00:00:19.950 - 00:00:33.730

Yeah. I was born in Wilmington hospital. We lived in Glendale, which is read all through 40.

00:00:33.730 - 00:00:47.540

And my parents, that's where they lived and been there. I was there till I was 21, got married. I got actually got married

00:00:47.540 - 00:01:05.630

to a girl whose father worked there and he got me in and he was a union official. It's time. So he I mean, when you set up your own marry my daughter.

00:01:05.630 - 00:01:27.360

You I am good job how it got in your day or yet. Now my dad my dad worked at the news journal. You your daily networks.

00:01:28.240 - 00:01:45.570

Wow, these guys here. Why? I started off in paint shop. I worked for seven months, got laid off,

00:01:45.570 - 00:02:00.140

came back to work for probably about five months as a part-time workers and then got laid off for almost two years.

00:02:00.140 - 00:02:15.800

And I ended up getting a job at Brooks armored car. And when crusher hold me back and they recall me I'm I

00:02:15.800 - 00:02:34.380

went back and was basically higher. There ever sense. Well, we have which when you and I was hired in in in September 8th of 980,

00:02:35.350 - 00:02:48.200

worked till probably about February. And then I was laid off and then went back in June, work for a few more months.

00:02:48.200 - 00:03:07.310

And then I was offered her like two years. Then I went back in February of 84. And February of 84. I went back and we

00:03:07.310 - 00:03:13.850

had a couple of layoffs in-between, but they were just model changes. I didn't get laid off because of my seniority.

00:03:13.850 - 00:03:25.220

Milan was back then. It was all seniority was it was all seniority throughout. But say you're bad,

00:03:25.220 - 00:03:34.660

I wanted you to go pick out praised ISL at the time the replication crisis analyze. Yeah, we hit, I mean,

00:03:34.660 - 00:03:49.000

it was one of the biggest employers in the state that at that time at that time, MBNA wasn't even thought of in Delaware.

00:03:49.000 - 00:03:58.120

So cursory, one of the biggest employers at the time. I think Chrysler and GM in the state of

00:03:58.120 - 00:04:14.240

Delaware were the top three. And DuPont deal, we rat live out people HIV aids or their birthday. South.

00:04:14.240 - 00:04:23.390

A great answer to aim for. Yeah. It didn't take me all that long to get in because my father was a union or

00:04:23.390 - 00:04:35.570

father-in-law was a union official. He actually took my application right to the employment manager and I guess it took

00:04:35.570 - 00:04:45.940

about four months because at that point they would go into GRU model change. And I was hired

00:04:45.940 - 00:04:56.870

the second day, the day higher. And September when they came back from change over, which they hired on September second.

00:04:56.870 - 00:05:20.020

And then the higher September the gaze is on the second wave. You can have in before you were married or I was I was engaged.

00:05:20.020 - 00:05:35.810

I got married a broad the next year. See, sorry. I was just saying about you asked about the first day.

00:05:35.810 - 00:05:49.780

Yeah, I remember the first day. When we went into the employment office and they read off names and yeah,

00:05:49.780 - 00:05:58.370

I guess I already had groups were who they wanted in which department and none of us knew wolf is going on.

00:05:58.370 - 00:06:07.550

We just knew were in group names. Oh, yeah. Yeah. They took us down to the paint shop and we went down there

00:06:07.550 - 00:06:24.210

and at that time we didn't wear coveralls, we didn't wear a mask. We were lucky to get gloves. But they put me on the line, wipe it off.

00:06:24.210 - 00:06:34.380

Back then they had what they call splatter paint for the trunk. And they sprayed spider pain and it would actually like dust would come out,

00:06:34.380 - 00:06:45.870

settle on the edge of the car. So we death awake the car down. And that's what I did basically my first day. Then the next day I was put on a mule.

00:06:45.870 - 00:06:55.920

But they call me all we transferred like the body of the car would be on this rolling platform. And he'd had to take that to

00:06:55.920 - 00:07:12.700

either reprocess line where they had to repaint the core or to get dings and dance removed, were to take it to chat or to the trim line.

