .. Friends 6.2 1 28.1 9 Relatives 12.5 2 28.1 9 Direct Application 8132 _12 28,1 __2 Totals 100.0 16 100.0 32 “$1 dean. . w! . h I. a II IIILH... J, .. 107 important means of locating their Job. Thus it would appear that the former Genu‘al Motors employees knew of the met direct method of securing jobs with their company and consequently did not need to rely on the diverse methods used by those both within the co-mnity and those from other localities who were shifting employers. However despite the less direct methods of applying used by the migrants. they were significantly better informed about the nature of their new Job before it was accepted as shown in Table ‘00. This finding is contrary to mst findings and yet is not surprising due to the closer association of the migrants with the industry and uployer before accepting their new Job. But what is are interesting is that even when we control for persons who previously worked in the industry. the migrants are still slightly better informed in all cases than are the persons in the local conunity. What we have here is a situation which is very different from the situation which is nornlly assumed. When a co-unity does obtain a new industry which is different from those it has had before. the local persons may not be the best but rather the least informed. From the preceding discussion one major conclusion about the Mt to flesh Migrants Wernation About Different Aspects of Their Job Before it Was Accepted Type of Job Infomtion local Migrant t N $ 8 Shift Would Be On 63.8 30 83.3 #0 Q I .“8 f hactly What Doing 53.1 25 68.8 33 Q a .32 How Often Laid Off 36.2 17 58.3 28 Q I .uz 1' Who Working With 2.1 1 18.8 9 Q a .83 f 1' (P5 .025) 108 influence of migration upon economic absorption emerges. A factor which had considerable impact upon the findings of this study. and which made the findings somewhat different from those in other studies, is that this was a new plant which was a specific attraction for my persons from outside the commnity. These were often persons who were continuing in their same occupations. especially skilled jobs. Thus these persons from a greater geographical distance were actually better informed about the nature of the plant than were the local workers. When referring only to the limited economic sector of the commity represented by this plant, the migrants were often assimilated into more desirable positions than were local workers because of their previous participation in such a social system. While the advantage which migrants had when the study was conducted m be expected to disappear over time. this may be a continuing factor in the extent to which local persons may expect to participate in new industries as the trend towards continuing spatial dispersion of industries continues. CHAPTm6 SW AND mNCLUSIONS The major purpose of this dissertation has been to examine fhctors associated with the ways automobile workers locate and secure jobs in a new factory. This is part of a more general concern with the initial stages through which imflgrants are assimilated into new communities. It is recognised that the total assimilation process is very complex and involves integration and adjustment of persons to new social. cultural and personality systus. yet as has been argued. ecommic absorption—integration into the economic system of the co-unityuis a very important if not necessary first step and one which may be essential for all other types of assimilation (Gordon, 1964) . It has thus been the aim of the study to look at some of the factors which facilitate this assimilation process. especially economic absorption. To do this the focus has been upon a large plant associated with a very well known compaxv: it is a plant which hires a variety of workers with different skills. and it is a plant which has followed recent trends by locating outside the largest metropolitan areas. While most persons in the co-unity may not be employed with such a large concern, this may be the type of plant which will not only attract persons to the col-Imity, but will also be the type of plant to which workers may apply first because it is large and observable. Thus the 109 110 conclusions would appear to be typical of the job situation of many workers. both migrants and those from the local community. A number of factors have been assumed to be important in this assimilation process. It has been argued that those persons who have previously been part of social systems similar to the ones they are entering will find the adjust-ant to the new system less difficult. Therefore it was twpothesised that those persons who were continuing to do the same types of work as they had done previously would have less complex job search patterns. Also those persons who are entering an area where they have kin or frimdship ties will find assimilation easier. It was argued that those persons who are younger will have greater problems in adjusting because their lack of enerisnce will have prevented them from acquiring the necessary knowledge. Lastly. those persons who are already a part of the community. it was suggested. would find securing work in the new factory a simpler process because of their greater knowledge of the local social systn and consequently the means of how to best utilise it. Because of these general concerns. the following specific hypotheses were presmted and tested. 