FROM MEMBERSHIP TO MANAGEMENT

AFTER THE 1960s

Theda Skocpol

USW 31

September 24, 2014

• How was U.S. civic life reorganized between the 1960s and the 1990s?

• Why did civic changes happen? (brief overview)

• How have civic reorganizations interacted with new societal inequalities?

– Civil Rights and other “rights” revolutions

– Expansion of the ranks of the higher-educated

– Rising inequalities of income and wealth

• What difference do civic changes make for U.S. democracy?

CIVIC AMERICA circa 1960

• Business organizations most numerous nationally

• Civic and fellowship-oriented membership federations involved unusually high proportions of Americans.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES IN 1959 Data from the Encyclopedia of Associations on 5,843 groups

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Trade andBusiness

Labor Religious,Fraternal,

Ethnic,Veterans

PublicAffairs and

SocialWelfare

Educationaland Cultural

Health andMedical

Hobbies andSports

All Others

Per

cen

t o

f al

l g

rou

ps

MEMBERSHIP IN OCCUPATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS United States, Britain, and Germany, c. 1960

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

Trade unions Business Professional Farm

Per

cen

t w

ho

bel

on

g

United States Britain Germany

Source: Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture (1963): 302.

MEMBERSHIP IN CIVIC, CHARITABLE, AND FELLOWSHIP ORGANIZATIONS

United States, Britain, and Germany, c. 1960

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%

Social Charitable Church-connected

Civic-political

Cooperative Veterans' Fraternal

Per

cen

t w

ho

bel

on

g

United States Britain Germany

Source: Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba, The Civic Culture (1963): 302.

CIVIC CHANGES, 1960s to 1990s

• 15 of 20 largest membership associations of the mid-1950s experienced sharp decline, usually starting in the 1970s. Cross-class male and female groups, and the AFL-CIO, experienced greatest declines.

• Chapter federations of all sizes declined sharply – except a few mostly conservative federations (NRA, NRLC, Christian Coalition).

Source: Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone (2000): 54.

AMERICA'S CROSS-CLASS CHAPTER GROUPS AND BLUE-COLLAR UNIONS ARE LOSING MORE MEMBERS THAN ELITE PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

Data from Robert D. Putnam on percent decline in adult membership shares from postwar peak to 1997

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

0-9% 10-19% 20-29% 30-39% 40-49% 50-59% 60-69% 70-79% 80-89%

Per

cen

t o

f g

rou

ps

exp

erie

nci

ng

mag

nit

ud

e o

f p

ost

war

dec

line

7 elite professional societies 21 cross-class chapter federations 5 unionized blue-collar occupations

Median decline for 7 elite

professional societies

28%

Median decline for 21 cross-class

chapter federations

60%

Median unionization decline for 5 blue-collar occupations

62%

OCCUPATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS ARE INCREASINGLY FOR ELITES

The Growing Gap between College-Educated Americans belonging to Professional Societies and Non-College Americans enrolled in Unions

Data from the General Social Survey, 1974-1994

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

4.50

5.00

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

RA

TIO

of

% c

olle

ge-

educ

ated

in p

rofe

ssio

nal

so

ciet

ies

to %

no

n-co

lleg

e-ed

uca

ted

in u

nio

ns

Professional advantage has increased by more than 50%

Source: Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone (2000): 50.

Even as Americans after 1960 were withdrawing from old-line chapter membership associations, they were organizing thousands of new nonprofit associations.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1959 and 1999 Data from the Encyclopedia of Associations

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Per

cen

t o

f g

rou

ps

list

ed

1959: 5,843 groups1999: 22,878 groups

Figure 9.2 RATIO OF U.S. PROFIT TO CITIZENS’ GROUPS OVER TIME

Source: Frank Baumgartner and Bryan Jones, AGENDAS AND INSTABILITY IN AMERICAN POLITICS, p. 181.

Based on 1985 data from Jack L. Walker, Jr.

A-11

Many newly formed groups have no members at all:

ORGANIZATIONS WIELDING MONEY AND IDEAS IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Nu

mb

er

of

PA

Cs

an

d T

hin

k T

an

ks

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

Nu

mb

er

of

Fo

un

da

tio

ns

CorporatePolitical Action Committees (PACs)

Foundations

Cause PACs

Trade, Health, and Membership PACs

Labor PACs

Think Tanks

-- Jeff Berry, Lobbying for the People (1977): Of 83 public interest associations, most recently founded, two-thirds had no chapters.

