presumably this guy has a HS diploma and works a dull monotonous full time job that he hates. Yet he’s married, has a stay-at-home housewife and a kid. He also has an apartment or house. Today this is nearly impossible. We’ve lost a lot in the 40-5O years since this was made.
People wouldn’t mind working monotonous jobs if they could provide a good life for themselves. Imagine being miserable at work and still not being able to make end meet and provide a good life for yourself.
@@socialitenoel If the job doesn't offer a decent reward, and you hate it, then it's usually not worth. ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Lol no doubt. I can imagine an ancient worker, Babylon, 2000 b.c.e. and a worker despising the monotony of his job making sun dried bricks for the Kings new city wall. Millions and millions of little clay rectangles, daydreaming of farming, or making chariots
@@brandoncornwell52 I mean probably not despise it like we would, but probably as monotonous as cleaning dishes at a chipotle. We have tons of distractions in day to day life nowadays whereas they didn’t really at all. Just every few generations or so you’d get enslaved.
It's amazing, his job still exists, except now it pays less, has many educated people doing it, and his wife has to work to have the house and appliances. We're losing ground here.
It’s entirely possible. Just as this guy said.. join the trades. Get your license become your own boss before you’d even be out of college. I’m so happy my dad raised me this way. Life is amazing when you’re able to control your own life.
I coud have did it working at a factory in ohio in 2010 through 2019. But now in 2024 it could be done BUT housing cost is to high. Up 100% from 2015. Automobile are pretty insane also. Everything else cost more but some cost can be absorbed bacause the pay has increased also. But not to keep up with real estate, real estate tax and rent. Now, a guy could still do it in a factory in ohio making $25hr. Paying $1,400 a month for a $200,000 loan, 20% down at 8% intrest including an escrow account for taxes and intrest. The house payment would be about 50% of his net pay. That would leave him with $1400 a month. Add utility bills $220 Now add a car payment $500 Car insurance $80 The guy has $600 bux. $150 a week. Need some gas for that car. Hope the wife knows how to stretch a dollar at the grocery. It can be done.
I can tell he hates his job but he is able to afford a house and pay utilities and food as well for his family and have savings and a pension for retirement… all on one income. Today, you can work just as hard but only afford a house in the hood or an apartment and maybe* provide for one other person. Times have really changed.
It was a more serious, more practical generation back then. Bosses were hard and they demanded results, but they also understood what _they_ had to do for their employees to help get those results. Nowadays managers only care about their own bonuses. They don't give a fuck about either the employees, or the overall well-being of the company as a whole.
Yeah and let me tell you the Union workplaces are even worse in this regard. Its like you have a union file a grievance. Except in my case the union was the UFCW probably the worst in Ohio
@@EarlFaulk We have USW, company just walks all over them, ignores contracts, and at one point our local union was in bed with the company. We were a small factory until we got bought out by an international company. Things have gotten substantially worse.
@@skydude38 Yeah if a union is more than 40 years old chances are they are buddy buddy with corporate. I go out of my way to shop non union grocery stores....thankfully the UFCW hasnt gotten their claws into other places. If they fucked me over by hiding all the bad crap in the contract only the lawyers see then they get nothing from me
But look where we've come today! You can have a master degree in economics, having spent 20 years of your life in school and university, and write hundreds of applications until you get a job interview for an office job that lets you end up in the same boring everyday routine. Just now it won't pay for a non-working wife, 2 kids and a house. Progress.
And don’t forget two hundred grand in student loan debt like yours truly. I’m not complaining, I signed the papers and took the money but I will never have it paid off in my lifetime.
@@riceflatpicking4954 You might yet. In many cases there are pernicious little expensive habits that you don't realize how much they cost until you run the numbers. So look for such habits anywhere and everywhere. Maybe cut cable tv; that's a good one to cut, for example.
@@unconventionalideas5683 yes. I’ve ran all of those thoughts through my head many times and I will say that I make my payment each month I do my due diligence. But yes it’s amazing how much a person can save you know if you spend six dollars a day at Starbucks like someone that I dated for a while that’s $180 a month or $2160 a year. So many things that add up quickly.