1. The greater the number of job shifts from occupations. industries or .ployers. the more complex will be the job searching procedure. II. Because friends and relatives are an important source of information about jobs. the greater the number of job shifts. the more complex will be the job searching procedure with greater aphasis upon fornl methods of job search. III. Because migrants have less information in new labor markets. they can be expected to have more complex job searches than locals. IV. What migrants to a commity have friends and relatives living in that col-unity. these persons will become an important source of information and assistance in the job search. 111 V. Because younger workers have had less experience in searching for jobs. they will have less complete knowledge of the most direct channels to jobs and thus will have more complex job search patterns and will rely more on friends and relatives. Following will be a discussion of the extent to which these hypotheses have been verified. I. Relationship between Job Shifts and Job Search An interesting area of study. which appears to have received less attention than it might deserve. is what effect institutional rules have upon the related problus of how persons find jobs and the extent to which these rules influence decisions to change occupations. There appears to be more awarmess of the influence various union. professional or organisational rules have upon the ability of different persons to enter into occupations of their choosing. This becomes most appaer when entrance requiraents appear to unjustly restrict the ability of certain groups to enter a profession. While restrictions upon entrance into a profession are very important. social mobility patterns for individuals may be equally influenced by the rules which govern acuity of aploymsnt. patterns of advancusnt and other opportunities associated with particular jobs. In this study it was found for example that a means of rapid advance- ment or means of gaining the prerogatives associated with seniority was to be hired first in a new plant. Thus the decision to change jobs and co-unities appeared to depmd upon cne's ability to secure the job as soon after the plant opened as possible. otherwise the advantages which might result from the shift would not be available. If one could not be hired early. some workers indicated they would prefer the security of their old jobs. 112 While these rules were seen as one motivation for persons. especially those who were previously in the industry. to make one type of job shift. these shifts were also hypothesised to have a further impact on the integration of persons into the calamity. It was typothesised that because persons who are making more job shifts will have less knowledge of the most direct means of locating and obtaining a particular job. they will have more coupler patterns of job search. The data do support this hypothesis. Persons defined as having many job shifts were indeed found to use more methods of looking for their jobs: they used a mean of 2.3 versus 1.8 methods for those having few shifts. Also those who were shifting most often used five of the seven methods of job search more frequently. the differences being statistip cally significant (P5 .025) in three cases. Also of importance is the finding that the methods which were used mst often by those with few shifts were company and union assistance. Thus we have those persons who are uking the fewest changes in their occupations obtaining assistance seemingly from sources within the system of which they have beenapartandinwhichtheyareremaining. Economic absorption then appears to be a less complex process for those persons who are remaining most within a familiar system of activities. In nary ways those who are making few shifts are already partly integrated into the new system. This could prove to be a distinct advantage where there is greater competition for jobs than was found in the plant studied . II. Relationship between Job Shifts and Formal Methods of Job Search It was hypothesised that those workers who were making more job shifts would use more formal methods of job search. Formal methods were “Isl-'EH-Mfln .. lb V 1 an". on r. T I . Va 113 defined as those methods which require the use of intermediaries whose specific objective is to assist workers in locating jobs. kamples of formal methods include the use of employment services. advertisements in some form of mass media such as newspapers. and company and union placement services. By implication then it was assumed that persons with few job shifts would use more informal ways of looking for work. especially the use of their friends and relatives. Also these persons who were not shifting would use direct application to the place of qloyment since this is the other most important form of informl job search. This lupothesis was not supported by the study. To the contrary the statistically significant results were opposite to those which were hypothesised. The workers who were shifting did use two formal methods of job search more often as predicted. While they did seek work through the uploymsnt service and newspapers are frequently. these differences were not statistically significant (P z .025) . The persons raking few shifts used the formal methods of seeking help from the com and union more often. contrary to what was expected. while those making m shifts used the informal methods of