The Blackcoated Worker

This is a study of the clerical worker, his aspirations, his view of himself and his relationship to the manual worker and the trade union movement. The author documents how the development of class consciousness and trade unionism among clerical workers reflected changes in their economic position. The black coat of the mid-19th century had symbolized his middle-class status. The broadcloth he wore was, however, only one mark of his distinction from the working classes. The education required for his job, the rewards and responsibilities it offered, and the fact that it was clean and non-manual gradually established themselves as key determinants of his social standing. Consciousness of status deriving from the workplace came to reinforce class consciousness and social distinctions were intensified.