Posted by
Ex-tex on Thursday, November 13, 2008 4:36:30 PM
I worked at GM as a college intern
in the late seventies. Just weeks into my first stint (Buick engine plant) the union threatened two walkouts.
The first because a union worker had tried to burn the plant down some years before, been tried and convicted of arson, went to jail, and had recently been released. The UNION wanted him rehired. (oddly GM didn't want to rehire him)
The other was because a woman accused 2 men of raping her on the machine floor. GM wanted them suspended during investigation- the UNION said NO.
I was also VERY popular for things like plugging in projectors for meetings. Because the UNION insisted that management call a union electrician to do it. But because I was an intern management figured they could claim that I didn't know the rules.
Finally, I was curious about all the folks playing cards ALL DAY LONG on the machine floor. I was told that they had completed their UNION quota of parts for the day- before the first hour of their shift was up.
At 18 years old, I KNEW the UNIONS were going to force GM out of my hometown REAL SOON.
And they did. Flint, Michigan was a pretty cool town when I was small. Now it's a rundown place with unemployable people. AND THAT IS THE FAULT OF THE UNION!