frimrds and relatives significantly more often. While the mpothesis must be rejected. a note of caution about the terms formal and informal should be introduced. While these terms receive a great deal of usage in labor market studies. in this study placirg job search methods into these categories was not beneficial. and in any cases misleading. This occurs for a number of reasons. First. frequently mre than one method of job search is used when the worker is seeking a job. It is certainly possible for only one method 114 of search to be used. however in this study it was more cor-en for persons to use a greater variety of methods. Thus as an example a worker could first learn of his job through a formal method such as a newspaper but also use informal methods such as obtaining informtion about the job from friends and relatives. and then to further use another informal method such as direct application to obtain the job. A second type of limitation on the use of formal and infernal occurs when a method which is defined as forml. such as the use of a union. is really not a formal procedure. In some industries application throughaunionmaybeatrulyfcrulmethod ofjob search. butinthe present case. because of the official limited ability of the union to control jobs. the use of this method may in fact be a rather informal arranguent. Here persons may be attempting to obtain union assistance because they feel certain persons in the mien have some influence. even if this my not be officially sanctioned. Indeed. such union assistance may have to take place in highly informal channels. And third. formal and infernal lose some meaning when alamst everyone must go through a particular step. such as application at the gate. in their job seeking process. For most this was considered the most important step they ads in the entire process. What is not indicated by the terms is to what extent the motivation to apply came from formal or informal channels. Thus two persons who consider direct application their most important step my have on the one hand arrived very infer-11y to this point by personal motivation. or. on the other hand. aworkermayhavebeenm'gedandinformedtoapplybyavery formal source such as an employment service. This brings us to a problem associated with most job search m . he... will. sci. all 11;! . _ 115 studies. including this one. This problma is that the categories which have been used are so bread that it is difficult to assess the social meaning of the method which is being described. Other than in case studies. this particular knowledge is missing from the reports. III. Relationship between Ligation and Job Search chlerxity It was found that migrants to the commity appeared to be less informed about the nature of the Job market and as a consequence had more coupler job search patterns. They used slightly more methods on the average and more often used five of the seven methods of looking for jobs. While these differences do exist. they are relatively small. Of greater interest are the distinctions between the migrants themselves. When we consider those migrants who were and were not fonally working for General Motors. we find very important differences. These persons who were femer employees had a job search pattern which highly resembled that of the local persons who in most cases were aware of the plant and applied directly without the use of other sources of information. These persons from outside the cosmmnity who had pre- viously been employed by other companies had a much more diverse search pattern and found a much wider variety of methods to be helpful in locating their jobs. What we have is an example of some migrants finding economic absorption very easy because of their previous exposure to similar jobs and industries. These persons were already aware of how to work within such systems before arriving. For those without such experience. the absorption process was more coupler. While this was fcmd. it should be pointed out that this conunity represented a somewhat unusual situation to test this 116 hypothesis and the findings may actually under represent the findings which might be fomd elsewhere. First. this was a new plant and consequently the persons from the local calamity were entering a new industry and obtaining different Jobs in most cases. However when we control for those persons who were not changing employers. we find the local persons did have a greater awareness of the plant than migrants. Second. the plant was so well publicised that the local persons had little difficulty of gaining information about its mistence. even if they often were ignorant about what specifically was happening there. Thus they often did not know what they would be doing mtil after they were hired. Had this plant been smaller and less well known. it can be predicted that the information chains would have been very different. The amount of general public information in the commnity almost certainly would have been less utensive. There is Justification in looking at this type of situation. however because it is often these very large concerns which are the first place of Job contact for the migrant coming into a coumity. This is especially true if he lacks contacts to take him to other places. Very often these persons will begin a search which concentrates on the very large companies only because they are the ones of which they are aware. This is one