The Industrial Worker (1969)

[Music] [Applause] the work who comprise more than half of our are some of the most essential people in our society what kinds of jobs do they do what kinds of lives do they lead these people who produce manufactured goods and process basic raw materials all the wealth that lies in the Earth the ores the coal the sand and the stone all these hold little for us until men turn them into things we can use these men mostly unskilled workers often find their work strenuous and dangerous in their daily routine they rarely have reason to smile [Music] monotony one man one single function performed over and over and over again thousands of repetitions 8 hours a day 5 days a week gring boring uninspiring one man one function the fundamental principle of mass production men and Machines working together with speed and efficiency create the enormous flow of goods so vital to our economy build a product faster with specialized tools and teams of unskilled workers and you build it at less [Applause] cost this Factory can turn out a new engine every 15 seconds the assembly line is the key to mass production here workers join the thousand of big and small parts to make the hole good thing they don't need [Applause] a you can't do it in modern industry which is enormously complex the demand is so unrelenting production so overpowering one might wonder how a man fits into the system for the past 6 years Jerry seminsky has been working in an automobile plant he is no complainer but recently Jerry has been wondering about how he fits into the system about where he is going good morning honey Jerry and his wife live in a modest home in a Detroit suburb at 24 his wages already provide for their needs and for a few luxuries by World standards the suskis like many other unskilled workers live better than those of other nations and I going to Hudson tomorrow you it takes Jerry 30 minutes to drive to [Music] work from the moment he punches the clock time speed and efficiency begin to [Applause] count Jerry's job is one of a shrinking number that requires human hands machines have taken over other jobs and the company may find a machine to do this work for Jerry as for thousands of unskilled workers the answer lies in training for a skilled job a job with a future but the future is not always predictable take Mike Kowalski he came from Poland 40 years ago an unskilled laborer opportunities and Ages were good then but times [Music] changed from the depression of the 30s Mike learned what sooner or later every unskilled worker had to learn that his job and his livelihood and that of his family depended entirely on the health of Industry throughout the Western world [Music] many Old-Timers can remember 20 layoffs in 30 years among them Fred Schmidt today Fred is one of an elite group of industrial workers a specialist in a skilled trade soon after Fred immigrated from his native Germany he established his own business today he is a master Craftsman who manufactures and supplies tools and dyes to the Giant Automotive plants these skilled Craftsmen began their trades as apprentices and mastered them only after years of practice today they pass on this knowledge to younger men on the job for many workers apprenticing is the only way to learning a skill and mastering a trade it is the only way up for some but not for all Joe Williams has a skill yet Joe is one of many who wonders what the future holds Joe's great-grandfather was a slave his grandfather and father were born in Alabama Joe is a native detroiter he knows about discrimination on both sides of the Mason Dixon line Joe is a good worker and pulls down good pay but things haven't been easy they still aren't Joe couldn't buy a house near the new plant and he pays more for his flat in an older neighborhood than he should for Joe discrimination in housing and discrimination on the job are still painful realities the law and the Civil Rights Movement are slowly changing things for the Williams family here and there but as yet they don't see many welcome [Music] signs Joe is a skilled worker and skilled men are needed but there's been talk about machines that take over a man's job about creeping automation automation which promises to revolutionize the entire pattern of industry is feared by every worker just how far can automation actually go this Factory can produce a 2m sheet of glass practically by itself the more specific a job the simpler it is for machines to take over this plant requires only a few highly skilled technicians in its operation of the multitude of operations performed in an automated plant only a few are done by hand most are performed by machine ultimately a machine will perform this operation even the critical job of inspection which is still done by human eyes will soon be done by electronic eyes not many highly automated plants like this one exist as yet and for the moment newly gained benefits satisfy the majority of workers higher hourly pay scales guaranteed annual wages improved working conditions regular hours and overtime pay make life relatively Pleasant for these men and their families these men and their co-workers all depend on the Union as their bargaining agent with management the principal Union concern is to to maintain jobs for all its members no less important is securing a fair share of corporate profits usually paid in higher wages infringe benefits longer vacations higher retirement pay and in profit sharing plans although some individual workers tend to be overwhelmed by the size of their Union they know that it gives them a voice in all Union matters heated discussions are frequently generated whenever the topic of automation is raised although the unskilled worker stands to lose the most from growing automation even the skilled worker fears the threat that someday he too will be replaced by a [Music] machine Giant automatic welders can perform 250 operations in less than a minute and replace all but a few individual workers machines like these increase production yet these machines benefit the workers by eliminating hazardous and trying jobs when automatic fingers handle steel no man is crippled no hands are crushed no one is ever burned automation presents both labor and management with specific problems and all benefit from the new technology labor and management agree that in this new technology education and retraining are essential companies will invest in highly motivated employees they will help support a man who wants to complete his education or learn a skill industry too must progress to survive a company must constantly improve in order to stay in business in a competitive market high volume production at minimum cost per unit is the goal of industry in our consumer oriented Society the flow of product is pointless however unless consumers have the money to buy them and among the country's biggest consumers are the industrial workers the very people whom automation threatens to replace make up one of the largest segments of our society they are vital buyers of goods they have achieved a standard that matches their wages the highest in the world Jerry seminsky and Joe Williams like most of their fellow workers rear families plan for tomorrow and make the best of today Jerry strongly identifies with his own Community he participates in its welfare and contributes to its advantages Joe too assumes leadership in his community he spends much of his free time in athletics and youth [Applause] Guidance with automation already established freedom from physical toil becomes a real possibility for the [Music] workers with all these changes however come challenges to the individual challenges in learning in Outlook and in living for the industrial worker the maker and shaper of goods [Music] a [Music]