00:07:12.700 - 00:07:20.360

Back then they had a vinyl wagon line, had to put it on mine Wang in line. I mean, there's a lot of different areas you had to go to,

00:07:20.360 - 00:07:29.930

but it was like a diamond plate floor and the wheels of the of the DALYs were metal. So they would slide around on

00:07:29.930 - 00:07:37.130

this floor it very easily. But when I hired in there, yeah, That was willing they only diamond plate places

00:07:37.130 - 00:07:43.370

in there except for body shop where they exit at the end of their line and they had a diamond plate floor too,

00:07:43.370 - 00:08:00.310

but lot of it was wood blocks. And they they kept the wood blocks for years. I guess. Probably that early 90s

00:08:00.310 - 00:08:14.650

when they got rid of the wood blocks. But that was one of the things I remember the big square woodblock there were like four inches thick by I guess error,

00:08:14.650 - 00:08:25.190

eight or 10 inches by five inches, something like that. But there was neat have net floor. Here.

00:08:26.190 - 00:08:39.980

I had a lot. Well, when I first went there, I saw the the guys it will work and in the metal repair area.

00:08:39.980 - 00:08:52.570

And I got to know the guys able to map course of the time I was there. I work there. Yeah, that second job I did mewling job. I worked there for

00:08:52.570 - 00:09:05.800

probably the first six months and I got to know the guys and I like d how much they worked. But they were high seniority were like

00:09:05.800 - 00:09:16.550

35-year your seniority guys. But I said where enough seniority, I like to have one and MD out. Well, over the course of time,

00:09:16.550 - 00:09:31.700

by the time I got 25 years, I end up getting when those jobs. But I say as I was in pain shop and then I went to body shop for

00:09:31.700 - 00:09:45.860

about eight years or six years. And then after that I went to chassis and Body Shop. The first time I worked in

00:09:45.860 - 00:09:55.810

all facets of my shot when you don't have much seniority, go all over the place. But I did a lot of jobs and Body Shop.

00:09:55.810 - 00:10:05.500

And I liked body shop because he didn't have a lot of screws and stuff to play around with. And mostly we're dealing

00:10:05.500 - 00:10:21.100

with big pieces of metal and stuff like that. But there were some wild times. I mean, back back then. I was on the night shift

00:10:21.100 - 00:10:38.210

and I can remember a lot of things happened and that would just shocked people that I remember one guy, he he must have been Tripp and ensemble them.

00:10:38.210 - 00:10:48.150

And he took off all his clothes, ran down the aisle way naked and Yellen houses, wow, this is at me.

00:10:48.150 - 00:11:01.850

But there's a lot, a lot of things have happened and now there is a senior guy get it would've worked, lived I've seen they

00:11:01.850 - 00:11:17.830

used to have chassis line at with til. And when the chassis line tilted, sometimes a car's weren't secured. Properly and they would fall.

00:11:17.830 - 00:11:30.310

I've seen cars fall on top of cars. I've seen I've seen a mill right onetime fall from a second story onto a car.

00:11:30.310 - 00:11:41.780

And he crushed a roof but he was and that the roof actually when it collapsed, it broke his fall. So he didn't get hurt as bad as he

00:11:41.780 - 00:11:50.470

could have that API would hit the CMAP for it wouldn't really earning that. I've seen things in there.

00:11:50.470 - 00:12:01.590

But I worked in Body Shop, nano work when chassis worked there for like three years. And I went back to body.

00:12:01.590 - 00:12:15.680

And one of them went back to body. I ended up doing a whole lot of jobs, but I ended up being a metal man. And what a middleman to fix things dense.

00:12:15.680 - 00:12:30.590

If there's a hole in the floor pain, we flee, fix that. It was a lot of to in order to be a dang man, you had to know how to get those things

00:12:30.590 - 00:12:43.670

and dance out and repair Aman and in a timely fashion. And I ended up before I left there, I ended up being the last man and buy shop,

00:12:43.670 - 00:12:57.590

which was I ran three stalls which could hold up to 12 cars. And I had to keep at least the car

00:12:57.590 - 00:13:07.220

is moving around so that I wouldn't backup the main line, which has a lot of responsibility. But if you know what you know and you

00:13:07.220 - 00:13:21.100

can keep up and keep the line going. But some days I would work on five cars a day. Sometimes days I would work on 75 cars a day.