reason win the employment agencies were of such little importance for supplying information. Places of this sise often have very little to gain by a close association with either state or private employment agencies. First the firm is so large and well known that it normally does not need the publication which these agencies could supply. None of the local persons in this study heard of their 117 job from the employment service. Normally sufficient workers will present themselves to the gate so that the employment agency is mnecessary. Second. if the col-paw can attract sufficient workers without going through an uployment agency. it will reduce an obligations which this arrangmmt might impose. IV. Relationship between Ham Friends and Relatives in a Community and 02-1! Then as a Source of Information and Assistance This study found friends and relatives were as lupothesized an important source of intonation and assistance in getting the job in Kalamasco. It was found however that the friends and relatives which were the source of Fisher Body plant information need not live in the community to which the workers were migrating. Thus it was fomd that in their Job search these migrants who did not have binds in Kalamazoo still used friends 25 percent of the time: 18 percent of those migrants without relatives in Kalamasoo still used them. Not surprising however is the finding that those persons who did have friends and relatives in the community before moving used thm more often in their job search. Thus 53 percent of these workers used friends and 43 percent used relatives in looking for their job. The local persons used friends in 29 percmt of the cases and they used relatives 25 percent of the time. This would appear to indicate that friends and relatives are somewhat of a substitute for personally searching for a Job. Because the rates of using these persons was roughly the same for the workers in the local co-unity and migrants without frimds and relatives in Kalamazoo . it would appear that their use increases considerably when the worker is not i-ediately present. The data indicates that these persons serve as an imertant source of first information about the existence of Jobs. 118 Possibly because of the fact that this was a new plant. it was not possible to observe chain migration leading to chain occupations. The workers which were observed were in almost all cases the first persons to be employed in the plant and consequently there was not sufficient time for thm to inform others we might have become uployed and have entered the study. Despite this however. there is evidence that such chains were emerging. Exactly two-thirds of the migrants indicated they had informed persons outside the community about the job situation in Kalamazoo. mevmx of these 32 persons who were informed reportedly did come to the community to get jobs. The local persons indicated that 34 percent of them had given job information to persons outside and 6 of the 16 informed persons came for jobs. What we have then is the beginnings of a chain migration process which was not fully developed at the time of the study because of the limited amount of time the plant had been in operation. V. Relationship between Age and Cogent: of Job Search The hypothesised relationship between age and the complexity of Job search was not strongly supported by this study. The only significant difference between the methods used in the Job search between the yomg and old was that the younger workers used their relatives more often. These yomger workers also appeared to rely slightly more often upon informal methods of job search. but again the differences are not as large as expected. The differences which were observed appear to be due more to the past employment experiences of the workers than to their age. Because the older workers were less 119 often making Job shifts. they more often had the opportunities which were associated with remaining in the same types of work. Further anlications In addition to the conclusions which can be drawn from the hypotheses which have just bem discussed. the study has also revealed some additional implications for both conunities and for individuals involved in the job search process. It should be emphasised that these conclusions are only tentative and should be interpreted as such. While there is increasing opposition to the introduction of industry into some commities. there remains an often «pressed opinion that industrial development is a path to economic well being for conunities. It is often seemed persons in the co-unity will find in the new industry epportmities which would not be available otherwise. The findings of this stucw would refute this general notion to some «tent. First. the sample in the study would indicate that may of the persons who are getting Jobs in the plant are not from the local cos-unity but rather persons who have migrated with the «press purpose of accepting Jobs in the new industry. Thus in this study the workers were evenly split between the locals and others. 