It's the stupids taking stupid degrees. I had an interview for a wonderful high paying job a week ago that I didn't apply for (self employed for a year) he can't find anything people are not taking the HARD degrees and not spending their free time learning new disciplines. I did not take the job
As an old school pizza maker for the last 25 years, I feel this guy's pain. Just doing the same thing for 12 hours straight non-stop in a busy joint is killing me.
Bless u for staying solid! Remember there’s another side of the spectrum where people are living chaotic unstable lifestyles feeling the same way. I prefer solid stable stress free life. Watch some toxic tik toks if u need some perspective lol
Your best bet is education if your circumstances still allow for thay. Heck even learning some programming on the side in your own free time will serve you very well.
@@xyzmediaandentertainment8313 Can learn programming, photography, web design, video editing, etc. I worked at a pizza joint for 2.5 years in my teens and couldn't take it after so long.
When you hate a job. Paydown your debt, save as much as possible and seek out new opportunities. Factory work taught me I do not like repetitive jobs. Working outside in construction was extremely hard work, yet it was very rewarding and never got boring.
My dad wanted me to be a carpenter but his idea of it was building single family houses. The reality of it today is finding yourself setting roof trusses on a 3 story apartment complex, the wind is howling and its minus 25F. Im retired now, and never swung a hammer for a living in my life.
Try paying down debt with a wife. Women hate savings. My experience with Women is that they like to push finances to the limit. Today we have credit cards, loans on 401k, 2nd mortgages, (sorry Refi). I know their are frugal Women, but I have never found one.
My grandfather had to quit high school, when his dad died, and get a job to support his mom and siblings. Never had a so-called "formal education" but applied himself to better himself. He got a job at an oil refinery and started out as a grunt. He took correspondence courses through the mail and earned his boiler operator's license (they used steam to power industrial machinery back in those days). He became a supervisor, supported a wife and two kids, bought a house, bought a vacation house, made a pension that took care of my grandmother in her old age... all on ONE SALARY. You could do that back in those days. Now? Good luck, Charlie.
What are you talking about? You are describing a 75k-95k salary. Lots of people make high five figure salaries. You basically just have to either get a valuable education(like some engineering paths) or do what your grandad did and get a small education in an undesirable field.(like a dangerous dirty, uncomfortable job like boiler operator, or a modern equivalent would be iron worker)
@@geddon436 Everybody in America who works full time makes five figures.( 5 figures is between 10 thousand and 99 thousand dollars a year) But Iron workers usually make in the upper five figures.(the vast majority of jobs start out in the lower 30s per hour after your trained and get into the upper 30s per hour when you get your bearings (so you start out at like 60k a year and grow into a bit under 80k a year and that's not counting any overtime which can push people into the bottom of six figures. ) )
@@geddon436 It's just paying people to do hard stuff. Nobody wants to climb up 300 feet and weld all day and nobody wants to spend 4 or 5 years paying a university to learn stuff, but there is good money behind those paths. You can't expect to just walk in and make as much as an engineer or iron worker without taking on an equally big sacrifice as they took.
Back then people were willing to work lousy jobs because at least they could afford to buy a home and raise a family. My grandmother worked a horrible job in healthcare that paid barely above minimum wage but was still able to afford a 3 bedroom home and raise two daughters on her own. Now I work full time but am at risk of homelessness if I have to move or the rent goes up because I can't even afford a studio apartment anymore.
@@zacharyshoemaker835 I make $800 a week. Rent is $500 a week for my studio apartment. Work is 30 minutes away. Where I live most studios apartments now in the $700 area.
@@2prize if rent is 500 a week you pay $26,000 a year in rent. Your pay is 800 a week which is approx 42k a year multiply it by .75 which is usually what taxes come out to be so you have around 32k a year to spend and 26k is rent leaving you only 6k left over for the rest of the year not including utilities transportation and your phone. The problem is you care to much about WHERE you live and thats why you feel you cant achieve these basic goals.
