Detroit Area Study, 1961: Work Group Influence and Political Participation

This study presents data collected as part of the 1960-1961 Detroit Area Study from 419 workers who were members of the United Auto Workers union. Respondents were asked how long they had worked on their jobs, what their job duties were, and whether they were satisfied with their jobs. Another set of questions covered length of union membership, union activity, their conceptions of what the role of their union should be, and their satisfaction with the job their union was doing. Political questions covered the good and bad points of political parties, the Kennedy-Nixon debates, the political issues facing the nation, party identification, past and present vote in state and national elections, and political participation. The social structure of the work group was probed, and respondents were questioned about the importance of politics in work group relationships. Demographic variables included social class, age, organizational membership, religion, education, occupation, income, and race. More information about the Detroit Area Studies Project is available on this Web site.