| This thesis examines the sociological effects of structural economic change in an effort to reframe the downsizing narrative from the perspective of workers. The current state of U.S. deindustrialization is placed in an historical context, but this research specifically examines a recent plant closing case that reveals the contemporary struggles of downsized workers in the current precarious labor market. This case also reveals the strategies employed by manufacturing firms in the new economy business model. The 2010 shuttering of the Sonoco rigid paper packaging plant in Orrville, Ohio occurred as a result of corporate decision-making in the wake of the U.S. housing crisis. Five worker narratives, compiled from interviews with former Sonoco workers, are presented and analyzed by drawing on an "embeddedness" model - a foundational concept within the discipline of economic sociology. While much commentary and scholarly work on the macro and microeconomic effects of deindustrialization exists, this thesis examines the understudied sociological phenomena facing downsized manufacturing workers---namely, the disruption of embedded social networks that were strengthened through years of work experience, identity formation, and meaning-making. The analysis includes a discussion of classical social theories in an effort to understand the cultural impacts of structural economic change. Aside from these theoretical concerns, this thesis concludes in a practical vein: an appeal for structurally-displaced manufacturing workers is presented along with a policy proposal designed to alleviate both the sociological and economic challenges facing downsized manufacturing workers. |
