The GI Bill was important but it didn't create the massive middle class that was buying stuff. Nearly one in five workers were being paid enough to build a household and many others were enjoying the benefits of that collective bargaining without the need to participate.
RJR never had a union - they would consistently raise pay and benefits to keep it out. You could walk onto the floor straight out of high school and make more money than your daddy ever dreamed of. And you could plan to work for the next forty years with no need for a second wage earner to help pay the bills.
When KKR bought RJR out, a lot of those workers became instant millionaires thanks to buying company stock for decades. Interestingly, a lot of them went right back to work since it was their life. Some took their money and flipped it to Phillip Morris and made another mint when that stock took off.
