THE EXPRESSION OF HUMAN DIGNITY IN EVERYDAY WORK ON THE AUTOMOBILE ASSEMBLY LINE

Since World War II the topic of "quality of life" on the job has become a central area of investigation for industrial sociology. This dissertation studies the quality of life for automobile assembly line workers in the late 1970s. Automobile assembly line work has traditionally been considered one of the most alienating forms of labor. Key studies have suggested that such labor takes place under conditions of virtual total powerlessness, meaninglessness, social isolation and self-estrangement. This research departs from a different perspective by examining facets of life on the job for automobile assembly line workers that are open to expression of the creative, autonomous side of human beings. Methodologically, the data bearing upon the central questions of this dissertation was obtained through on site investigations and semi-structured in-depth interviews with workers, patterned on a modified version of the "constant comparative method of qualitative analysis.". This dissertation demonstrates that auto assembly line workers possess a much larger repertoire of working knowledge than is normally assumed. Based upon this knowledge about the nature of the product being built, the implements used to build it and the social relations of the workplace, workers are able to exert a higher degree of control over their job process than the formal structure of work would suggest. This working knowledge and job control allows for a significant degree of informal countervailing power on the part of workers in opposition to the formal power of management. This working knowledge serves as the basis for a comprehension of the total production process, thereby combatting the tendency toward meaninglessness. Furthermore, except for a few specific jobs, workers on the assembly line are all in contact with a number of other workers and do not experience social isolation. Based on the sense of power, comprehension and community that assembly line workers experience, despite the formal constraints of assembly line work, workers do not experience a total state of self-estrangement. Rather their experience is contradictory in nature. On the one hand, assembly line workers express pride and involvement in producing a quality car. On the other hand, they express a strong rejection of the formal plant structure and management's drive for increased production. Work on the assembly line is neither an experience of total alienation nor an expression of human creativity and autonomy. Rather it is a situation of conflict between these two tendencies. A resolution to this conflict in favor of humanizing work on the assembly line is not easily perceived by workers. Most workers mention the possibility of going into their own private business, but with very little ionviction. Some express serious aspirations to be promoted to foreman. Almost all reject the ideal of socialism. The one possible solution that struck a strong note of sympathy was the idea of a worker-owned and controlled factory. A worker-owned factory appealed to all of the workers interviewed. Some of the reasons mentioned included better work conditions, a more congenial work atmosphere, higher quality production and higher pay. This desire for a worker-owned and controlled workplace clearly goes beyond management schemes for "work humanization" but neither does it fall into traditional socialist demands. The significance for social change strategies needs to be investigated.