-- Jack Walker, Mobilizing Interest Groups in America (1985): Survey of 205 citizens groups found that less than one-third had chapters for individual, dues-paying members.

-- A 1962 study of groups listed in the Encyclopedia of Associations found a median membership size of about 10,000. A 1988 study of groups listed in the Encyclopedia found a median membership size of 1000, with about half of groups reporting no members.

As Putnam (2000; 49) concludes, “over this quarter century the number of voluntary associations roughly tripled, but the average membership seems to be roughly one-tenth as large -- more groups, but most of them much smaller. The organizational eruption between the 1960s and the 1990s represented a proliferation of letterheads, not a boom of grassroots participation.”

MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION IN TWO MAJOR U.S. WOMEN'S ASSOCIATIONS, 1955 and 1993

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Membership (in 1000s) Local chapters (in 100s) State/DC intermediateorganizations

General Federation of Women's Clubs (founded 1890) at peak in 1955

National Organization for Women (founded 1966) at peak in 1993

280,000

800

826,000

15,168

51

Average chapter size at peak: GFWC: 54.5 membersNOW: 350 members

0

ORGANIZATIONAL STAFFING OF U.S. PUBLIC INTEREST ASSOCIATIONS, 1972 and 1995

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1972 (n = 81) 1995 (n = 148)

Per

cen

t o

f g

rou

ps

wit

h p

rofe

ssio

nal

sta

ff s

ize

0-10 professionals

11-20 professionals

21-40 professionals

more than 40 professionals

Source: Shaiko 1999: 12, Table 1.5.

WHY DID CIVIC TRANSFORMATION HAPPEN?

Social, technological, and political shifts converged to suddenly change the behavior of civic organizers and leaders between the mid-1960s and the 1980s.

•NEW COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES:

• Traditional associations used social networks to recruit dues-paying members to chapters that were typically vital to successful national association-building.

•By the 1970s, television and computerized mailing lists made it possible for civic organizers sitting in national offices to forego chapters, even if they wanted to attract individual adherents.

•NEW POLITICAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES: The U.S. national state became more active and added staff, spurring more group activity and providing many more points of access -- especially for nationally focused and professionally run groups.

MAJOR U.S. LEGISLATIVE ENACTMENTS AND THE GROWTH OF NATIONAL VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS, 1949-1999

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Maj

or

leg

isla

tive

en

actm

ents

b

y C

on

gre

ssio

nal

ses

sio

n

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

Nat

ion

al v

olu

nta

ry a

sso

ciat

ion

s

Legislativeenactments

National voluntary associations

Source: Encyclopedia of Associations data with intermediate values interpolated, from Skocpol, Diminished Democracy , p. 147. "A" and "B" enactments from Howell et.al., "Divided Government and the Legislative Productivity of Congress, 1945-94."

r = .76

GROWTH OF U.S. CONGRESSIONAL STAFF AND NATIONAL VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS, 1947 to 1999

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

1947 1949 1957 1967 1977 1987 1997 1999

Per

son

al a

nd

co

mm

itte

e st

aff

fo

r U

.S.

Ho

use

an

d S

enat

e

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

Nat

ion

al v

olu

nta

ry a

sso

ciat

ion

s

Congressional staff

National voluntary associations

r = .94

Source : Encyclopedia of Associations totals interpolated from Skocpol, Diminished Democracy , p. 147. Staff numbers from Ornstein, Mann, and Malbin, Vital Statistics on Congress 1999-2000 , pp. 131, 135.

RATIO OF STAFF MEMBERS TO GROUPS IN THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT, 1960 to 1990

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

316 staff for119 groups in 1960

2917 staff for396 groups in 1990

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT of 1969: -- establishes Environmental Protection Agency -- calls for environmental impact statements -- allows easier access to courts

Source: Frank R. Baumgartner and Bryan D. Jones, Agendas and Instability in American Politics (1993): 37-38, 69, 186-88.

Perceived political opportunities and challenges were not the same for conservative versus liberal groups in the critical period of civic reorganization.

Perceiving themselves excluded from the establishment, groups like the National Right to Life Committee, the National Rifle Association, and the Christian Coalition organized from below as well as above, and used pre-existing institutions and networks to create chapters and attract millions of members. Conservative federations aimed to build influence in localities, states, and Congressional districts.

Liberal groups, by contrast, saw greater possibilities in creating professional advocacy groups to lobby and conduct lawsuits.

In addition to technological and political factors, late-twentieth-century shifts in U.S. social equalities and inequalities also help us to make sense of contemporary civic reorganizations.

