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I spent 41 years in GM Oshawa as a tool & die maker. Believe it or not, I actually worked for a living. In that time I saw a lot of changes, and lots of things that should have been changed. There were years when GM made $5-6 billion and could afford to pay big wages. Same with other companies. There were a lot of people with jobs that could be hardly called jobs. There were slugs who basically wouldn't work. Starting around 2000 things really started to change. There was more and more automation installed to eliminate jobs, Everything gradually tightened up on the line. No longer does a worker have time to sneeze never mind read a few lines of the newspaper between jobs. Sweepers, Cleaner Attendants and lift truck drivers were whittle down to the minimum. The slugs and the like were quick to take the early retirements and buyouts. Everyone became fully accountable for their jobs being done right, trades and production. It does take a while to turn the mentality around that had been in the company for so many years. You would be hard pressed to squeeze any more work out of the people on the line. Quality control became a number one issue. Production General Foremen and Foremen walk the floor almost constantly. No more hiding in their offices. There was a time when you wouldn't any more than know who the bosses were. GM is now paying for past actions and the results may be dire. There will have to be wage and benefit cuts, salary and hourly. More plants will have to be shut down and model lines will have to disappear. Lean and mean is the only way to survive. I believe that they also have to make big changes in the type of people that they promote into management. I could point out a few who wouldn't last five minutes if I were running things. Incompetence comes to mind. The American unions may be a problem, but the CAW has been losing ground for a few years. When I retired two years ago, new hires were coming in at $17 and hour, no benefits and 6 month contracts. I'd surely call that a big concession. We are also going to be paying a bigger share of our drug coverage. I just wonder what will happen when we all have to adjust our wages to compete with the Chinese slave labor wages. Do we let ALL our manufacturing leave? I can't think of a country that is successful with nothing more than service industries to keep it afloat. What I really can't understand is why there are aren't a lot of bankers and Wall Street people in jail. Two world wars didn't even create this big of a mess. There, now I feel better.
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This is all Al Gores fault.....If he wouldn't have "Invented" the Internet.......the world would still be recognizable as we remember it......and the World Ecomomy wouldn't be here yet........Just Kidding....But.....We "All" want things to stay as they were, But...Ain't gonna happen.....we have to adjust and change and the Rules are changing on a Weekly Basis...
Ken
