Testimony Before the Reich/Dunlop Commission January 5, 1994

Hi, my name is Elly Leary. I'm a living example of the new world order of global competition. I used to be an auto assembler at the General Motors plant in Framingham, Massachusetts. I worked there from 1977 to August 1989, when the plant closed and its work was shifted to the new Flint, Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. In 1989, without overtime I was making nearly $28,000 a year. Today, as a full-time secretary at Boston University and member of UAW Local 2324, I make less than $19,000. This lower standard of living hasn't been lost on my children. Several months ago my fourteen-year-old daughter angrily said, "Why can't you get a job like you used to have, one that pays a living wage?" Although I tell her to go to college, this commission's own figures show this is not guaranteed—incomes of college-educated white males are falling too, calling into question the high-skill, high-wage economy.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website

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