0f further importance is the finding that the types of Jobs which the locals and migrants received were very different. This study would indicate that while the new industry my indeed supply some new Jobs for the residmts of the commity. these may be the low skill Jobs with may of the disadvantages which may accompam these positions. Again generalising from the findings of this study. Just because 120 the local persons may initially receive a disproportionate number of the non-skilled jobs. this does not necessarily indicate that they will always continue in these positions. The situation in Kalamazoo would indicate that in man instances that persons who initially received non-skilled Jobs had an cpportmity to move into training programs which were initiated after a sufficient number of skilled workers could not be recruited to meet the company's needs. While no attmpt was made in this study to determine the effect of this plant upon the co-mity. it is possible to suggest some possible consequences which might arise hem plants of this sort moving into other comunities. First. considering the high percentage of migrants found in this sample. there is the potential in this type of situation for considerable conflict between those in the local community who feel that others are assuming jobs they should have and the migrants who are seeking better epportmities. This type of situation was probably reduced consid «ably in Kalamasoo because of the very low rates of memployment. Thus here there were Jobs for almst everyone who desired to work. unlike the situation which may arise when indus- tries mve into areas where their presence is desired to give Jobs to locals who want but are mable to find them. Secondly. a similar type of conflict situation my potentially arise betwem the locals and migrants because of the very high percentage of the skilled jobs going to the migrants. is mentioned before. the training program initiated by the compaxw in order to supply itself with the necessary skilled labor may have givm locals an epportmity to advance which might not be available where a more abmdant supply of skilled labor was available. possibly in the form of migrants. 121 A third effect the new plant had upon the community was the increase in wages for most industrial workers in the co-unity as a result of one major employer introducing higher scales than had previously prevailed. As indicated previously. this resulted in nary workers moving between employers in search of better conditions. It can be speculated that the introduction of a large industry with higher wage scales may be the source of considerable discontent if the co-unity has previously hem able to pq less because of lack of cometiticn. One mforeseen result may be the closing of marginal industries or the automation of others. especially those whose previous methods of operation or even «istmoe have depended upon low wages paid to employees. This may be combined with considerably greater worker turnover than existed prior to the introduction of the new industry. Another conclusion which comes mm this study is that considering the amomt of information which these workers possessed before they took their Job and the extant to which they considered alternative jobs. these persons were not especially well informed either of their new Job or alternatives which my have existed. It has hem fomd that workers do not develop the knowledge they have through systuatic Job search activities (Parnes. 1960). In man ways this is not surprising considering the millions of potential Jobs which are available for makilled and semi—skilled workers. To have even limited information on a single aspect of all these Jobs. such as what they would pay. would be a monumental task. Further. should this information somehow be accumulated. there is almost no possibility that it could be kept updated. Because of these costs. especially in 122 time. the worker searches for a period of time and stops when the costs become prohibitive. This stub has gives a few limited insights into win this search is cut short. It was mentioned by several workers that they had good jobs before the Fisher Bow Job beams available. and consequently they were not really looking for a job when they heard of their present position. Because of this situation. these persons were willing to submit an application to a place which had the potential of providing a better set of conditions. but if they did not get the job for some reason. my of th- indicated they would have been reasonably satisfied with the Jobs they already had. In other words. a new Job was not worth the effort of an extensive search to them. It can be assumed that m of these workers would have considered spmding time getting information on may Jobs. especially if these were only marginally better than what they had. as a waste of time. Only five of these workers were without work when they took their new Job so most were not being forced to seek new mployment. The mpleyment situation in the community at the time the stub was conducted my have also contributed to this lack of concern with informtion. Because there was relatively full «ployment at the time. this meant that there was a demand for more workers than were currently available in some instances. Thus the worker had an oppor. tmity to take a Job and learn tlnnugh possibly the most revealing method whether he fomd it desirable or not. If he did not find conditions satisfactory. there was an opportmity to accept other positions. It must be concluded from the «tent to which these workers 123 were changing not only employers. industries and occupations. but geographical locations as well. that these persons were indeed very willing to make mjor changes in their employment careers. When we combine