Scales of Struggle

Economic Restructuring in the U.S. Midwest

Bibliographic Data

ID8375006
AuthorsJeff R Crump (Western Illinois University), Christopher D Merrett (Western Illinois University)
Year1998
Volume88
Issue3
Pages496-515
Publication date1998-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnals of the Association of American Geographers (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0004-5608 • E-ISSN: 1467-8306
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/0004-5608.00110
OpenAlexW2030338688
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited22

This paper examines economic restructuring in the U.S. Midwest focusing on three locations in west-central Illinois: Quad Cities, Peoria and Canton. We use a modified version of regulation theory, which we extend by incorporating an explicit theory of scale that acknowledges that scale is socially produced and constantly remade, especially during periods of rapid economic change. Historically, west-central Illinois has been the location of pitched battles between corporate actors, such as Deere and Company, International Harvester, and Caterpillar Corporation, and unions such as the Farm Equipment Workers (FEW) and the United Auto Workers (UAW). When the locally vibrant and radical FEW was subdued, a period of relatively peaceful labor relations ensued as the large corporations and the UAW agreed that the national level was the appropriate scale at which labor regulation should occur. By the early 1980s, the economic prosperity of the region was shattered as the large farm-implement firms were forced to restructure in the face of the Farm Crisis and a general climate of intense global competition. Central to the restructuring strategy of John Deere and Caterpillar was the reconfiguration of the scale of labor relations, as the companies were able to break the national system of pattern bargaining and to force unions to engage in concessionary bargaining at the local level. The economic crisis that struck west-central Illinois has been accompanied by mass layoffs, increased poverty, and the loss of union influence in the major industries

Competition (biology) · Corporation · Economic growth · Economic restructuring · Economics · Economy · Geography · Political science · Prosperity · Restructuring · Scale (ratio) · Cooperative Studies and Economics · Finance · Labor Movements and Unions · Political Economy and Marxism

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