I've heard this figure bandied about for years. I seem to remember that this was from the 1984 or 1988 election, but that said figure has dropped since then.
If you look at the counties in NY, NJ, and PA that have a high concentration of blue collar workers, you will see that such areas are the most Democratic in those states outside of the ghettoes.
I think you are probably right. The number is from the decades of Nixon and Reagan and is probably not true anymore.
The union guys I know seem to have taken on Socialism as their guiding light. Much of the Marxist leadership of the 60’s has ended up in union administration and it really shows.
Blue collar union membership has been in a long decline.
{If you look at the counties in NY, NJ, and PA that have a high concentration of blue collar workers, you will see that such areas are the most Democratic in those states outside of the ghettoes.}
I sometimes wonder if the so called Reagan Dems were conservative at all. The Reagan Dems had no problem voting liberals into Congress and the state houses. Many of the Reagan Dems were Polish and Eastern European immigrants who were concerned about Communism. They voted for Reagan for national security reasons. Carter proved to be a dud on foreign policy. They wanted a President who would tough on Communism. Reagan met their criteria. When the Soviet Union fell, the Reagan Dems became just plain Dems. They happily voted for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton.