Sparks .... bitter ? No ... disillusioned , experienced , but like you , also tired of all the BS . However , when I made the comments about the unions , it`s all from first hand experience over the years .
I was involved on a project with a major Railroad to work on a hydraulic hopper car riveter . Riveting the stakes on the sides was a dirty and dangerous job that took 5 people 15 to 17 minutes/side .... riveter , bucker , catcher , pitcher and helper . Done hydraulically , it would be faster and a lot safer .... but the Unions fought us all the way .... and no one was going to be let go .
Another example ... same Railroad ... took three trades and 45 minutes to check the fluid level in a reservoir .... come on .
I also worked on vacuum arc furnaces in the steel industry . Spent a week at Wyman Gordon in Worster , MA on a startup that should have taken two days as I wasn`t allowed to touch anything on the equipment that I designed . I had to stand there and show a Union man everything single thing and pray it was done right .... and this guy made three times my salary ! But what did I know ... I was just a Southern boy .
Did a start up on a Plasma arc torch in Mountain View , CA ... all non union and was out of there in three days after arc strike on the second day . Same thing at another company in Albany , OR on a Titanium furnace except that we spent on day on the river
I remember working with a company that manufactured track maintenance equipment for the RR and seeing a piece of equipment sent to Conrail that showed in the photo about 18 men working it . Only problem was that it was designed to work with 10 to 12 .... but Union rules added the rest .
I have many other first hand examples .... but I`ll also agree that everyone`s hands are dirty . However the time has come to draw a line and stop rewarding poor performance , no matter from who .
A good post from RogerH on the Ford plant in South America ... and even more telling was the comment that the UAW would not allow a plant like that to be built in this Country . Really sad .
I`ve also spent some time in the Japanese auto plants and the big difference I see is that Management and the workers mostly work together and aren`t antagonists .
No offense intended , but maybe that`s why the South is on the way to becoming the new Detroit?