When the Screen Goes Blank: A Television Plant Closing and Its Impacts on Workers

Abstract

Using survey and interview information, the impacts of job loss 011 former employees of a Zenith Corporation plant in Springfield, Missouri, are identified and placed in the context of existing research findings. Even in the "New Economy" period of national economic expansion and in a robust local job market, many displaced workers endured significant drops in earnings and benefits and experienced decreased work satisfaction. Although women took longer than men to become reemployed, displacement did not lead more women than men to withdraw permanently from the labor force. Additionally, the plant closing led some workers to adopt more critical attitudes toward big business and government and to strengthen their support of organized labor. A model that predicts perceived negative impacts of displacement and links them to disaffection with business and government is presented. The study also explores reasons why programs for displaced Zenith workers were not broadly effective and suggests ways that such programs could be reformed to be of greater use for future dislocated workers.As America crossed the bridge to the twenty-first century, many people were enjoying the fruits of a thriving "New Economy." The national unemployment ratc hovered around 4 percent, real wages had risen for middle-income earners for four years running, and the threat of recession then seemed remote. However, even in a sea of good financial news, an economic undertow of plant closings and job displacements continued to affect millions of Americans. An average of nearly 5,700 "mass layoff events" took place each year between 1996 and 1999, and about 1.2 million people annually lost work in such "events" (BLS 2001a).While many studies of plant shutdowns have been conducted, most have analyzed the impacts of job displacement during national economic recessions or in areas where multiple closures had created a severe regional employment downturn. We undertook a case study of a Zenith Corporation plant closing in Springfield, Missouri, to document Direct all correspondence to Tim Knapp, Dcpartmcnt of Sociology and Anthropology, Southwest Missouri State LJniversity, 901 S. National Ave.. Springfield, MO

Breadwinning and bread‐losing: Exploring opportunities to rework manhood

“…Interestingly, as Doucet (2004) showed, men also account for job loss, which they and others construe as a sort of gender deviance. For example, Knapp and Harms (2002) showed that men were more likely to have reservations about rejoining the workforce due to availability of family income. Similarly, men who lost work were more likely to blame the government-not themselves (Perrucci, Perrucci, Targ, & Targ, 1988).…”

Hitting the Books Again: Factors Influencing the Intentions of Young Adults to Reenroll in College

“…Women who have more concerns about the stability of their jobs are more likely to state the intention to reenroll in college (Smart & Pascarella, 1987). Regardless of the extent to which education leads to a comparably salaried job, most evidence indicates that many displaced workers choose education following lay-offs (Ghilani, 2008;Knapp & Harms, 2002).…”

Resilience in small towns: an analysis of economic shocks, social capital, and quality of life

“…Although there are veins of research which address the consequences of economic shocks for communities, they tend to focus primarily on large disruptions involving one type of shock, focus on a limited sample size, and are conducted only after the shock has occurred. Examples include studies that examined boomtowns (Brown, Dorius, and Krannich, 2005;Smith, Krannich, and Hunter, 2001;Greider, Krannich and Berry, 1991), factory closings (Broadway and Stull, 2006;Uchitelle, 2006;Broadway and Stull, 2006;Knapp and Harms, 2002), and natural disasters (Erickson, 1994;Drabeck, 1986;Erikson, 1976). In contrast, I utilize a relatively large sample of communities and examine the consequences of several economic shock types and the cumulative effect of multiple economic shocks across 99 small Iowa communities.…”

“…Towns that were generally not lifted by the rural rebound were located in the Corn Belt, Mississippi Delta, and Great Plains (including Iowa). On average, these towns saw declines in both population and employment opportunities (Whitener, 2005;Johnson 2003 (Broadway and Stull, 2006;Uchitelle, 2006;Knapp and Harms, 2002;Illes,1996;Dudley, 1994;Perucci, 1988;Bluestone and Harrison, 1982). As a consequence of declining employment opportunities and a lack of desirable natural resource amenities, many of the rural communities in the heartland lost their "best and brightest," the young, most highly educated, and most skilled of its population (Lichter, 1995: 254).…”

“…The shock itself may not be economic in nature (such as a flood), however, by definition it must have significant economic consequences (positive or negative) for the community. A firm closing is one type of shock that generally has negative consequences for the community's economy (Broadway and Stull, 2006;Uchitelle, 2006;Knapp and Harms, 2002). Conversely, amenity development may make the town a tourist destination and attract new residents or increase the quality of life for current residents.…”