In fact, if you look at the 5 million decline in manufacturing employment, you can attribute almost all of it to unionized industries like automotive.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
We have a polyester fiber and pet resin plant here that was built early in the 1970’s and it is running with a small fraction of the number of people who used to work there. The parking lot that used to be filled to overflow now has room to hold a demolition derby. The workers have an income adjusted for inflation that is maybe half of what it used to be. I mean that seriously, less than three years ago some departments were actually paying about half in nominal terms of what the pay used to be. They had to raise the pay a little to keep new people coming in but most still leave before they actually learn the job. The company is teetering on the edge and will probably soon join the list of used to be manufacturers.
Without knowing the details, it sounds like a typical manufacturer that did not update their manufacturing practices to take advantage of technology. Hence, they are slowly declining into oblivion.