The Next Shift

The Fall of Industry and the Rise of Health Care in Rust Belt America

By: Gabriel Winant

Narrated by: BJ Harrison

Pittsburgh was once synonymous with steel. But today, most of its mills are gone. Like so many places across the United States, a city that was a center of blue-collar manufacturing is now dominated by the service economy - particularly health care, which employs more Americans than any other industry. Gabriel Winant takes us inside the Rust Belt to show how America's cities have weathered new economic realities. In Pittsburgh's neighborhoods, he finds that a new working class has emerged in the wake of deindustrialization.

As steelworkers and their families grew older, they required more health care. Even as the industrial economy contracted sharply, the care economy thrived. Unlike their blue-collar predecessors, home health aides and hospital staff work unpredictable hours for low pay. And the new working class disproportionately comprises women and people of color.

Today, health care workers are on the front lines of our most pressing crises, yet we have been slow to appreciate that they are the face of our twenty-first-century workforce. The Next Shift offers unique insights into how we got here and what could happen next. If health care employees, along with other essential workers, can translate the increasing recognition of their economic value into political power, they may become a major force in the 21st century.

©2021 The President and Fellows of Harvard College (P)2021 Tantor

A brilliant analysis of class

Winant’s does a masterful job of demonstrating the creation of class in the changing economic conditions of Pittsburgh.

Great look at the history of Pittsburgh labor

Fascinating examination of white and black unionized and non-union labor in the Pittsburgh steel and healthcare industries since 1950. I thought the 1950-1973 portions were the most interesting, but it was all very insightful. Excellent narration as well. A must-listen if labor/management interactions interest you.

Illuminating historical perspective

This book has been on my reading list for 3 years and did not disappoint. I appreciated the detailed history and economic analysis of the author. Pittsburgh seems to be the most coherent case study in the American shift from heavy industry to care service work. I’d recommend this book to anyone wondering how post-WWII families were so economically advantaged to those of us in today’s labor market.

Insightful

I wanted to read the book for insights into the medical industrial complex and as a fringe benefit developed a better understanding of the previous industrial economy. This is beautifully written and compelling.
I would love
To read further work from Gabriel Winant and any further direction he can give on fixing the disastrously opportunistic, greedy and parasitic healthcare industry he has so vividly described.