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Sorne blue coUar workers feel so
denigrared that their jobs appear as
wca risome burdens insrcad of decenr,
respecrable occupations. Sorne even
apologize for rhcir occuparions in–
sread of holding rhcm up asan aspira–
rion ro rheir children. So suong is
chis fceling in sorne narions rhar ob-
S. Pantallersco: "1 worked on
the line for 20 years....
lt's
like being in prison, except
you go in and out every doy_
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scrvcrs warn of fururc losses of labor–
force manpower in rhcsc counrries.
Oftcn, che job irsclf appears un–
worrhy of recognirion. More ofren
rhan not, rhe work is opprcssively
redious, noisy, and mind-numbing,
wirh lirrle opporruniry for human
conract. Derroir auro workers rold
The
PLAIN TRUTH rhar rhere is Lirrle
camaraderie among workers on rhe
linc. Each man is relarivcly isolated
amidsr racial rensions, workcr-forc–
man sguabbles, and lack of mutual
trust.
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r is unusual for workers ro feel
sarisflcd under such low-srarus condi–
tions.
Limiting
Achievement
Pcrhaps noching dissarisfies a
human being quicker rhan
point/ess
work.
Each of us nccds ro fcel char his
occuparional role has sorne signi fi–
cancc. Unlcss a workcr can sce how
his work lirs inro a largcr wholc, par–
ricularly if he has a small rask in a
complicared process, bis job has lirrlc
meaning ro him. Mosr blue collar
PLAIN TRUTH November 1972
work, consequenrly, seems poinrless.
A man on rhe assembly line who
receives $10,000 a ycar ro righren nurs
and boles has little idcnrificarion wirh
rhe final produce or pridc in crafrs–
manship. Lack of rhe sense of achieve–
menr on such jobs is a serious prob–
lem.
The late Walrcr Reurher com–
mcnred : "The prospecr of righrening
up bolrs every rwo minutes for eighr
hours for thirry years doesn't lifr rhe
human spirir."
Then add ro rhis rhe blue collar
workers' difficulr problem of main–
raining financia! srabi lity - if rhey
cvcr achieve ir in rhc firsr place.
Though a large proporrion of such
jobs pay relarively well, many workers
lind themselves caughr up in rhe in–
flarionary "monerary squeeze.·• panic–
ular!
y
in rhcir middlc-agc years.
The difficulrics of che 40-year-old
worker are often compounded when
he muse pay collcge
fees
for
bis
chil–
drcn or supporr aging parenrs.
Ir
is ar
rhis poinr, when family budger coses
are ar rheir peak, rhar mosr workers
reach
a
salary plareau in their job lcv–
cls.
The resulr of rhis "middle-agc
crunch" is rhar many workers find
themselves worsc off financially rhan
whcn chey scarred rhcir working lives.
This is a sad siruation - in srark con–
erase ro che "American dream,'' which
is, in facr, a
glohcd
dream of rising ex–
pecrarions.
Litde Responsibility
Mosr workers like a degree of
re–
sponsibilit;
on rhe job. Ic's easier for
che executive, rhe professional, or rhe
sclf-employed ro fulti ll rhis need for
autonomy rhan for rhc average blue
collar worker. Most fcel rhar rheir
jobs !eave lirdc room for making
evcn rhe smallesr decisions on rheir
own.
"They rel l you ro do che job rhe
way it's wroce, even if you find a ber–
rcr way," says an assembly worker ar
Derroi r's Cadillac facrory.
Repcririve rasks which restricr per–
sonal responsibiliry and decision mak-
ing are basic ro mosr blue coiJar jobs.
" Do you know whar
I
do?" asked
onc auco workcr in Tarrytown,
N .Y.
" l
lix seven bolrs, day
in
and day out,
rhe same seven boles."
The expansion of auromarion,
coupled wirh rhe breaking clown of
jobs inro smaller funcrions, has en–
abled assembly lines ro move fascer.
As
a
resulr, mosc workers havc lirde
control over whar chcy do on che job.
Thc assembly lincs ofren move so fasr
rhac rhere is hardly time ro rake a one
minute coffee break or go ro rhe resr–
room.
As former U. S. Ass isrant Secrerary
of Labor,
]crome
Rosow, cold PLAIN
TRUTH reporrers, " If an individual
can leam bis job in t\VO days, as can
be learned on che asscmbly line roda
y,
you can be surc he doesn
·e
fcel rc–
sponsiblc for much. And, in facr, he
isn'c responsiblc for much."
" Dead-end
Jobs"
Mosr people have a srrong urge ro
"gec ahead." The age-old dream of
rising from humble beginnings ro
fame and forrune is ingrained in our
way of life. Bur for mosr blue collar
workers, rhe drcam is fad ing fase.
A recenr survcy, prepared by Up–
jobn's Sheppard, shows rhar one third
A.T.&T.
Malcolm Gillette,
A.T.&T.,
New York:
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lt's
not so much
a matter that people hate
work. Actually, it's more cor–
rect to soy they hate the way
we set up work.
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