“Rights” revolutions and civic change:

• Rapid changes in social attitudes about race and gender roles undercut the appeal of segregated old-line membership federations.

• Rights movements (and the War in Vietnam) helped to discredit the authority and organizational features of old-line federations, opening the way for new, more agile civic endeavors led by youthful professionals.

• New federal government activism on “rights” issues encouraged the formation of professionally run groups speaking for virtual constituencies.

Civil Right Act and Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission designate

official “minorities” 1964-66

Sources: Debra C. Minkoff, Organizing for Equality (1995): 62; and John D. Skrentny, The Minority Rights Revolution (2002): ch. 4.

New opportunities for “rights”advocacy, 1964-70:

-- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

-- Office of Federal Contract Compliance

-- Office for Civil Rights and bilingual education

Sources: Debra C. Minkoff, Organizing for Equality (1995): 62; and John D. Skrentny, The Minority Rights Revolution (2002): ch. 4.

Higher Education and Civic Reorganization:

The ranks of higher-educated Americans accumulated rapidly, from 7.7% college grads in 1960 to 25.2% in 1999. “Professionals” especially proliferated.

• College grads (and other elites) stopped affiliating with traditionally predominant types of cross-class membership federations.

• College-trained professionals found expanded employment opportunities in advocacy and nonprofit associations.

• College grads became the prime constituents for newly formed or (newly active) advocacy groups.

Membership in American Fraternal Groups

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

Per

cen

t w

ho

cla

im o

ne

or

mo

re m

emb

ersh

ips

College-educated respondents(16 years or more)

Non-college respondents (12 years or less)

Source : General Social Survey, 1974-1994.

Membership in American Veterans Groups

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

Per

cen

t w

ho

cla

im o

ne

or

mo

re m

emb

ersh

ips

Noncollege respondents (12 years or less)

College repondents (16 years or more)

Source : General Social Survey, 1974-1994.

COLLEGE AND POSTGRADUATE MEMBERS OF U.S. ADVOCACY GROUPS

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Environmental Action (1978, 16,000 members)

Environmental Defense Fund (1978, 42,000 members)

National Wildlife Federation (1978, 736,000 members)

Sierra Club (1978, 168,000 members)

The Wilderness Society (1978, 53,000 members)

National Abortion Rights Action League (1979, 65,000 members)

Common Cause (1980, 200,000 members)

U.S. electorate, 1980

Sources: Rothenberg 1992: 8-11, 32; Mitchell, McCarthy, and Pearce 1979; Shaiko 1999: 42, 124-25.

Rising Economic Inequalities and Civic Changes:

• Economic inequalities probably did not initially spur civic reorganizations, which were well under way before inequalities burgeoned in the late 1970s and 1980s.

• But burgeoning patronage from foundations and wealthy donors may have facilitated the proliferation of staff-intensive organizations.

• Associations are looking for big donations. Hold fund raisers. And mailing-list associations sift through respondents to find prospective large donors.

SO WHAT?

-- U.S. civic democracy has become more pluralist, less business-centered, and more oligarchic -- all at once. More voice, less equality.

-- Professionally managed associations have less popular “reach” and offer fewer opportunities for participation and interaction. Because new types of groups de-emphasize member involvement and rely on experts and big donors, they do much less than traditional membership federations to draw ordinary people into civic life and politics.

-- Contemporary civic reorganizations enhance possibilities for conflicts over practical and value issues of interest to the top third of society, while doing less than blue collar trade unions and popular membership federations once did to raise and lobby for issues of concern to the lower middle class, blue collar workers, and the least economically privileged.

GROUPS TESTIFYING BEFORE CONGRESS: 1963, 1979, 1991 Data from Jeffrey Berry, The New Liberalism

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1963 1979 1991

Per

cen

t o

f al

l gro

up

s te

stif

yin

g

Trade Associations andCorporations

Labor unions

Professionalassociations

Citizen groups

Others (includingnonprofits, churches,and veterans' groups)

1,373 testified 947 testified 922 testified

PRESS COVERAGE OF INTEREST GROUPS: 1963, 1979, 1991 Data from Jeffrey Berry, The New Liberalism

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

1963 1979 1991

Per

cent

of a

ll gr

oups

men

tione

d in

the

pres

s Trade Associations andCorporations

Labor unions

Professional associations

Citizen groups

Others (including nonprofits,churches, and veterans'groups)

1,194 mentioned 691 mentioned 766 mentioned

Are there exceptions to the trend from membership groups to professionally managed associations?

If so, where and why?