This breaks my damn heart. I'm in my break room at work and trying to hold back tears. I've been in this guy's shoes so many times in my life. I'm thankful I don't have kids. No human deserves to feel like they're trapped in a machine, and that they need to turn off their mind to live
I've done some factory jobs that were varied and engaging for the most part. But I once worked on a production line doing the same monotonous thing about every 10 seconds, I only lasted a week as it felt torturous. I have a lot of respect for those that can rough that out, and empathy for those who had little choice.
It's almost eerie to see upper management of an industry talking in earnest and with nuance about the wellbeing of their own employees; to make an honest attempt to better the lives and personal progression of those employees -- and to do so in a way that could potentially negatively effect their business model and revenue. Absolutely incredible.
I could be wrong, but I think all of those guys (even the last one) are middle management. I'm talking middle of the middle management. I've been in an auto plant for almost 20yrs and can spot a middle manager from a mile away. I actually feel kinda bad for those people because no matter how they think or feel about something they have to do it. I'm at least in a position where I can say "I don't think that's going to work, so figure it out and I'll do what I can." I can't tell anyone to F-off, but I can decide (a little) of how to spend my time.
I remember my uncle coming home from a job like that, and how he’d sit in the bathtub smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer. He was the sweetest soul, and was absolutely trapped. He lived to fish on the weekends. And he had a weekend. And all he wanted was for his kids not to have to do this kind of work. He worked so his kids could go to college, but then they ended up being fuckups, and by the time they were 18-19, all of these jobs had disappeared. I just adore your old documentary films, David.
I'm a postal worker. My job is monotonous like his, but I'm happy to have it because it pays my bills, buys food, and provides a good life for my family thanks to the union which stepped in back in 1970. I recognize that I'm a fortunate one, whereas most people in 2022 are not. It's the reverse of what was in 1964 where most people could provide for their families with one job.
You said the keyword: union. Unions made that possible. Any forms of worker organization has been under attack by republicans, in order to reduce wages and put people down. And the same people who would benefit from unions are voting against their own interest.
@@quincy-2000 My wife is rural Hendersonville, Tn.........it took her 8 yrs to become regular, she loves her job!!!!! She works her ass off!!!! She is always working her days off because they can't keep anyone.......nobody wants to work!!!!
I work at a Toyota plant & when I started there, I determined to never settle there. I’ve been at the plant for 7 years now. I’m still fighting to escape but my desire has dwindled. People keep telling me to stay & retire here but idk if I can hold on much longer. Every day I feel like dying just because I don’t feel any purpose. Even when I meet people in public that talk about how much they love their truck or when I’m able to treat my girl at random because I have the money, I come back to that feeling of despair. I sometimes wonder at work if I’m just another machine on the line, just built slightly different. I’m sure that’s how the executives see us anyways. If you’ve read all this, heed my warning: never settle. When you settle, you die. EDIT: I came back here to give good news to everyone. I finally landed a new job. I no longer have to deal with the swing shift or the monotony of a plant. I took a $2/hr pay cut but I can have a normal life now. My job requires me to use critical thinking skills instead of being a machine. Even with work being slow right now, I feel a great sense of pride on my job. So don’t settle. I went through dozens of interviews at several other jobs before I landed this one. Keep fighting for a better life. Struggle onward no matter what.
I feel you. I know exactly what it's like to be unseen, unheard, unappreciated, and stuck in an unfulfilling toxic workplace but please keep your head up because there really is hope for anyone to have the future they really want ❤️
at this point i would just like a 40 hr a week 5 days 8 hr job with weekends off, but every manufacturing job i get or look at ends up with never ending soul crushing overtime
I don’t know what job is fun I serves a purpose only when you own your own business and are not working for the middleman will you feel fulfilled but even then you’re overworked jobs are not meant for you to be sipping martinis are playing video games they are meant for you to provide for your family especially right now with people losing jobs left and right we should be grateful for what we have I am a business owner and know this vary well and came from corporate America I don’t think any jobs are fun or server progress but to provide financial stability for both you and your family
Office Space made me realize this when I was in high school. "We werent made to sit in cubicles all day looking at screens". I worked dead end jobs for good little bit after going to prison at 18. Jack in the box, oil change place, car washes, etc. I always felt unchallenged so I usually just drank all day at the job or got high. I'd easily leave a job because they were all the same. I finally got into roofing 6 years ago. Made no money at first but started to learn and loved the freedom I had and meeting people, driving and it seemed like there was something about this I really liked. Started my own roofing company outside Houston TX in 2021 and did half a million in sales my first year. Get out of your job and find something you like!!!
