FROM MEMBERSHIP TO MANAGEMENT AFTER THE 1960s
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Transcript of FROM MEMBERSHIP TO MANAGEMENT AFTER THE 1960s
FROM MEMBERSHIP TO MANAGEMENT
AFTER THE 1960s
Theda Skocpol
USW 31
October 17, 2012
• How was U.S. civic life reorganized between the 1960s and the 1990s?
• Why did civic changes happen? (brief overview)
• How have civic reorganizations interacted with new societal inequalities?
– Civil Rights and other “rights” revolutions
– Expansion of the ranks of the higher-educated
– Rising inequalities of income and wealth
• What difference do civic changes make for U.S. democracy?
CIVIC AMERICA circa 1960
• Business organizations most numerous nationally
• Civic and fellowship-oriented membership federations involved unusually high proportions of Americans.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1959 Data from the Encyclopedia of Associations on 5,843 groups
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Trade andBusiness
Labor Religious,Fraternal,
Ethnic,Veterans
PublicAffairs and
SocialWelfare
Educationaland Cultural
Health andMedical
Hobbies andSports
All Others
Per
cen
t o
f al
l g
rou
ps
MEMBERSHIP IN OCCUPATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS United States, Britain, and Germany, c. 1960
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Trade unions Business Professional Farm
Per
cen
t w
ho
bel
on
g
United States Britain Germany
Source: Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture (1963): 302.
MEMBERSHIP IN CIVIC, CHARITABLE, AND FELLOWSHIP ORGANIZATIONS
United States, Britain, and Germany, c. 1960
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
Social Charitable Church-connected
Civic-political
Cooperative Veterans' Fraternal
Per
cen
t w
ho
bel
on
g
United States Britain Germany
Source: Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture (1963): 302.
CIVIC CHANGES, 1960s to 1990s
• 15 of 20 largest membership associations of the mid-1950s experienced sharp decline, usually starting in the 1970s. Cross-class male and female groups, and the AFL-CIO, experienced greatest declines.
• Chapter federations of all sizes declined sharply – except a few mostly conservative federations (NRA, NRLC, Christian Coalition).
Source: Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone (2000): 54.
AMERICA'S CROSS-CLASS CHAPTER GROUPS AND BLUE-COLLAR UNIONS ARE LOSING MORE MEMBERS THAN ELITE PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES
Data from Robert D. Putnam on percent decline in adult membership shares from postwar peak to 1997
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
0-9% 10-19% 20-29% 30-39% 40-49% 50-59% 60-69% 70-79% 80-89%
Per
cen
t o
f g
rou
ps
exp
erie
nci
ng
mag
nit
ud
e o
f p
ost
war
dec
line
7 elite professional societies 21 cross-class chapter federations 5 unionized blue-collar occupations
Median decline for 7 elite
professional societies
28%
Median decline for 21 cross-class
chapter federations
60%
Median unionization decline for 5 blue-collar occupations
62%
OCCUPATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS ARE INCREASINGLY FOR ELITES
The Growing Gap between College-Educated Americans belonging to Professional Societies and Non-College Americans enrolled in Unions
Data from the General Social Survey, 1974-1994
0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
4.00
4.50
5.00
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
RA
TIO
of
% c
olle
ge-
educ
ated
in p
rofe
ssio
nal
so
ciet
ies
to %
no
n-co
lleg
e-ed
uca
ted
in u
nio
ns
Professional advantage has increased by more than 50%
Source: Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone (2000): 50.
Even as Americans after 1960 were withdrawing from old-line chapter membership associations, they were organizing thousands of new nonprofit associations.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1959 and 1999 Data from the Encyclopedia of Associations
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Per
cen
t o
f g
rou
ps
list
ed
1959: 5,843 groups1999: 22,878 groups
Figure 9.2 RATIO OF U.S. PROFIT TO CITIZENS’ GROUPS OVER TIME
Source: Frank Baumgartner and Bryan Jones, AGENDAS AND INSTABILITY IN AMERICAN POLITICS, p. 181.
Based on 1985 data from Jack L. Walker, Jr.
A-11
Many newly formed groups have no members at all:
ORGANIZATIONS WIELDING MONEY AND IDEAS IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Nu
mb
er
of
PA
Cs
an
d T
hin
k T
an
ks
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
50000
Nu
mb
er
of
Fo
un
da
tio
ns
CorporatePolitical Action Committees (PACs)
Foundations
Cause PACs
Trade, Health, and Membership PACs
Labor PACs
Think Tanks
-- Jeff Berry, Lobbying for the People (1977): Of 83 public interest associations, most recently founded, two-thirds had no chapters.
