In Need of a Road Map

by Jack Lessenberry
April 16, 2010

For a perfect little picture of a generation whose lives were shattered by what has happened to the auto industry, meet the Markowicz family.

Regina and Ron Markowicz are proud Detroiters to the core. They were born in the city when it was at its zenith, two of the first wave of baby boomers whose triumphant parents had come from the Arsenal of Democracy to help win the Second World War.

They are both 63 now. They grew up amid expanding prosperity; married right out of high school, had four babies, enjoyed life. “We ‘knew’ that Ron would always have a job as long as he was determined to work,” Regina said. “There was plenty of work for everyone. The auto industry provided plenty of opportunity.”

They did not worry about the future. Ron worked on the line by day; went to college and studied auto technology by night.

The Markowiczs moved out of the multi-family flats they’d grown up in and bought a little house in Dearborn Heights, not far from Ford World Headquarters. Eventually she started selling real estate. They bought a bigger home in a newer suburb.

Like hundreds of thousands of their neighbors, they never thought their way of life would end. They loved the auto industry that had given them such prosperity, and they loved the unions. “We knew the unions were a strong part of our city, and everyone wanted a union job,” Regina said, Ron nodding silently.

“It was a way of knowing that they could not just toss a worker out on the street, that medical benefits would be available, and that our families could take a vacation now and then.”

Not surprisingly, their kids wanted to follow in their parents’ footsteps. “We wanted our children to get college degrees, but [they] wanted to go to work right away and start making money.”

Some wanted to marry young, like their parents. But Mom and Dad didn’t worry. “We all knew we could get a job, buy a house, and have a decent life. We never felt discouraged, even during recessions. People returned to their old jobs and life went on. We were confident in our country.”

But then the world changed.

The automotive industry, pressed by foreign and transplant competition, began to contract. Plants closed, temporary layoffs became permanent. This did not hit Regina and Ron themselves. But it had a disastrous effect on their kids.

Their oldest son, who was born in 1966, went to work on the line at General Motors. The plant closed, and he was sent to another plant, then another. The layoffs got longer; he lost his home.

Now, he is in Lansing, bouncing between layoffs and the line. “He is caught,” his mom said. “There is no opportunity for him to go to school under these circumstances. There are no jobs.”

Their second child, Rachel, was born in 1968; married, had a daughter. But she lost her job (Mom blames NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement). Now, she and her husband struggle to keep a house that is no longer worth what they owe on it.

Their second son went into sales, is struggling, can’t buy a home, and is thinking of moving out of state. Their youngest, now 33, was the only one to graduate from college. He became a high school science and math teacher, but never found a permanent job.

He went back to school for computer engineering, but the bottom fell out of that field, too. “Now he has become a contract employee for a small company selling electrical equipment.”

“He rents a room from a friend. This is not how parents of a gifted teacher thought their son would wind up,” Regina said, eyes welling with tears.

“So where is this going? What is the future of all our children and grandchildren? What is the future for Detroit and Michigan? What do we do now?”

When they saw the economic hurricane arriving, Ron and Regina sold their house and started renting, for the first time since they were teenagers. They are sitting on the money they got for the house, in case any of their kids are desperate.

Yet they have no sympathy for the tax protesters. “If you are a Tea Bagger wacko, or any other kind of nut, left or right, and you cannot see that a chain is no stronger than its weakest link, I am done with you,” Regina said heatedly.

“If you are so against ‘socialistic’ economic methods, then send your Social Security and Medicare checks back.”

She struggled for the right words. “We are a group of individuals who are interdependent,” she said finally. “We must take care of one another, or we are only taking care of the rich, and then the system breaks down, as it is doing now.’’

The Markowiczs don’t know what the future holds, but they aren’t ready to leave Michigan. Regina says they would rather “fight back with all our might, and invent a new reality here.”

What they need is a road map for how to get there.

Veteran journalist and national Emmy Award winner Jack Lessenberry teaches at Wayne State University, serves as Michigan Radio’s senior political analyst and writes regularly for several publications. He also serves as The Toledo Blade’s writing coach and ombudsman and is host of the weekly television show Deadline Now on WGTE-TV in Toledo.