Riverside, Calif., April, 2000--The turn-of-the-century emergence of the white-collar worker not only gave rise to a new kind of labor force, but also transformed American society in the process. This societal transformation - and particularly its impact on Southern California - is examined in a recently-published book by La Sierra history professor Clark Davis.

Davis, an assistant professor of history, has taught at La Sierra since 1994. His new 300-page book, released last month and published by the Johns Hopkins University Press, is titled "Company Men: White-collar Life and Corporate Culture in Los Angeles, 1892-1914".

The book's emphasis on an emerging white-collar labor force was an obvious choice for the La Sierra academician, whose specialty lies in 20th century social and economic history. His first major foray into the topic was for his doctoral dissertation at the University of Southern California.

This dissertation, titled "Living on the Ladder: The Emerging Corporate Culture in Los Angeles: 1900 to 1930," detailed the simultaneous rise of American corporation and the growth and expansion of Los Angeles. Unlike earlier American cities with industrial and manufacturing roots, early 20th century Los Angeles became a city of giant corporations. The expanding west coast metropolis also became a bellwether city where a new white-collar culture emerged, a culture that eventually came to define middle class American society.

"In addition to changing the nature of work, corporations changed the face of our society," Davis said. "Even today, so many of the values we associate with middle class success and 'The American Dream' were not really defined until these large companies came along."

The book follows the emergence of a whole new labor category that new corporations created: managers and functionaries who worked in office and who gave rise to the term "white-collar workers." While "Company Men" examines the growing economic strength of a Southern California labor force, he centers his attention on five specific Los Angeles corporations: Southern California Edison, Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company, Union Oil, Pacific Electric Railway and Security First National Bank, the institutional predecessor of banking colossus Bank of America. Davis tells the story of the men of Los Angeles who worked to define this new class which became the core of the nation's corporate economy and expansive middle class.

Since historians have traditionally focused on the experience of blue-collar workers, Davis said he hoped his book prompts more examination of the newer white-collar labor force. He also wanted to expand social history, which usually focuses on working-class life to the exclusion of middle class narratives. A native Southern Californian, Davis said he also wanted to present Los Angeles at the core of American economic life, and not on the fringe of our nation's culture as it is often portrayed.

When he was working on the book, several La Sierra students assisted in the research for "Company Men" including David Brooks, Greg Cushman, Jessica Kim and Adrian McIntyre.

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