Well, I used to work at a GM plant. You couldn't walk through the skilled trades area without tripping over all the people asleep. And they weren't waiting for work; work orders were essentially DOA, it had to be an act of congress to actually go and do one. There were classifications for pipe fitters, painters, mechanics, tool makers, die makers, tin smiths, welders, mill wrights, fork lift repair, and electricians. Alright, electrical work should be left to electricians, but most of the classifications were just to make-work. Machine issues turned into a circus when more than one trade was involved. A lot of the tradesmen actually did things only on over time; the first 40 hours were for sleeping—I swear this was true. There were two die makers, that did absolutely nothing, period, as in never touched a machine or a die or a tool or anything except magazines and newspapers.
The union contract specified which news paper vending machines were to be in the lobby—so they'd have something to read while a machine behind them ran.
That place was a surreal adult day care center. There were some good people there (some people actually did try to do a good job and put in a fair days work, which is saying something when they had no incentive to do so), and I'm sorry for what they and their town are going through now. But there were a lot of bums with serious entitlement complexes and the Union was trying as hard as it could to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. As another poster said, nothing wrong about high wages for high productivity. GM had, and probably still has, the highest labor hours per car in the industry. Combine that with the highest labor rates in the industry, and that is a business model on the fast track to oblivion. I left after a couple of years for a job that paid less but was in an industry that was sustainable. Now that the CAFE standards are to increase, plus the resistance to drilling for oil domestically and the prospect of returning high oil prices, GM is over.
I have a friend who works in a company that works closely with the auto industry, and he has spent a fair amount of time over the years inside GM plants working with them, and what you said mirrors what he has told me.
He has also spent time with a few of the Japanese automakers, and he said the difference in the way things are structured is like night and day, even accounting for the cultural differences, which are pretty substantial, so that says a lot.
As you point out, there are a lot of good people who work in a bad system.
That was pretty depressing to read, though.
This is very interesting and informative !
I’ve heard other opinions, as you might imagine...