Industrial Sunset: The Making of North America's Rust Belt, 1969-1984 (review)

This is an important and timely book. In it, Steven High 'traces and compares the processes of industrial transformation in Canada and the United States,' focusing on the historical and political elements that affected plant closings during a fifteen-year period. What is most fascinating is his clear-eyed analysis of both the political solutions to the problem of plant closings proposed on both sides of the border the success or lack of same of these proposals. High articulates a profoundly ironic situation. In Canada, opposition to the threatened plant closings was led by the Left, most particularly the NDP. Their analysis of the situation was that, since most of the plants were owned by American multinational corporations, the American CEOs of these firms would, for reasons of patriotism, close Canadian branch plants in order to save jobs in the United States. As High demonstrates, this was largely a myth, since plant closings and job losses were at least as high in the US if not higher. It was, however, an empowering myth, since this analysis served Canadians well.

Tapping into the always volatile wellsprings of anti-Americanism, the Canadian version of the so-called de-industrialization thesis created a powerful nationalist response to the perceived 'American threat.' In this way it was possible to mobilize national labour unions, political parties, and the federal government in a co-ordinated response to the problem. As a result, the Canadian government passed legislation requiring firms to give advance notice of layoffs, severance pay, pension reinsurance, job placement assistance, and preferential hiring rights. This did much to retard or at least blunt the impact of plant closings in Canada.

In the United States, the opposition to plant closings was also championed by the Left, which had its own version of the de-industrialization thesis. In the American account, corporate bosses had no patriotism and no loyalty to either the national or local environment. What motivated corporations was the bottom line - profits. Examination of the industries covered by High in this book, mostly autos and steel, largely substantiates this analysis. The American Left's solution, though, was far less effective.

The US Left, having come out of the trauma of the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War in the 1960s, did not trust the unions, political parties, or the federal government. Therefore their strategy was to develop a grassroots, community response to the situation. The result was a sadly quixotic series of battles waged by workers and local community leaders to save their plants and their communities. Eschewing government and national union help, these efforts were largely futile. Their battles were poignant and made better stories than what happened in Canada, but the Canadian approach was more effective.

The differing industrial landscapes in Canada and the US also had an impact. Even when plant closings occurred in Canada, they were less devastating for the community. This is because there were fewer single-industry and single-plant communities in Canada. In Ontario a more diversified industrial base tended to soften the blow on communities even when a plant did shut down. High uses a series of 137 oral histories to provide a human side to these battles.

High's analysis carries important lessons for students of the economy in both countries. Certainly the importance of mobilizing governments to aid the workers' cause is amply made, even if economic nationalism is not always most important. This is because he also demonstrates that winning one battle - that of plant closings during this fifteen-year period - doesn't necessarily guarantee long-term economic success. Some American cities, like Pittsburgh and Cleveland, have recovered beautifully by creating new post-industrial economic interests, while the American economy out-performed the Canadian economy in the 1990s. Nor did Canada's success in thwarting plant closings in the 1980s carry over into the 1990s, as a number of major plants were shuttered. So, the long term success...