1869, Ep. 111 with Michael Hillard, author of Shredding Paper

1869, the Cornell University Press Podcast

Transcript here: https://otter.ai/u/HgLcUK7YW65Vd1yxvd4DqmO5LT0 This episode, we speak with Michael Hillard, author of of Shredding Paper: Labor and The Rise and Fall of Maine’s Mighty Paper Industry newly published by our ILR Press imprint - https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501753152/shredding-paper/ Michael Hillard is Professor of Economics at the University of Southern Maine, and has published widely in the fields of labor relations, labor and working–­class history, and the political economy of labor and capitalism. Michael has taught and written about the history of US corporate governance, and especially the pernicious effects of financialization since the 1980s. He regularly provides expert testimony in Maine on macroeconomic and employment issues affecting working people We spoke to Michael about the many powerful interviews he had with the workers and managers of Maine’s paper industry, how his research found that the main culprit for the industry’s decline was not offshoring nor automation, but the Wall Street takeover of American manufacturing, and how Maine’s “folk political economy” - the lessons that the workers and managers learned during this time period - can potentially help our country shape more viable economic models for everyone involved. Listen to Michael's podcasts Madawaska Rebellion https://beta.prx.org/stories/194809 & Remembering Mother Warren https://beta.prx.org/stories/2734