Basic HTML Version
R. Battle, U.A.W. local 600,
Detroit: "1 think that ... the
monotony of the job has got–
ten to sorne of the younger
guys."
and Frídays, rhe figure goes as high as
one in ten. Sorne U. S. auro makers
have tried ro solve rhe problem by
giving free green stamps and drinking
glasses for regular work arrendancc!
Turnover is also up. Many workers,
parricularly rhe younger ones, simply
walk
otT
rhe job and never rcrurn. As
one Derroir auro worker said, "The
younger guys really could care less
abour their jobs.
If
rhey wanr ro rake
a day ofT rhey do ir. If rhey wanr ro
quir, chey jusr quic." More rhan half
of Chrysler's hourly workers have
been rhere less rhan five years. Orher
work-relaccd problems are also
mounring. Complaincs abour qualiry
are increasing. Thcrc are more argu–
menrs wirh foremen, more srrifc ovcr
discipline and aurhorit)', more general
grievances.
In sorne planes, disconrenr has
reached rhe poinc of overr saboragc.
At G.M.'s Vega planr in Lordsrown,
Ohio. auros regularly roll off che line
wirh slashed upholsrery. scratched
painr, benr gear shift lcvers, cut wires,
and mi:;sing boles.
Dehumaoized Work
"There is no quesrion," says Har–
old
L.
Sheppard, a sociologisr wirh
rhe Upjohn fnstirure for Employmenr
Research, ·'rhar job dissarisfacrion is
increasing. Today's worker won'r
12
accepr che rhings bis farher did."
Mosr of rhe disconrent does indeed
come from younger, beuer educated
workers. Nurtured by rock-and-roll,
TV, and Dr. Spock, rnany of rhese
younger workers are lincling rheir
hopes on rhe job somewhar less rhan
whar sociery has raughr rhem ro ex–
pece.
On the .rtaface,
ir may appear rhat
abour all young workers are inreresced
in is good pay, good working condi–
rions. and fringc benefits. Bur
deep
diJwn,
whar rhey really want are jobs
which reguire planning, judgmenr,
creariviry, variery, and learning. These
youngcr workers seem ro be more
aware of rhe dignity associared wirh
their job and rhe opponuniries for ca–
reer developmenr. They wanr work
chac is mcaningful, which reguires
sufficienr skill worrhy of respecc.
Labor lcader Walrcr Reurher,
shortly beforc his dearh. explained ir
rhis way: "Young workers ... ger
three or four days pay and figure,
'Well, I can live on rhat. I'm nor
really inreresred in these material
things anyhow. l'm inrercsrcd in che
sense of fulfillmenr as a human
being.'"
Whar rhcsc you nger workers are
increasingly finding on che job is usu–
ally che rcvcrse. Blue collar work is
ofcen reperirive, sculrifying, and over–
conrrolled. Ofren, rhe worker is made
R. Woods: "l'd hove to soy
that 1 like my job. 1 love my
job."
inro norhing more rhan a machine
pare, rorally conrrolled. fully prcdic–
rable, easily rcplaced.
The resulring increases in ab–
senreeism, rurnover, and sabocage
directly arrribured ro such jobs have
forced
managcmenr ro becomc aware
of che problcm. Sorne companies have
anempred ro remedy rhe siruarion by
providing salary and benefir increases
and by upgrading poor working coo–
dirions.
lt is true rhac wirhout adeguare sal–
ary. benefirs. and good workmg con–
di rions, workcrs will be dissarisfied.
Bur merely providing rhcse elcrnen rs
doesn'r, of and by irself, removc rhe
disconrenr. Orher factors muse be
added in order for workers ro fecl ful–
filled on rhe job. The factors which
hclp motivare workers and cure rheir
diconrenr are
recognitúm,
achifvt"tnent.
responsibility.
and
growth.
Most blue collar work
ÍJ
dn·oid of
each one ofthese vital human needs.
Fai lure or inabiliry ro incorporare
rhcse elemenrs inro most blue collar
jobs, coupled wirh human hosriliry
and canrankerousness, is che basic
cause of che rising disconrenr.
Work Without Status
To stand out among one's peers, ro
achieve
sttllm,
is a basic drive of
human narure. Alrnosc all human
beings desirc sorne kind of sracus.
People are rcsponsive ro i
e
-
from
rhe worker who is rewardcd wirh a
space nearcr rhc facrory door ro the
young manager presenred a key ro rhe
executive washroom.
But, with thc growrh of higher
cducation and rhe proliferation of che
mass media. parricularly in rhc Wesr–
ern world, che average working man
has found himself wirh lcss and less
status. Many workers fecl rhar sociery
does nor prizc che kind of work chey
perform. Status-conscious cultures
dramarize rhe professional bur neglecr
rhe imporrance of semiskilled and un–
skilled workers, who feel like "forgor–
ren people" - rhose for whom rhc
governmenr and society havc limired,
if any, direcr concem.
PLAIN TRUTH November 1972