00:13:21.100 - 00:13:39.360

And in that and that whole but most mostly online jobs, they ran anywhere from I'd say 4045 jobs an hour

00:13:39.360 - 00:13:54.120

up to I remember 70 to an hour. And when you're working with 70 to an hour, it's, you got to really motivate. But there has been

00:13:54.120 - 00:14:02.210

a lot of changes through there. When I left that job, I went to the job and back and paint shop as a daemon.

00:14:02.210 - 00:14:13.940

And then we had a bunch of retirement and they had a job opened up inequality center. And I ended that that was my last job.

00:14:13.940 - 00:14:26.120

I ended up inequality center, which I took a lot of car off the finish line, took it out. I checked all the functions of the car.

00:14:26.120 - 00:14:35.510

I check torques, I checked the operations of the car, sliding the seats forward, move them back to back.

00:14:35.510 - 00:14:44.490

The radios, air conditioners. Whatever worked in the car. I've made sure it worked or who did my rerouted up.

00:14:44.490 - 00:14:55.400

I had left. I would lift up the car and check torques on the chassis and I would do the under the hood checks

00:14:55.400 - 00:15:04.640

and we would take mantle and Road and test drive and mental unaware. And then we come back and write up a report.

00:15:04.640 - 00:15:16.160

And we'll be done for the day. We used to do six cars a day. Which to do everything we had to do six cars a day.

00:15:16.160 - 00:15:31.240

Doesn't sound like much, but it kept us pretty busy. That was my last job in their ways. I would work.

00:15:31.240 - 00:15:46.270

Back then. They were really busy. It was a cake or your memory K car that the K cores, what supposedly saved Chrysler back down.

00:15:46.270 - 00:15:59.260

They took out a loan. Lee Iacocca got a loan from the government and the k cars actually what they say saved corporation.

00:15:59.260 - 00:16:08.350

But we will work in 10 hour days, six days a week. And I would volunteer for 12s every other day.

00:16:08.350 - 00:16:31.460

So we're in 10 and 12 hours for quite awhile. Lot about thighs. Start out on the night shift. Here, secondary English

00:16:31.460 - 00:16:46.810

seniority or they don't have that, Andrea, so it's easier for workbench. And I purposely did 12 years. When my daughter hit

00:16:46.810 - 00:16:57.700

my oldest daughter had first grade desk when I went from night shift to Dacia. And with 12-year seniority, I could hold it.

00:16:57.700 - 00:17:05.830

Yeah, I didn't I didn't want to go and get bounced back. Go and get bounced back. So I just waited purposely

00:17:05.830 - 00:17:13.400

until I had enough time and I could be there for my daughter when she got home from school and everything so

00:17:24.150 - 00:17:45.220

well. Say when I first started there, be we call it the environment wasn't really a top concern.

00:17:45.220 - 00:17:54.130

I remember when the paint shop used to blow out, it was paint dust, but it would land on cars and they would

00:17:54.130 - 00:18:04.780

have you'd have to write a report and get your car buffed out because he had paint dust on it. But over that, everybody

00:18:04.780 - 00:18:13.420

and when I first started, there was very few fans in the plant. So it was like in the summertime it has a really

00:18:13.420 - 00:18:26.600

high you just ED become used to the working conditions. I mean, in the wintertime they had he'd on which was good summertime,

00:18:26.600 - 00:18:36.690

they opened up as many doors and windows as they could. But if you're in the middle of the plant and

00:18:36.690 - 00:18:52.040

there's very few fans. This is quite hot in there. But after, I'd say probably the mid 90s, they got a lot of fans

00:18:52.040 - 00:19:01.370

and the fans would actually circulate the air and keep it keep it pretty cool. I mean, he's still working conditions

00:19:01.370 - 00:19:19.270

in a it wasn't air-conditioning but it was the best we had at the time. As far as the Mac when I started, I well,

00:19:19.270 - 00:19:31.730

after four years I went into body shop and we didn't have hearing protection, ear plugs or ear muffs or whatever,

00:19:31.730 - 00:19:43.220

but we didn't have that. And I didn't really I wasn't really are really concerned about my hearing.

00:19:43.220 - 00:19:58.850

And I guess about the late 90s, early 2000s. I notice I couldn't really hear as well as I used to be able to turn around and say, ha what?

