In the current issue of The Barking Dog, our favorite autoworkers describe the tragic outcome in Ohio of Daimler/Chrysler's version of "lean production", "continuous improvement" or what is perhaps more accurately described as "management by stress." --
Breaking Point
On Jan. 27 Myles Meyers, an autoworker from Ohio, entered the Toledo
North Jeep plant where he worked, shot and killed a supervisor, wounded two
other employees and then shot himself to death. The CEO of DaimlerChrysler
(which owns Jeep) called it "an isolated incident."
But on the internet, Jeep workers are circulating an article from the
Feb. 17 Toledo City Paper, which tells the real story. Quotes below are from
the article, "Productivity At Any Cost?" by Michael Brooks.
"Jeep workers say that Meyers' outburst was not isolated and was the
culmination of systematic harassment by management that took place
throughout many months."
"They [management] have been obsessed with firing Myles for months," said
a worker who would not give his real name out of fear of retaliation. "This
is a part of their campaign to eliminate the higher-paid, older workers
especially activists who want a stronger union and to replace them with
younger, cheaper new hires."
"The unfavorable portrait of Meyers depicted in the mainstream media as a
substance-abusing, unstable maniac is difficult to balance against the
images presented by some of the people who knew him best: employees of
Jeep's Toledo North second-shift body shop."
Coworkers called him "a really cool guy," and a "friendly guy" who
"seemed to get along with everyone." One coworker said, "The guy was
incredible he had skills in welding, brazing, repair work, sheet metal
finishing you name it. He was a go-to guy. He would always bail out the
company when they were in a fix."
In moving to the Toledo North plant from an older facility,
DaimlerChrysler eliminated 1,400 production jobs. At the new plant, "you
can't even take a water bottle to your work station," said a millwright.
"Food, drinks, and personal items are now forbidden at work stations."
"At the old plant, guys would have on headphones, or keep a radio nearby
to make things more tolerable," said a worker. "Sometimes you would see
people singing or smiling while they worked. Now, there's nothing but
factory noise for 10 or 12 hours."
Another issue is the company¹s use of temporary part-time workers (TPTs),
who work three days a week and get few benefits. A worker told the reporter:
"These workers get the possibility of full-time employment dangled in front
of them, and they are pressured into working like maniacs. Plus, if an older
worker goes on sick leave, his job is covered by TPTs. When the worker gets
back, he's expected to perform at the level of two gung-ho part-timers who
each have four days to rest up from their overexertions."
DaimlerChrysler's buzzwords are "lean production" and "continuous
improvement." NUMMI workers: does this sound familiar???
But workers say "a better term would be management by stress. Plant
managers keep pushing the limits on people and machines to get just a few
more cars per hour."
"Many employees say that the extra work and increased stress have taken
their toll in hidden ways: illnesses, marital discord and suicides." A
worker concluded, "The real tragedy with Myles is that most people believed
that this type of incident was inevitable. It was just a matter of who would
be the first to crack."
Management harassment led to his cracking. One worker testified: "For the
last two months, Myles had at least one manager watching him the entire
shift. A female supervisor would even follow him to the bathroom at break
and sniff his clothes to see if he had been smoking in the bathroom."
The Jeep plant is union, but, says the article, "One of the most common
worker complaints...is that the UAW no longer adequately serves its Local 12
members."
A production worker stated: "When I was written up for shutting down the
line, including the union steward [in the disciplinary meeting] was like
having another company person in the room."
Workers are also upset by the 8-year contract ratified in December 2003.
"We've supposedly had a contract for a year, but no one¹s ever seen it,"
said a production worker. "They made us vote on something sight unseen."
Workers also cited the case of Calvin Buckmaster, a union member who had
raised questions about union finances. In retaliation, an unknown attacker
threw a brick through his home window, with five bullets and the letters UAW
taped to it.
One worker summed up: "The only people who can make Jeep free, to prevent
the tragedy of Myles Meyers from ever happening again, to make the union
work for them and to reverse the dehumanizing effect of lean production, are
the rank-and-file workers themselves. Neither the media, government, union,
management or anyone outside of Jeep employees are going to do it."
Source:
www.toledocitypaper.com--/cover2.html
11:54:18 AM 
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