-- Jack Walker, Mobilizing Interest Groups in America (1985): Survey of 205 citizens groups found that less than one-third had chapters for individual, dues-paying members.
-- A 1962 study of groups listed in the Encyclopedia of Associations found a median membership size of about 10,000. A 1988 study of groups listed in the Encyclopedia found a median membership size of 1000, with about half of groups reporting no members.
As Putnam (2000; 49) concludes, “over this quarter century the number of voluntary associations roughly tripled, but the average membership seems to be roughly one-tenth as large -- more groups, but most of them much smaller. The organizational eruption between the 1960s and the 1990s represented a proliferation of letterheads, not a boom of grassroots participation.”
MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION IN TWO MAJOR U.S. WOMEN'S ASSOCIATIONS, 1955 and 1993
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Membership (in 1000s) Local chapters (in 100s) State/DC intermediateorganizations
General Federation of Women's Clubs (founded 1890) at peak in 1955
National Organization for Women (founded 1966) at peak in 1993
280,000
800
826,000
15,168
51
Average chapter size at peak: GFWC: 54.5 membersNOW: 350 members
0
ORGANIZATIONAL STAFFING OF U.S. PUBLIC INTEREST ASSOCIATIONS, 1972 and 1995
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1972 (n = 81) 1995 (n = 148)
Per
cen
t o
f g
rou
ps
wit
h p
rofe
ssio
nal
sta
ff s
ize
0-10 professionals
11-20 professionals
21-40 professionals
more than 40 professionals
Source: Shaiko 1999: 12, Table 1.5.
WHY DID CIVIC TRANSFORMATION HAPPEN?
Social, technological, and political shifts converged to suddenly change the behavior of civic organizers and leaders between the mid-1960s and the 1980s.
•NEW COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES:
• Traditional associations used social networks to recruit dues-paying members to chapters that were typically vital to successful national association-building.
•By the 1970s, television and computerized mailing lists made it possible for civic organizers sitting in national offices to forego chapters, even if they wanted to attract individual adherents.
•NEW POLITICAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: The U.S. national state became more active and added staff, spurring more group activity and providing many more points of access -- especially for nationally focused and professionally run groups.
MAJOR U.S. LEGISLATIVE ENACTMENTS AND THE GROWTH OF NATIONAL VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS, 1949-1999
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Maj
or
leg
isla
tive
en
actm
ents
b
y C
on
gre
ssio
nal
ses
sio
n
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
Nat
ion
al v
olu
nta
ry a
sso
ciat
ion
s
Legislativeenactments
National voluntary associations
Source: Encyclopedia of Associations data with intermediate values interpolated, from Skocpol, Diminished Democracy , p. 147. "A" and "B" enactments from Howell et.al., "Divided Government and the Legislative Productivity of Congress, 1945-94."
r = .76
GROWTH OF U.S. CONGRESSIONAL STAFF AND NATIONAL VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS, 1947 to 1999
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
1947 1949 1957 1967 1977 1987 1997 1999
Per
son
al a
nd
co
mm
itte
e st
aff
fo
r U
.S.
Ho
use
an
d S
enat
e
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
Nat
ion
al v
olu
nta
ry a
sso
ciat
ion
s
Congressional staff
National voluntary associations
r = .94
Source : Encyclopedia of Associations totals interpolated from Skocpol, Diminished Democracy , p. 147. Staff numbers from Ornstein, Mann, and Malbin, Vital Statistics on Congress 1999-2000 , pp. 131, 135.
RATIO OF STAFF MEMBERS TO GROUPS IN THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT, 1960 to 1990
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
316 staff for119 groups in 1960
2917 staff for396 groups in 1990
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT of 1969: -- establishes Environmental Protection Agency -- calls for environmental impact statements -- allows easier access to courts
Source: Frank R. Baumgartner and Bryan D. Jones, Agendas and Instability in American Politics (1993): 37-38, 69, 186-88.
Perceived political opportunities and challenges were not the same for conservative versus liberal groups in the critical period of civic reorganization.
Perceiving themselves excluded from the establishment, groups like the National Right to Life Committee, the National Rifle Association, and the Christian Coalition organized from below as well as above, and used pre-existing institutions and networks to create chapters and attract millions of members. Conservative federations aimed to build influence in localities, states, and Congressional districts.
Liberal groups, by contrast, saw greater possibilities in creating professional advocacy groups to lobby and conduct lawsuits.
In addition to technological and political factors, late-twentieth-century shifts in U.S. social equalities and inequalities also help us to make sense of contemporary civic reorganizations.