00:19:58.850 - 00:20:12.310

But it it ended up, but I still have a ringing in my ears. I mean, out of a plan, probably close to three years

00:20:12.310 - 00:20:37.290

and I still have a ringing in my ears. It'll never go away. But part of the job, she is Oh yeah.

00:20:37.290 - 00:20:51.470

They come from when I started there was no computers and they waste to hang yellow safety item tags on

00:20:51.470 - 00:21:07.490

things like we're a defect. Or say if you had a problem with paint shop, if there is a more honest on a door or something,

00:21:07.490 - 00:21:20.600

you would write it on the ticket and put a ticket in the corner of the window and you have somebody else would have to go

00:21:20.600 - 00:21:35.860

through and look and see. After, I guess about the early nineties, they put computers and like a alert system in

00:21:35.860 - 00:21:45.320

that if you if you've noticed a more on the on the paint, you would punch it in the computer where it was and then Atwood,

00:21:45.320 - 00:21:57.570

follow the corridor on until somebody bought it off. Whether it be in our repairmen OR and the line supervisors on

00:21:57.570 - 00:22:14.790

my bot technology came in. You could see a common I was a shop steward for a few years. And I noticed that

00:22:14.790 - 00:22:26.150

from when when we first started we had tickets. There are cards that we would punch for hours.

00:22:26.150 - 00:22:35.540

And yet time Clyde to time block, hit the timeline. Then by the end of time, each swipe your badge it at the gate,

00:22:35.540 - 00:22:46.610

and that would be your ring in time. So he had a technology did come in and and every way everybody I was told

00:22:46.610 - 00:22:55.430

once a change always meets opposition. And when I try to bring technology and people would argue with it,

00:22:55.430 - 00:23:03.560

but it came in anyway. Now and they didn't want to have gate rings at the at the at the gate.

00:23:03.560 - 00:23:27.940

But knowing are you so much for they came in. Since your body allows any that you are also oh, yeah. Yeah. You go always in your back.

00:23:27.940 - 00:23:42.890

When I hired in under our contract, you hired him for 90 days. If you had 89 days and you didn't make it, they let you go?

00:23:43.440 - 00:23:56.430

Actually because my father-in-law was union official in one of my uncles worked in paint shop. They pulled a joke on me.

00:23:56.430 - 00:24:05.680

My 89 Bay. They call me down the office, not know what for. But I knew it was made in a day.

00:24:05.680 - 00:24:17.420

And it was like, I guess about 20 minutes of 11 on night shift. And they call me in

00:24:17.420 - 00:24:32.720

the back room of the house. Paint shop. Superintendent his office, and my union officials there. The plant shock chairman was there.

00:24:32.720 - 00:24:44.660

And the superintendent with Zara, my forum is there. And they hand me this pink slip. I put my hand on my back.

00:24:44.660 - 00:24:52.880

I said I'm not taking that unit. Looked at my union official, he says you gotta take it. I said I got 20 minutes.

00:24:52.880 - 00:25:02.270

I said I'm not taking it for 20 minutes. He says you gotta say. So after minute or so. Were you and I and I end up taking

00:25:02.270 - 00:25:20.690

it and open it up. Note said now welcome to the anions. So my 90th day I went in the Union. Did you rise through the ranks EDG is

00:25:20.690 - 00:25:43.040

and I for I'd say about eight years, I didn't participate too much in union. And then we had some new hires at the time. Back then, they had a program

00:25:43.040 - 00:25:56.300

which was ESS program. And the ESS program. They had a guy with lesser seniority in the main come

00:25:56.300 - 00:26:08.740

in and actually take my job. And I got bumped out the chassis. And when that happened, I got interested in by now how

00:26:08.740 - 00:26:28.970

I can beat this system and fix it. Well, I ended up I ran for a trustee job, which a trustee job. He had to be voted in by the whole plan.

00:26:28.980 - 00:26:42.670

There was 30. And in order to get voted in, you had to get a certain number of votes. Well, I've campaigned for probably about three or four weeks and

00:26:42.670 - 00:26:53.830

ended up I actually ended up getting loaded in. And I just wanted to get my name out in public.

