Workplace democracy has been advocated by capitalists, managers, and
workers. This paper seeks to clarify such cross-class support by
analyzing Americans’ attitudes toward worker participation in decision
making and worker control. National survey data from 1991 are
employed. Hypotheses surrounding various criteria of class are tested
and production-related conceptions are the most powerful predictors of
these attitudes. The existence of significant cross-class support is
confirmed. A path model is estimated for each class location in order to
compare the underlying causal mechanisms. Non-working class support
for workplace democracy is found primarily in subordinated class
segments. Most importantly, “middle class” women are supportive as
worker empowerment may improve their own lot. Overall, the advocacy
by capital and its managers appears to merely reflect a veiled attempt to
further their own agenda of capital accumulation.