this with the finding that mny of them had relatively little precise informtion about the nature of their new Jobs. we obtain a picture of mny workers who were willing to enter a new employment situation which offered some promise. even if somewhat vague. of better epportmities. By looking at these persons who were successful in obtaining employment. this study has givm us some notion of the factors which influence the manner by which industrial workers are initially inte- grated into new social systems. These persons who generally found this economic absorption least complex. and who generally benefited most in terms of the positions received. were these who had formally been most closely associated with similar work situations in other locations. While initial integration into this factory was met direct for these workers with previous experiences outside the oommnity with work settings similar to the one they were entering. this situation can be expected to change somewhat after the plant has been in operation for a longer period of time. As indicated. there was some evidence that even at this early stage. networks were beginning to develop by which persons in the plant were informing others in other commmities about epportmities which were available. It can be «posted that later arrivals will find intepation into these networks a valuable aid for information and assistance. Those without these ties with the commity and plant will probably find integration more difficult than 124 was experienced here. Thus relatively low skilled individuals may find integration into this community more difficult in the future unless they have the advantage of networks of assistance. This suggests that the best time for persons without previous association with an industry to become a participant is when a plant is new. and before these networks deve10p. But even at this stage these persons are at a disadvantage for economic absorption because the new plant provides considerable advantage for the more experienced workers and they have greater knowledge of how best to utilise the new social system. APPENDIX APPE‘IDII Questionnaire Hello. by name is . I'm working on a study being conducted at mm... State flavorsity in East Lansing. We are talking to people who have Jobs in the automobile industry. We want to answer some important questions about the way the people in this industry find out about new Jobs and how they go about getting them. TomakecertainIamspeakingtethepersenIamsupposedtc. Iwould like to ask a few questions about where you work and the type of work that you do. 1. Where are you currently «pleyedt a. Fisher Body (Skip to question 2.) b. Other Have you evm- been an employee at Fisher Bock here in Kalamaseet a. No (Interviewer: Stop the interview.) b. Yes a. When did you quit working there? b. Deyouplantoreturntothat Job? No Yes (Interviewer: These persons may be interviewed if they worked at Fisher Body for over 6 months. The following questions will be concerned with how they first got their Job at run» Body.) 2. What specifically do you do there? 3. What other types of Jobs have you had at this plant? b. Before we consider how you first got your Job at Fisher Beck. I would like to ask you a few things about yourself. These are things like your past Jobs and education—the types of things which are oftm important in the types of Jobs people look for and are able to get. 125 I26 nouma mom" $3 mmww «mum New". mmww nonpouo 3dvuaouum .aaa .nnuna nauflnmuh fipmfimuGH SOflP $80 0 xoo3 \nun saga: on on on adv Ao0d>uon hhdpdada onoaoch azmzHQHmEWZD mo azmzHQHAZm mzHa Adah 127 859 o . canons e958 Hoonoa eoenm .39 no 8: 353m no no soon—hon Hee'e «o aim-a 32.: e8 on... 8.63 25 .8 Ian oi a 35595 no... :32... .33 82mm 128 J m no... mpg sapwoo £8; _‘ow how E 3% as A: 3003 no“ 993 mm .895 on. £35 eggs an. 9mg is. 1.9 . IO.: 129 4. What was your father's principle occupation when you were growing up? FROM MIGRATION HISTORY : (Interviewer: If respondent has been a permanent resident (no absences of over 1 year) of Kalamazoo since age 16 or since before 1960. skip to question 15.) (Interviewer: If respondent became a resident of Kalamazoo after 1960, or was a former resident. and has returned to Kalamazoo since 1960. after an absence of over 1 year. continue with question 5.) 5. (Interviewer: Questions 5 thru 14 are to be answered only by persons wt)» have moved (returned) to Kalamazoo within the past 10 years. When you moved (returned) to Kalanzoo. did you have an relatives already living here? a. No (Skip to question 6.) b. Yes What was their relationship to you? Relationshi Number Father Mother Brother Sister Inlaws 6. Did you have an friends living in Kalamazoo when you moved (returned) here! a. no (Skip to question 7.) b. Yes About how mam friends did you already have living in Kalamazoo when you cane? Bow new of these were close enough to you so that you could have gone to then to get help in finding a job if you had needa as help? 7. 9. By the way. when you loved (returned) to Kalamazoo, who else moved with you at the same time? b. Relationship: No one (Wife, brother. friend. etc.) Have you told anyone outside the Kalamazoo area about the Job situation in Kalamazoo? b. No (Skip to question 9.) Yes Did any of these persons cone to live in Kalamazoo to get Jobs? ‘ e NO b. Yes Who were they? Relationship (Skip to question 9.) Number Number Helped Get Job lumber With Jobs it Fisher Bod L Did aw persons follow you here to Kalanzoo for any reason other than to get a Job? b. No (Skip to question 10.) Yes Who were they? Relationship E Em did thgz cone? 10. 