00:26:53.830 - 00:27:02.520

And I ended up getting the trustee, which I did for three years and I enjoyed that. It was a learning experience

00:27:02.520 - 00:27:16.650

and that was not a job, it was AI. I would work on a Unions books either a couple of days during the month,

00:27:16.650 - 00:27:24.070

and then the next month I do the same thing and an exponent I do the same thing. It wasn't like I and that was my job

00:27:24.070 - 00:27:42.400

that I was just extra Union. Yeah. But from there, after I got done that job I ran for right now. I was in body shop at that time

00:27:42.400 - 00:27:51.250

and the committee man at the time listed me as ordered and shop steward. And I ran for

00:27:51.250 - 00:28:02.110

shop steward next election and I ended up getting elected his body shop shop steward. And I did that for three now five-years.

00:28:02.110 - 00:28:11.490

I did that for five years and I was his older in it for that five years. So I I

00:28:11.490 - 00:28:30.500

Did quite a bit of union work. My last few years in the plan. We handle disputes between the line worker and first-line management.

00:28:30.500 - 00:28:45.320

The committee man handles the same dispute between middle management, which is like a like a body shop superintendent,

00:28:45.320 - 00:29:02.860

and the committee man. And the committee may also goes between the labor relations and middle management and the union worker.

00:29:02.860 - 00:29:13.560

It's a lot of discussion to try and save the person's job or try and getting help or whatever. Yeah, just date.

00:29:13.560 - 00:29:24.500

You have like four different phases. The shop steward to command the Union President and then a international. So if you save

00:29:24.500 - 00:29:34.960

your shop steward and you wrote grievance, first step would be labor relations and going through first the first line of management.

00:29:34.960 - 00:29:45.500

Second step would be to committee man and Labor Relations and middle or middle management. Third step would be to President or

00:29:45.500 - 00:30:03.050

is a point a which usually to plant shop, chair of the committee men and like labor relations and the appointee from

00:30:03.050 - 00:30:15.030

from the plant manager. And then for step is International where it goes out to Detroit and get settled through D3.

00:30:30.040 - 00:30:46.090

Early in my career. Now, early in my career, we had a contract where you were allowed to strike.

00:30:46.090 - 00:31:04.820

You are allowed wildcat management was even even foreman's, which does first-line management. They were on the other side.

00:31:04.820 - 00:31:12.570

Yeah. They would tell you what to do, how to do it, and not give you a whole lot of leeway.

00:31:14.020 - 00:31:32.630

But towards, I guess after the I need to contract, they eliminated which the MAO-A came in at that point, modern operating agreement.

00:31:32.630 - 00:31:44.030

And when that came in, they did away with the unions, right to wildcat. And from that point on,

00:31:44.030 - 00:31:59.300

it it changed the way we interacted with management. Because you had to put up with a little bit more,

00:31:59.300 - 00:32:26.900

but management gave them a little bit more. I guess it was late 90s or early 2000s. They came in with the team modern contract. And when they came in with that,

00:32:27.660 - 00:32:43.920

there's a smart per gram and a trying to model it after the Japanese program and a lot more got a handle right on the florist shop steward

00:32:43.920 - 00:32:51.010

was your first line and new try and get everything worked out and your team viewed, you would actually work

00:32:51.010 - 00:33:10.980

with your team to try and get things settled before it went. But there was a lot more grievances room in my first 1215 years than there was after.

00:33:11.200 - 00:33:29.840

Because of the way the agreements were re I remember. In the eighties, we had

00:33:29.840 - 00:33:38.420

a a shop steward that he wouldn't have to say anything. He would turn his head to the side and he

00:33:38.420 - 00:33:47.410

would walk through the paint shop booth. And when he turned his hat, we need it. We're going to go out at lunchtime and not come back

00:33:47.410 - 00:33:58.520

or go out at assert it was spread that we would go out at a certain time. Back in the early eighties.

00:33:58.520 - 00:34:17.200

We wildcat I'd say ten times in a probably about 68 year period. But it was because of working conditions and stuff like that.

