Thursday, October 25, 2007

GM WORKER'S VIEW
Claire McClinton, GM worker
"We thought we were living the American Dream."
Claire McClinton, third generation GM autoworker, Flint, Michigan

The BBC takes a depressing look at the impact of globalization on cities like Flint with the help of Claire McClinton.


In the 1950s the Detroit area had the highest median income, and highest rate of home ownership, of any major US city. But times are very different now.

GM, under pressure from its competitors, is no longer making money in the American car market - and it has been closing plants all across Flint.

Now there are only 6,000 GM workers in Flint, compared to 100,000 at the peak, and the town and workers are suffering.




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Thanks for commenting. I moderate comments, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You might enjoy my book about Flint called "Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City," a Michigan Notable Book for 2014 and a finalist for the 33rd Annual Northern California Book Award for Creative NonFiction. Filmmaker Michael Moore described Teardown as "a brilliant chronicle of the Mad Maxization of a once-great American city." More information about Teardown is available at www.teardownbook.com.