11. 12. 131 What was the nost important reason for your moving (returning) to Kalamazoo? a. Heard there were jobs available b. Had a job lined up c. To be with family d. Other Were there aw other reasons for moving (returning) here? Peeple have different kinds of information about jobs before they mve to an area. Sore people have a great deal of informtion. and some people don't have any information about Jobs. I would like to mention a few kinds of informtion which some people have. and see if you had an of this informtion aEut your gesent Job at Fisher Body before you cans to W. Before you cane (returned) to Kalamazoo. did you know about: .12 312 (Skip a. the Fisher Body Plant __ _ to #13) b. particular Job openings at Fisher Body __ __ o. the pay at Fisher Body __ __ d. who Fisher Body would hire and who they wouldn't hire __ __ e. the skills they required _ _ f. how long the job would last __ __ 3. how many lay offs you could expect _ __ h. the shifts you would work __ __ i. What other kinds of information did you have about Fisher Body before you loved (returned) to Kalalazoo? Did you a accept your Job at Fisher Body before you mved (returned to Kalalazoo? No Yes 132 13. Let us now consider jobs other than those at Fisher Body which you my have had informtion about p_____efcre moving (returning) to Kalamzoo. Before you came (returned) to Kalanzoc. did you know about: H u .0... 919. (Skip a. companies other than Fisher Body __ to #17) b. other companies with job openings c. the pay in these companies d. their euployment practices e. the skills they required f. how long the Jobs would last 3. how many lay offs you could expect h. What other kinds of information did you have about jobs before moving to Kala-zoo? 1“. How did you get this information about places other than Fisher Body before you cans to Kalamazoo? 133 (Interviewer: Questions 15.16 are to be asked 0 of those persons who have lived pernanmtly in Kala-sacs since age 6. or since 1960. for others. skip to question 17.) 15. Do you have any relatives living in Kalanazoo? b. No (Skip to question 16.) Yes What is their relationship to you? Relationshi Father Mother Brother Sister Inlaws 3' 16. Have you told mono outside the Kalanzoo area about the Job situation in Kalamazoo? b. No (Skip to question 17.) Yes Did am of these persons cone to live in Kalasnsoo? a. No (Skip to question 17.) be YO! Who were they? ' Number Number Helped With Jobs it Get Job Fisher B93; 5 Rpl_a_tionship 13“ I would like to go into detail about the manner in which you obtained your present job at Fisher Body here in Kalamazoo. 17. How did you first hear about your present Job? a. newspaper ad b. radio c. ‘1‘.V. d. friend told about e. relative told about f. union sources 3. went to plant seeking work h. company recruiter 1. company newsletter 3. while working at another GM plant ke 0th” 18. How long was it fro: the time you first heard about this Job before you actually applied for it? 19. What was the first thing you heard about your job? 20. What convinced you that you wanted to apply for a Job at Fisher Body? 21. Were you actually looking for a job when you first heard about the one you have now? a. No b. Yes 135 22. Let ale nation a few things and I would like for you to tell no if you had informtion about than before you actually took the Job. Information Did u,knowu Much Some None Source a. exactly what you would be doing? b. exactly what the job would pay? c. who you would be working with? d. what shift you would be on? e. how much you could empect to be laid off? 23. What other kinds of information did you get about this job before you took it? he of Information Source 2!}. WM did you leave your previous Job to go to Fisher Body? Were there any other reasons? 25. 136 Did you consider any other Jobs at the same tine you were looking for your job at Fisher Body? b. No Why did you pp} consider any other jobs? (Skip to question 26.) Yes What other jobs did you apply for while you were considering your present job? Ocaupption Induerz Did you turn down arm other job offers to take your present job? a. No (Skip to question 26.) b. Yes What types of Jobs were these? chgtion Industn Why did you turn down these Job offers? L37 genera 9:385 $8 axon 2: €23 nonaoz pnon vacuona nook wodonau ca aceuuoasd unos one no: xuor you wcfixood Ho noonvoa cacao mo roan: H O v-C 35o .3 an pcosvfionoou no Hacoom ovum paeHn we coupeOfiHmm< .m no>dveaem .N Snow; .0 voomNOHmmo so: moaned“ .w :« condunanme hcdqaoo cons, ~33 .e now .m =oopnd3 dawn: neaenezo no» fl» mm umm pmbon heave Nae op wooed ood>onm coapea unoucd mo condom mdnv can mow oz «Dow #:omonm hook 3383 5 #3 nodes. uhomca Mo condom mfinv can 580:2 fans: 3 .3 not on: 8 Re to: fiend no 305% quads on» no no.2: 52.. 9.88.3 upon new East. 3a dos, no“. so: a 23- wfixfifi Butt 2K 2.13 23 scan .3 138 I would like to find out about the persons you talked to about the job from the time you first heard about it until you actually accepted it. I will mention some types of people Job seekers often speak to and you can tell me if you talked to this type of person. 27. Who were persons you talked about the job to who: ce d. 1'. Be Told you about your Job? 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