00:34:17.200 - 00:34:28.270

But after the modern operating agreement came in, never had a wildcat again. Remember two strikes because

00:34:28.270 - 00:34:43.680

a contract expire, national contract expired. But that was nationally. We had we had to go out because we're now national contract was oh man, I mean,

00:34:43.680 - 00:35:00.970

now we didn't have too many after Dynamo, a human has anyone as we're on it. Yeah, my first one. I didn't have my 90 days

00:35:00.970 - 00:35:08.290

yet and I had to give back in a plan. And they all understand all the old guys understood it. Yeah, the guys with

00:35:08.290 - 00:35:17.810

no time have to go back in. But I remember waving goodbye to them and they were going out. Now it's stuck inside.

00:35:17.810 - 00:35:29.770

But the first one I went on, I remember or supervisor coming up and tell me ols is going to be root up. I say go ahead and write me up.

00:35:29.770 - 00:35:36.170

Yeah, you're going to write up everybody else is okay. What do you undo fire everybody. So I remember that

00:35:36.170 - 00:35:50.320

when he was a young supervisor and he he came into the plant probably about six or eight months after I did.

00:35:50.320 - 00:36:06.950

And he had a Bachelor of Criminal Science major. And he come in and the line supervisor. So we're all bus and owning

00:36:06.950 - 00:36:26.870

for you're not even in the field you start out with he ended up being a facilitator for the plan. He see stay there as long as

00:36:26.870 - 00:36:43.340

I end and he worked his way up through two. There was a lot a lot of people that I hired in with that didn't make it. I think there was 306

00:36:43.340 - 00:36:53.040

higher today I was and there ended up when I when we left, there were 66 left, 66 of us left.

00:37:03.700 - 00:37:18.230

We call it the extra super seniority. The, they had a facilitator that was appointed by management and they had one that was appointed

00:37:18.230 - 00:37:29.790

from the union side that would place these people on jobs. And I didn't know or understand what the criteria was.

00:37:29.790 - 00:37:40.910

But I remember one came in there and he actually bumped me off my job and I end up losing my job in the department

00:37:40.910 - 00:37:49.760

because he was all my job. And they said it was to fill open spot. My job was an open and Jose or I wouldn't know,

00:37:49.760 - 00:37:56.710

I would have still been narrow if he wasn't there. But that was the main reason I got into the HSI involved in the union was

00:37:56.710 - 00:38:12.200

because of that that when that program bump me out of my department. And it took me three years to get back twice that.

00:38:20.430 - 00:38:33.230

One guy will do the work, kill. And so this other guy was getting a lot of the other guy. They felt that there were

00:38:33.230 - 00:38:52.670

four or something like that. I didn't know I didn't run three booze. Iran. I had three lines that I could put vehicles to be worked on in those booze.

00:38:52.670 - 00:39:06.710

And I had one main hole. If I kept it going, I could put units in other lines or safe. We had to change doors on all moldy vehicles.

00:39:06.710 - 00:39:21.770

I would get help and we would have a ragged doors right by the end of the line or the end of my booth. And we would change doors out pretty quickly.

00:39:21.770 - 00:39:34.940

But I have saved had one guy bring the door over, another guy on on how can one Doherty other guy taken a doorway,

00:39:34.940 - 00:39:41.600

the other guy bring in the door in and then that guy botulinum back out was like a three man operation. Yet.

00:39:41.600 - 00:39:53.450

Say if we had a run of splits on, on the headers or splits on the inner wall or some. And we'd have to change doors out.

00:39:53.450 - 00:40:08.210

You could have a rack held. I think it helped like 15 doors at at that time. And if you'd have 15 racks,

00:40:08.210 - 00:40:17.660

bad doors, you'd be changed and a lot of doors. Sometimes all day. E B chain indoors or hoods or offenders are I

00:40:17.660 - 00:40:29.920

remember the hoods we did on on the main line and we'd have to do it. We'd have two guys on Bolton,

00:40:29.920 - 00:40:37.700

one on either side. We have a guy taking a hood away and a guy wearing an OH it in. So we need for guys to to run that operation.

00:40:37.700 - 00:40:51.590

But if you have a bad run on hoods, I think it was 22 hoods in a rack. And you'd have ten racks of battle it as 220 hood,

00:40:51.590 - 00:41:03.650

you had to change. So it's quite an operation it but once you get used to doing what she had to do and do a chair and do.

