In my fathers time, just after WW2, many GI's including him, upon returning, took the State Civil Service Exams, and were hired as Police Officers, and Firefighters. Police Officers worked 60 hrs. a week, 6/10 hr. shifts, for less than $100 wk.
Firefighters worked a work week consisting of 2/10 hr. shifts, and 2/14 hr. shifts, for equally pathetic money.
The state had the blue laws, which prevented retailers, and other companies from being open nights, weekends, and holidays. Stores closed at noon on Saturday, and opened again on Monday morning, allowing employees time with their families, and to worship at the church of their choice, if they so desired.
Most factories were sweatshops. Unions rid that industry of sweatshops, with laws that were enacted. Laws were also enacted, providing a minimum wage, work hours, overtime, defined the work week, and time off, among other things. Factories then became a good place for a person, without a lot of education to work, make a living wage, get health insurance and pension benefits, and in our area, most of the large factories also provided company housing for their employees.
When the Government employees saw what unions did for the factory employees, they unionized, got better work hours, pay, benefits, and job security from the unions and Civil Service. The Boston Police strike of 1919, was the first time an entire Police Department went on strike, and although they had legitimate grievances, it led to laws nationwide prohibiting Government employees from striking. The Air Traffic Controllers found that our, when Pres. Reagan replaced them, after the PATCO strike of 1981.
I am the last of the group who retired with the benefits, that my fathers generation worked so hard for. I paid in 5% of my pay every pay period toward my pension. Today the new employees pay in 12+% of their pay toward their pension. Their insurance benefits are substandard, and they pay more in, have higher co-pays, and deductibles than I did.
The blue laws were chipped away over the years, and now stores are open all the time.
Factories were closed, and jobs shipped to third world, developing countries.
Today the jobs that remain are low paying, minimum wage, retail and service industry jobs, for people who don't have a college education. Most of the good jobs are gone.
The old factory cities, are now havens for illegal aliens, drug dealers, prostitution, and have been reduced to ghettos, full of crime, people collecting Government sponsored Public Assistance, EBT, SNAP, Section 8, taxpayer paid health insurance (Medicare, Medicaid, and ObamaCare), free college education, vocational training, cable TV, internet, and cell phones.
The Federal Government debt is over $17 TRILLION in debt, and growing!
Does anyone else thing we are going backwards, rather than moving ahead?