Excellent essay.
Lloyd Parker wrote:
> >
> > ...Because left to its own, a company would skimp on manpower, making the workers
> > work too long and do too much. Saves $$, you know. Same reason we have laws
> > preventing the type of labor conditions found in some other
countries...
> Actually, while I'm against much of what labor unions do (for
example,
it's disgusting that in some cities if you set up your own display or
> booth at a trade show, by contracts that the center has with the union
> and that the show sponsors have with the center, you could be
arrested
or kicked out for plugging in your own extension cord or moving
certain
of your own items - oh - they say it has to do with safety, but we know
> the real reason).
>
> On the other hand, when I started working for a supplier to GM and Ford
> which was non-union, most of the assembly workers had worked for 2 years
> seven days a week without a single day off (no weekend days off, no
> holidays off - the employees were addicted to the overtime pay - it may
> sound like I'm making that up, but it's true - I wouldn't have
believed
it was possible in the U.S., but I was there). The plant was not
> profitable (French-owned BTW), and the plant manager took me and 2 other
> engineers to a nice restaurant in either Phily, Ohare, or Detroit
> airport - I forget which - between flights, and asked each of us for our
> ideas on what was wrong with the plant and how it could be made
> profitable. One thing I told him was that the overtime for the
hourly
workers was killing quality and profits, that that should be
intuitive
to any manager, and, worse, that it was criminal (and that's the exact
> word I used) to do that to the employees. I don't know if the
> conversation had anything to do with it, but within the year, the
> overtime was cut way back.
>
> I still have vivid memories of the transition period - they
announced a
rule that anyone caught sleeping in the plant would be fired on the spot
> and ushered out the door. The absolute best production machine
setup
guy in the entire plant - the guy who I personally video'd setting up a
> press for use in training new setup guys - had been working 12 hour days
> 7 days a week for a couple of months and dozed off one night - they > fired him!
>
> Anyway - like I said - I see both sides of this issue. It's a shame
> that there are people low enough to set up conditions to where
unions
become necessary, but the corrupt self-serving entities that unions
> sometimes become is not right either. The love of money is the root of
> *all* evil.
>
> Bill Putney
> (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my > address with "x")
>
>
>