00:41:08.850 - 00:41:19.300

Another thing that we talked about was people that have these monotonous job. You do the same thing day in and day out. And we found a lot of times that

00:41:19.300 - 00:41:26.920

people would drink out wherever they come in already or they would come in and do their cache will come in.

00:41:26.920 - 00:41:46.330

Hi. Did you ever witness anything like that? Yeah. I actually saw two guys. One and he was high on sometime.

00:41:46.330 - 00:41:57.700

And he actually fell out on a line and he fell down in between units that were coming up the line. And we pulled him in,

00:41:57.700 - 00:42:11.320

React from out from between the two lines. Got him help. And an m or one guy, he fell down and

00:42:11.320 - 00:42:25.620

actually a unit actually like rolled up owning and some somebody has real quick to hit one and saved him for man seriously hurt.

00:42:25.620 - 00:42:38.110

But as far as being drunk, that was on a daily basis. I'm a member of people would go out to their cars

00:42:38.110 - 00:42:47.790

and at when I first started there, there was a guy that came around. It was a beer truck. Come around. He eat by veer off to the eye.

00:42:47.790 - 00:43:00.490

And they would come in drunk from lunch and you sometimes have to cover forum. I remember when I was

00:43:00.490 - 00:43:12.370

in Body Shop one time we had this guy with coding dog and IS when I'm doing one time and asked

00:43:12.370 - 00:43:18.520

him I can't call man dog. I said, Yeah, What's your name? He says No. Seriously called me dog. So that's our boss called me.

00:43:18.520 - 00:43:29.310

Just call me. Yeah. Okay. Thank dog. But he got drunk one time at lunchtime and when he came back in,

00:43:29.310 - 00:43:38.710

we actually took him out and put him in on this was embody shop actually took him out and put him in one of our trucks,

00:43:38.710 - 00:43:49.330

like a tractor trailer truck and let him sleep it off and we all covered for him. But getting drunk at

00:43:49.330 - 00:44:04.860

lunchtime that's happened few times. We've heard that sometimes the plant with the honest thing I'm knitting share with people.

00:44:08.260 - 00:44:24.410

Yeah. You could get just basically anything you wanted. I remember guys, when we'd actually I'm on night shift,

00:44:24.410 - 00:44:35.390

we'd actually have guys would cook in the ovens like and paint shop Owens. And Guy, I remember one guy had

00:44:35.390 - 00:44:53.740

a can of beans in the oven and they exploded. And when they, when they came out on the other end with means all or it actually got into the pain.

00:44:53.740 - 00:45:04.250

So it caused a lot of work. On the other end, they found out who was cooking means they ended up firing him.

00:45:04.250 - 00:45:19.240

He got his job back, but yeah, I remember one guy used to. So meatball sandwich is Sue heat, so chicken. And there was there was

00:45:19.240 - 00:45:27.700

other guys would bring their wives would cook like they take orders on one day and otherwise would cook and eat a meal

00:45:27.700 - 00:45:41.680

on the next meal you get. Droves UK hit. Like, especially around the 4th of July, people would go down to

00:45:41.680 - 00:45:50.030

North Carolina and South Carolina and get fireworks, bring him up and so on. There were people who came in,

00:45:51.030 - 00:46:03.880

especially on Fridays, you could go out in the parking lot and the summer and I'd be bugle sound produce out there. Just about anything you wanted you

00:46:03.880 - 00:46:33.500

could get or somebody will be able to find for a whopping. My last day I was in the Odyssey center. And the last day of the plant, December 19th.

00:46:34.590 - 00:46:47.720

They we didn't have too many cores the audit because it was the final day and they're one month too much. We were basically cle clean

00:46:47.720 - 00:46:58.640

enough in our area. And the plant manager and the President will walk and behind the last car.

00:46:58.640 - 00:47:13.010

And I went out on the line to see the last car common through and they were shaken anions and but it was it was really weird because once the last car 13,

00:47:13.010 - 00:47:23.060

you are done, you basically pay for eight hours. But like newspapers were left on even when I went

00:47:23.060 - 00:47:37.470

through back in university DO or bought it and they were having an auction and I went through on one of the walkthroughs.

