Working for Wages: On the Road in the Fifties

From Labor Studies Journal, Summer 2006:"Peter Browning's memoir of working as a vehicle transporter from Detroit to Los Angeles from the late 1940s to the late 1950s is a great read! Part bildungsroman, showing how a young man made his way in an uncaring world, and part group adventure story, with sociological, cultural, and labor observations woven into the tale, this book opens a window on an American landscape and society that has long since passed into history. We see and feel the hardships and the rewards of over-the-road travel before the construction of the interstate highway system; we see the towns and cities along the way before they became engulfed by the automobile-dependent urban sprawl of today.There is no pretense here that all of America is encompassed by this perspective. We find ourselves in a world of itinerant, mostly down-at-their-heels, white males and observe their lives of hard and often dangerous work, heavy drinking, gambling, sexual escapades, and other adventures. Browning focuses closely on the personal misfortunes and social attitudes that these men were immersed in - racism, sexism, alcoholism, alienation, and class grievances. It makes for a harsh, warts-and-all picture, but remarkably the book manages to keep many of the characters who drift through its pages in a sympathetic light. It accomplishes this fine balancing act by also showing us not only the hardships and oppressive lives that these men endured, but also how they sometimes persevered and fought back.Organized labor makes an unflattering appearance in the form of Jimmy Hoffa Sr.'s Teamster home local in Detroit, Local 299. Browning and his fellow drivers work for a non-union, low-wage small employer who retains his non-union status in part through a corrupt relationship with the Local. The author and some of the other drivers try to assert their rights in relation to both the union and the employer, casting a revealing if narrowly focused light on mid-twentieth century labor relations, and leading to a somewhat surprising and abrupt ending to the story."David Nack, University of Wisconsin. This is an anecdotal account of who we were, how we lived, and especially how we talked - the American language as she is spoke. None of these tales is precisely true in every respect, yet none is false. Most of the names have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty alike.Peter Browning