Yes, This started out as a Chrysler Corp message in their advertising but has expanded to Americans as a symbol of a new meaning of Made In The USA promotion in a global economy.
The promotion was so successful, Chrysler make quite a bit selling the slogan on lapel pins a tie clips and you can even get a bumper stick on eBay with the slogan “Imported From Detroit.
It has come to symbolize the hopes of factory workers and those who make things in this country.
Chrysler has stopped using this slogan but it lives on.
I don’t see the car companies as any sort of evil sort but the whole history of automakers has always seemed to have a misguided truth about the problems they had and who caused them.
Management always sheds the blame to the worker. The worker has little knowledge of where and how most of the money is spent, so how are they to defend themselves except to say the CEO and board are making a whole bunch of money on the surface and who knows what in underhanded deals. (also see upcoming story next week on Chesapeake Energy CEO and personal side bets with company money)
While unions can have some adverse effects, the good out way the bad and still, can see the need for some rules that would be sure that the control stays in the memberships hands.
And thinking of those American Workers, I just could not think of a better speech for it than the one the president of the AFL-CIO presented at last weeks DNC convention. It is at the hart of who thinks they built America.
The real answer is: The Money, The Management and The Worker. Not one but all of the above. It would not happen without all of them. But it always comes to be that those with a bunch of money think they did it all. Of course this speech is sided to the worker.