00:47:37.900 - 00:47:48.770

But you get a win back into a couple areas that I used to work in a knowers papers left on the table is just like people were coming

00:47:48.770 - 00:48:02.210

in the next day or that they weren't. I remember going through and seeing the president and high-end shop or

00:48:02.210 - 00:48:15.980

the president and the plant manager. Welcome on our last car and I was shaken hands and tell everybody to buy. It was tough known as a DnaA.

00:48:15.980 - 00:48:33.170

You're someplace you've been for. I was here for 28.5 and knowing that you weren't going to see them people anymore or the plant was closed.

00:48:33.170 - 00:48:53.480

It was difficult, but I guess you get through it. Or they're born alive. They had a meeting of everybody.

00:48:53.480 - 00:49:15.520

We got caught up front February 14th, and it was February 14th of 2008. And they said the panel is scheduled to close.

00:49:15.520 - 00:49:37.060

And by the end of the contract, which was like a year or 2.52 years away. And then that was our and happy Valentine's Day. Men.

00:49:37.060 - 00:49:52.040

November to middle of November. They called another meeting and said to plant will be closing. December 2019 will be our last day.

00:49:52.040 - 00:50:08.180

They move they move to schedule up to the 19th because the economy and back then, economy was like. The Aldine officials were there,

00:50:08.180 - 00:50:23.620

the labor relations plant manager was there. They basically said at that point, nothing more, we can do that. And there's rumors that

00:50:23.620 - 00:50:33.240

they were going to try and save to plan everything. But over my time I'm I learned that I didn't

00:50:33.240 - 00:50:48.250

really believe too much until it happened. But I kind of believe down when they when they said that. But they because I

00:50:48.250 - 00:51:04.180

was a repairmen IN body shop, they December 2019 was last day of that. They had probably about 800 units. That in one way or another,

00:51:04.180 - 00:51:15.020

they either didn't get all the ports put on a vehicle. They had dings, dancer or pain issues or something wrong with them.

00:51:15.020 - 00:51:30.010

So because I was a repairmen, not always inequality center my last days but I was repairmen Out of Body Shop. The hold your status and your department.

00:51:30.010 - 00:51:46.330

So I ended up staying till December 31st was my last day and we worked on the vehicles till we got the last ones to give clear plan and

00:51:46.330 - 00:51:58.990

I wouldn't like and December 19th, all of the Eagles were done and you just walk away and I still had to repair the ones that

00:51:58.990 - 00:52:18.640

weren't fully because there was a lot of material issues because a they didn't have enough rear seats, they didn't have enough the rate wheels

00:52:18.640 - 00:52:35.020

or they didn't have enough of the right clusters where the dashboard. So those things had to be taken care of before they ship the units out.

00:52:35.020 - 00:52:46.090

So I ended up staying in a couple of weeks later. Now in my last days. These cells out anyway.

00:52:46.090 - 00:52:58.570

Oh yeah. We have different groups. But like material guys. I know a lot of them.

00:52:58.570 - 00:53:13.660

And then there's groups that get together for breakfasts and lunches. I've been to a couple of them. And I The Body Shop guys,

00:53:13.660 - 00:53:23.560

when the metal guys get together, we get together for breakfast this second Tuesday of every month. And when I can make it,

00:53:23.560 - 00:53:36.010

I go as we know, hanging hanging out the same guys. The end we get like supervisors come in and we get because word of

00:53:36.010 - 00:53:46.520

mouth in our keep talking. Everybody in. We've had old supervisors come in. We've had a bunch

00:53:46.520 - 00:54:01.820

of old metal man come in and just share some old times and they have a tool store. There was actually a little two-group

00:54:01.820 - 00:54:13.130

that they get together. And I hung around with Devin guy. So I go to I went to a couple of there's material guys,

00:54:13.130 - 00:54:19.330

they get together and it's just a year of little groups have an error there, get-togethers.

00:54:19.330 - 00:54:27.490

And of course I do. And keep in touch with some I still got a lot of phone numbers Alcoa guys

00:54:27.490 - 00:54:41.960

probably about once a month or so and check on. Yes. Pretty good. I worked for Dilworth Park

00:54:42.150 - 00:54:58.840

when they had a open house. Like a job fair for dealers and a lot of jobs are there. I ended up going over there and go through

00:54:58.840 - 00:55:10.770

the process of getting a dealer job. And I ended up getting a job and I were worker or their deal.