Description
Book SynopsisIn Retirement on the Line, Caitrin Lynch explores what Vita Needle's commitment to an elderly workforce means for the employer, the workers, the community, and society more generally.
Trade ReviewIn Retirement on the Line, Caitrin Lynch provides a welcome ethnography of the labors of old workers at Vita Needle, a family-owned factory in Needham, Massachusetts...Lynch does a superb job of attending to the voices of old workers in this factory, revealing the complex labor relations within contemporary capitalism, and complicating the discussion of exploitation. The readability of her book makes it an excellent addition to courses not only on aging but in the sociology of work, which tends to ignore old workers or see them as something 'other'—and for this reason, it also stands as a scholarly contribution for those who examine paid work.
-- Toni Calasanti * American Journal of Sociology *
Stressing a 'cultural anthropology' vantage point, and claiming that new understandings may arise from duly considered work in its culture-related dynamics, this book actually delivers valuable learnings on capitalism as a cultural frame. We learn from it not so much on the meanings of working at old age, but rather on old age capitalism and its meanings. Studying workers who take the accumulation of surplus-value as the measure of all values— this certainly provides a lesson on the undeniable resilience and continuance of the capitalist worldview.
* Critique of Anthropology *
The book is based on intensive ethnographic research undertaken by the author during 2006-2011. Working on Vita's shop floor, side by side with factory employees, enabled the author to produce a rich, nuanced, and insightful piece of anthropological writing that not only explores "what work means for people...of conventional retirement age," but also touches upon broader social issues such as aging, productivity, and work ethic in the contemporary United States...Lynch’s book expands beyond a mere case study and proposes broader reflections on the struggles and aspirations of elderly employees—a group rarely studied by sociologists of work.
-- HannaGospodarczyk * Laboratorium: Russian Review of Social Research *
Table of ContentsCast of Characters
Introduction: Making Needles, Making LivesPart I: Up the Stairs
Pigeonholed by Jim Downey
1. Making Money for Fred: Productivity, People, and Purpose
2. Antique Machinery and Antique People: The Vita Needle Family
3. No Chains on the Seats: Freedom and FlexibilityPart II: In the Press
4. Riding the Gray Wave: Global Interest in Vita Needle
5. Rosa, a National Treasure: Agency in the Face of Media StardomConclusion: Vita's Larger LessonsPostscriptNotes
References
Acknowledgments
Index
