Blog tour - "Striking for Ford" (non-sports)

 

BLOG TOUR POST

Striking for Ford by Alan Dixon

Summary:

A wry look at the 1978 winter of discontent, seen through the eyes of a trainee personnel officer in a militant Liverpool car factory. An insight into the vanished world of a polarised society of petrol queues, three million unemployed, public service strikes and a socialist government unexpectedly trounced by Margaret Thatcher in May 1979.

Information about the Book

Title: Striking for Ford

Author: Alan Dixon

Genre: Non-Fiction

Publication Date: 24th August 2021

Page Count: 248

Publisher: Clink Street Publishing

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Striking-Ford-Alan-Dixon/dp/1913962377

Author Information

Alan Dixon was born in Luton to a large family of coal miners and manufacturers. When Vauxhall Cars opened in Ellesmere Port, his father took a job as a foreman, moving the family north. Initially bullied for being a southerner, Dixon would develop a thirst for literature and learning; unlike his peers, Dixon became the first in his family to go to university, studying politics and sociology at Lancaster. Having completed an MA and been captivated by the Labour Party Young Socialists, he was fuelled by a desire for social justice as he entered the workplace. He was recruited as a graduate trainee with blue chip company Ford, working over three years in a variety of training and staff personnel roles. In 1982 he joined ICI Agrochemicals as Personnel Manager of the company’s main agrochemical formulation and packing plant. He became HR Director of UK manufacturing for Zeneca Pharmaceuticals in 1990 where he was responsible for three sites and 3500 people. In 2001 he left manufacturing to join Astra Zeneca Pharmaceuticals Commercial as a Regional HR Director. Today he works as a self-employed consultant and lives in Wilmslow, Cheshire, although a part of his heart still lives in Speke.

Tour Schedule

Monday 25th August

Turn the Page Blog

Friday 27th August

Alex’s Books

Sunday 29th August

The Guy Who Reviews Sports Books

Tuesday 31st August

Bookish Blue

Thursday 2nd September

Big Book Little Book

Saturday 4th September

C is for Claire Reads

RATING: 4 stars of 5

REVIEW: Alan Dixon was a young personnel manager when hired by the Ford plant in Liverpool in 1978. Little did he know he would be walking into a tempest of union activity, strikes, and other actions that would soon be frowned upon by the new Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. His accounting of that time at the Ford plant is an entertaining read even if one is not familiar with this history, as I was not. Being an American, I did not realize there was a Ford plant in Liverpool.

It is not unusual for automakers to have plants in various countries to save on labor and material costs so a Ford plant there wasn't the surprise - the surprise to me was that the auto union was not as strong, even before Thatcher's Conservative party took power. Here in the United States the United Auto Workers is one of the nation's strongest unions and from the reading about the conditions of the workers, what they had to do in order to obtain items such as an advance in their pay and other amenities, it was clear they were not close to the strength of their American brethren.

But that isn't the big takeaway I had with this book - what I got out of it was a fascinating look at not only Britain's industrial and political landscape at the time but a good inside look at what a young personnel manager had to endure at that time and how he lived his life outside the office - which still revolved around working. There is even a hint at a romantic story for awhile which usually turns me off, but in this case it made the characters more human instead of just figures to read about in a book. No matter where you may reside, "Striking For Ford" is an enjoyable read for a lighter version of a very deep topic.