Capital Moves: RCA's Seventy-Year Quest for Cheap Labor

Capital Moves traces RCA's manufacturing operations across four locations between 1929 and the 1990s - from Camden, New Jersey to Bloomington, Indiana to Memphis, Tennessee to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. The narrative follows the company's repeated pattern of relocating production to areas with lower labor costs and less union activity. Through extensive research and worker interviews, Jefferson Cowie reconstructs the social and economic conditions that drove both RCA's decisions and the responses of workers in each community. The book examines how gender, race, class, and geography intersected at each production site as RCA sought out and then eventually abandoned different labor pools. Each location's story involves the initial excitement of new jobs and economic opportunity, followed by worker organizing efforts and RCA's ultimate departure for cheaper pastures. The cyclical nature of these moves reveals the persistent tension between capital mobility and worker interests. The work stands as an important examination of how globalization and capital migration have shaped American manufacturing, labor relations, and local communities over the course of the twentieth century. Its focus on a single company's movements provides a clear lens for understanding broader patterns of industrial transformation.

Readers found the book offers detailed insights into how RCA repeatedly relocated factories to find cheaper labor, from New Jersey to Indiana to Tennessee to Mexico. Many appreciated the focus on workers' personal stories and experiences rather than just corporate decisions. Likes: - Clear explanation of how capital mobility affects communities - Strong research and primary sources - Balance between academic analysis and readable narrative - Effective use of oral histories from factory workers Dislikes: - Some sections become repetitive - Academic tone in certain chapters reduces accessibility - Limited coverage of RCA's later years - Could have included more economic data Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (87 ratings) Amazon: 4.3/5 (16 ratings) One reader noted: "Cowie brings the human impact of corporate moves to life through detailed interviews." Another mentioned: "The parallel between each city's experience is striking but the narrative structure becomes predictable."

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🏭 RCA's first major factory relocation from Camden, NJ to Bloomington, IN in 1940 sparked a pattern that would repeat for decades - moving to areas with primarily female, rural workers who would accept lower wages. 📊 The company's workforce was approximately 80% female throughout most of its history, deliberately targeting women workers who were perceived as more docile and less likely to unionize. 🌎 After Bloomington, RCA moved operations to Memphis, TN in the 1960s, then to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico in the 1970s - each time seeking locations with cheaper labor costs and fewer union activities. 🎓 Author Jefferson Cowie is a professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in American labor history. The book won the Philip Taft Prize for the best book in labor history. 💡 The book's central argument challenges the common belief that globalization began in the 1970s, showing instead that companies like RCA were practicing "capital mobility" as early as the 1940s.