Ralph, I spent the better part of 5 years in dome...

2009-07-06T15:03:30.935-04:00

Ralph,

I spent the better part of 5 years in domestic auto plants across the Midwest and the anecdotes you mention in your post are generally true. (My first plant had a bar in the parking lot 100 feet from the main entrance)

However to identify the behavior as a result of management may be over simplification.

You need to consider that most auto plants employ 2000-4000 hourly workers. Essentially a small city packed into an area only 4-10 blocks square. In any population that size you are bound to have a variety of miscreants and anti-social behaviors.

Amplify this behavior with the tremendous psychological stress of doing the same motion over 600 times per day, 5-6 days per week, knowing you have years more to go before you are done.

(If you want a first hand account of life on an assembly line try Rivethead by Ben Hamper which describes this repetitive life during the prime of GM.)

Finally union protection for all activity not directly detrimental to production creates an environment of acceptance that most outside of the industry would not understand.

I hope the insight helps. There are still lessons to be learned from the big three - even if they are only examples of what not to do.

-Shawn

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Ralph, I spent the better part of 5 years in dome...