15 Thus the decline in union membership has been most striking among young men entering the work force without a college education.In the early 1950s,more than 40 per cent of this group joined unions;by the late 1980s,less than 20 per cent(if public employees are excluded,less than 10 percent)(Katz and Revenga 1989).In steelmaking,for example,although many older workers remained employed,almost half of all routine steelmaking jobs in America vanished between 1974 and 1988(from 480,000 to 260,000).Similarly with automobiles:During the 1980s,the United Auto Workers lost 500,000 members-one third of their total at the start of the decade General Motors alone cut 150,000 American production jobs during the 1980s(even as it added employment abroad).Another consequence of the same phenomenon:The gap between the average wages of unionized and nonunionized workers widened dramatically from 14.6 per cent in 1973 to 20.4 per cent by end of the 1980s.The lesson is clear.If you drop out of high school or have no more than a high school diploma,do not expect a good routine production job to be awaiting you. 16 Also vanishing are lower and middle level management jobs involving routine production.Between 1981 and 1986,more than 780,000 foremen,supervisors,and section chiefs lost their jobs through plant closings and layoffs (US Dept of Labor 1986).Large numbers of assistant division heads,assistant directors,assistant managers,and vice presidents also found themselves jobless.GM shed more than 40,000 white-collar employees and planned to eliminate another 25,000 by the mid1990s(Wall Street Journal 1990).As America's core pyramids metamorphosed into global webs,many routine producers were as obsolete as routine workers on the line. 17 As has been noted,foreign owned webs are hiring some Americans to do routine production in the United States.Philips,Sony,and Toyota factories are popping up all over-to the self congratulatory applause of the nation's governors and mayors,who have lured them with promises of tax abatements and new sewers,among other amenities.But as these ebullient politicians will soon discover,the foreign owned factories are highly automated and will become far more so in years to come.Routine production jobs account for a small fraction of the cost of producing most items in the United States and other advanced nations,and this fraction will continue to decline sharply as computer integrated robots take over.In 1977 it took routine producers thirty five hours to assemble an automobile in the United States;it is estimated that by the mid-1990s,Japanese owned factories in America will be producing finished automobiles using only eight hours of a routine producer's time (International Motor Vehicles Program 1989).15 Thus the decline in union membership has been most striking among young men entering the work force without a college education. In the early 1950s, more than 40 per cent of this group joined unions; by the late 1980s, less than 20 per cent (if public employees are excluded, less than 10 percent) (Katz and Revenga 1989). In steelmaking, for example, although many older workers remained employed, almost half of all routine steelmaking jobs in America vanished between 1974 and 1988 (from 480,000 to 260,000). Similarly with automobiles: During the 1980s, the United Auto Workers lost 500,000 members—one third of their total at the start of the decade. General Motors alone cut 150,000 American production jobs during the 1980s (even as it added employment abroad). Another consequence of the same phenomenon: The gap between the average wages of unionized and nonunionized workers widened dramatically from 14.6 per cent in 1973 to 20.4 per cent by end of the 1980s. The lesson is clear. If you drop out of high school or have no more than a high school diploma, do not expect a good routine production job to be awaiting you. 16 Also vanishing are lower and middle level management jobs involving routine production. Between 1981 and 1986, more than 780,000 foremen, supervisors, and section chiefs lost their jobs through plant closings and layoffs (US Dept of Labor 1986). Large numbers of assistant division heads, assistant directors, assistant managers, and vice presidents also found themselves jobless. GM shed more than 40,000 white-collar employees and planned to eliminate another 25,000 by the mid1990s (Wall Street Journal 1990). As America’s core pyramids metamorphosed into global webs, many routine producers were as obsolete as routine workers on the line. 17 As has been noted, foreign owned webs are hiring some Americans to do routine production in the United States. Philips, Sony, and Toyota factories are popping up all over—to the self congratulatory applause of the nation's governors and mayors, who have lured them with promises of tax abatements and new sewers, among other amenities. But as these ebullient politicians will soon discover, the foreign owned factories are highly automated and will become far more so in years to come. Routine production jobs account for a small fraction of the cost of producing most items in the United States and other advanced nations, and this fraction will continue to decline sharply as computer integrated robots take over. In 1977 it took routine producers thirty five hours to assemble an automobile in the United States; it is estimated that by the mid-1990s, Japanese owned factories in America will be producing finished automobiles using only eight hours of a routine producer’s time (International Motor Vehicles Program 1989)