“Rights” revolutions and civic change:
• Rapid changes in social attitudes about race and gender roles undercut the appeal of segregated old-line membership federations.
• Rights movements (and the War in Vietnam) helped to discredit the authority and organizational features of old-line federations, opening the way for new, more agile civic endeavors led by youthful professionals.
• New federal government activism on “rights” issues encouraged the formation of professionally run groups speaking for virtual constituencies.
Civil Right Act and Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission designate
official “minorities” 1964-66
Sources: Debra C. Minkoff, Organizing for Equality (1995): 62; and John D. Skrentny, The Minority Rights Revolution (2002): ch. 4.
New opportunities for “rights”advocacy, 1964-70:
-- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
-- Office of Federal Contract Compliance
-- Office for Civil Rights and bilingual education
Sources: Debra C. Minkoff, Organizing for Equality (1995): 62; and John D. Skrentny, The Minority Rights Revolution (2002): ch. 4.
Higher Education and Civic Reorganization:
The ranks of higher-educated Americans accumulated rapidly, from 7.7% college grads in 1960 to 25.2% in 1999. “Professionals” especially proliferated.
• College grads (and other elites) stopped affiliating with traditionally predominant types of cross-class membership federations.
• College-trained professionals found expanded employment opportunities in advocacy and nonprofit associations.
• College grads became the prime constituents for newly formed or (newly active) advocacy groups.
Membership in American Fraternal Groups
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
Per
cen
t w
ho
cla
im o
ne
or
mo
re m
emb
ersh
ips
College-educated respondents(16 years or more)
Non-college respondents (12 years or less)
Source : General Social Survey, 1974-1994.
Membership in American Veterans Groups
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
Per
cen
t w
ho
cla
im o
ne
or
mo
re m
emb
ersh
ips
Noncollege respondents (12 years or less)
College repondents (16 years or more)
Source : General Social Survey, 1974-1994.
COLLEGE AND POSTGRADUATE MEMBERS OF U.S. ADVOCACY GROUPS
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Environmental Action (1978, 16,000 members)
Environmental Defense Fund (1978, 42,000 members)
National Wildlife Federation (1978, 736,000 members)
Sierra Club (1978, 168,000 members)
The Wilderness Society (1978, 53,000 members)
National Abortion Rights Action League (1979, 65,000 members)
Common Cause (1980, 200,000 members)
U.S. electorate, 1980
Sources: Rothenberg 1992: 8-11, 32; Mitchell, McCarthy, and Pearce 1979; Shaiko 1999: 42, 124-25.
Rising Economic Inequalities and Civic Changes:
• Economic inequalities probably did not initially spur civic reorganizations, which were well under way before inequalities burgeoned in the late 1970s and 1980s.
• But burgeoning patronage from foundations and wealthy donors may have facilitated the proliferation of staff-intensive organizations.
• Associations are looking for big donations. Hold fund raisers. And mailing-list associations sift through respondents to find prospective large donors.
SO WHAT?
-- U.S. civic democracy has become more pluralist, less business-centered, and more oligarchic -- all at once. More voice, less equality.
-- Professionally managed associations have less popular “reach” and offer fewer opportunities for participation and interaction. Because new types of groups de-emphasize member involvement and rely on experts and big donors, they do much less than traditional membership federations to draw ordinary people into civic life and politics.
-- Contemporary civic reorganizations enhance possibilities for conflicts over practical and value issues of interest to the top third of society, while doing less than blue collar trade unions and popular membership federations once did to raise and lobby for issues of concern to the lower middle class, blue collar workers, and the least economically privileged.
GROUPS TESTIFYING BEFORE CONGRESS: 1963, 1979, 1991 Data from Jeffrey Berry, The New Liberalism
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1963 1979 1991
Per
cen
t o
f al
l gro
up
s te
stif
yin
g
Trade Associations andCorporations
Labor unions
Professionalassociations
Citizen groups
Others (includingnonprofits, churches,and veterans' groups)
1,373 testified 947 testified 922 testified
PRESS COVERAGE OF INTEREST GROUPS: 1963, 1979, 1991 Data from Jeffrey Berry, The New Liberalism
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
1963 1979 1991
Per
cent
of a
ll gr
oups
men
tione
d in
the
pres
s Trade Associations andCorporations
Labor unions
Professional associations
Citizen groups
Others (including nonprofits,churches, and veterans'groups)
1,194 mentioned 691 mentioned 766 mentioned
Are there exceptions to the trend from membership groups to professionally managed associations?
If so, where and why?