CONTENTS - ouroboros ponderosa

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lilt, IHDhlclll. PPilltil1g uut also the t lpptlsitioll workers had fo r union· ­
baL'ked drives of this kind .'11 Closdy rdated til low productivity, it seems.
is the employee resistance to working overtime, even during economic
recession. The refusal of thousands of Ford workers to work overtime
prompted a Ford executive in April, 1974 to say, "We're mystitied by the
experience in light of the general economic situation."71 Also during
April, the Labor Department reported that "the productivity of American
workers took its biggest drop on record as output slumped in all sectors
of the economy during the first quarter."n
In 1935 the NRA issued the Henderson Report, which counseled that
"unless something is done soon, they [the workers 1 intend to take things
into their own hands."" Something was done: the hierarchical, national
unions of the CIO finally appeared and stabilized relations. In the 1970s
it may be that a limited form of worker participation in management
decisions will be required to prevent employees from "taking things into
their own hands." Irving Bluestone, head of the UA W's GM department,
predicted in early 1972 that some form of participation would be
necessary, under union-management control, of course." As Arnold
Tannenbaum of the Institute for Social Research in Michigan pointed
out in the late 19605, ceding some power to workers can be an excellent
means of increasing their subjection, if it succeeds in giving them a sense
of involvement."
But it remains doubtful that token participation will in any way assuage
the worker's alienation. More likely, it will underline it and make even
clearer the true nature of the union-management relationship, which will
still obtain. It may be more probable that traditional union institutions,
such as the paid, professional stratum of offici als and representatives,
monopoly of membership guaranteed by management, and the labor
contract itself will be increasingly re-examined'6 as workers continue to
strive to take their work lives into their own hands.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
"l1rnid All the Camaraderie is Much I,ooling this Time; Seeing the City
/ll.mppcar. " -Wall Street Journal headline, July 1 5, 1977
Tht: Journal went on to quote a cop on what he saw, as the great
Ilastille Day break-out unfolded: "People are going wild in the borough
" f Brooklyn. They are looting stores by the carload." Another cop added
later: "Stores were ripped open. Others have been leveled. After they
looted, they burned."
At about 9:30 p.m. on July 13 the power went out in New York for 24
hours. During that period the complete impotencc of the state in our
most "advanced" urban space could hardly have been made more
transparent.
As soon as the lights went out, cheers and shouts and loud music
announced the liberation of huge sections of the city. The looting and
hurning commenced immediately, with whole families joining in the
"carnival spirit." In the University Heights section of the Bronx, a
Pontiac dealer lost the 50 new cars in his showroom. In many areas, tow
trucks and other vehicles were used to tear away the metal gates from
stores. Many multi-story furniture businesses were completely emptied by
neighborhood residents.
Despite emergency alerts for the state troopers, FBI and National
Guard, there was really nothing authority could do, and they knew it. A
New York Times editorial of July 16 somewhat angrily waved aside the
protests of those who wondered why there was almost no intervention on
the side of property. "Are you kidding?" the Times snorted, pomtmg out
that such provocation would only have meant that the entire city would
still be engulfed in riots, adding that the National Guard is a "bunch of
kids" who wouldn't have had a chance.
The plundering was completely multi-racial, with white, black and
Hispanic businesses cleaned out and destroyed throughout major parts
of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Not a single "racial
incident" was reported during the uprising, while newspaper pictures and
TV news bore witness to the variously-colored faces emerging from the
merchants' windows and celebrating in the streets. Similarly, looting,
vandalism, and attacks on police were not confined to the City proper;