My husband works for a major auto manufacturer and has for eleven years now. He’s moved up but It hasn’t changed even now. Production floor guys hate their job, even with robots doing their share of the work. It’s hard on the body, repetitive and boring.
Sadly, that applies to about 90% of jobs. I think TV, movies and social media have made many people feel even worse by creating the illusion that there are tons of of people with sexy, fun and high paying jobs.
I thought that was pretty impressive the way that guy effortlessly flipped that bumper perfectly into that car. If he was like a 16th of an inch off he would have banged and scratched and banged up that car and they would have had to stop the whole of assembly line.
David, you are a national treasure. I have been watching your archival footage for a year or two now and you did such a great job encapsulating these times, lives, and issues. You are straight gangster. It's wild seeing people back then saying things we still say today. Says a lot about corporations.
Thank you for your comment. If your resources allow, I would sure appreciate your using the THANKS button under any of my videos including the one you have commented on. It is something new that RUclips is beta testing and would mean a great deal for my continuing efforts. David Hoffman filmmaker
Funny how bad things have gotten. I'm watching this and all I can focus in on is: Wife, kid, house, grilling in the backyard. Try slaving away at a dead end job and having none of that on top of everything else.
@@tonysoprano9370 ya, you tell that entitled little whining millennial. You actually have to work hard and strive to be the best at any job you do not just do the bare minimum expecting success too.
@@Shornandkenny millennials do want to strive for the best in whatever job they do. What they do not want to do and will not do is grind away all day like this guy, and still not be able to afford anything. And to a degree I don’t blame them. Millennials want to see some worth in what they do and want to know that what they do will get them what they want. A comment above is true to a degree. These days you can grind away in a job, work your Arse off and still not be able to afford a house. Wages are not high enough. The amount of people these days who go out every day just to pay rent and food and have nothing left over is staggering. You can’t blame people for being a little down about it. In this day and age unless you have a business, wages are not going to get you the lifestyle you want.
@@jjtrucker5950 yeah it is better than being bombed. But it is still shit. The fact is we don’t have to go through things like world war anymore because times have moved on. And the fact that times have moved on should mean people get more from work. And these days they don’t. Wages are not high enough. And rents are too high. Nobody can afford to buy a house. This guy in the 60s could easily afford a house. In todays work place, people go through this all day, then they go home to a rented house, and struggle to pay the bills.
Excellent video. I did assembly line work as well. I would daydream for my entire 10 hour shift. Sometimes I would think to myself " This job isn't going to change. 30 years from now, I'll be doing it the same way". There was zero thought needed for that job. I could perform the job whether I was in a good mood, bad mood, sick, tired, sober, or drunk. I tried not to think about the job I was doing as those thoughts would lead to nothing other than madness. I finally got out of that job and moved onto a job that requires thought and has a lot of freedom to it. To those that do work in factories, I salute you as I could not handle it.
When I was much younger I worked a punch press. I found that I could basically do the job without much thought. I would basically day dream the whole shift. In fact I got mad if the parts got hung up between stations and it interrupted my day dreaming. I can't complain. It paid my way through college. The irony is that I worked the rest of my career as an engineer making the manufacturing process more efficient. I would like to add that modern manufacturing is much different from what is portrayed in this video. The modern factory worker interacts with computers and need a good understanding of modern technology.
The point about jobs like this are youre literally a unit in a machine owned by a businessman.. thats what happens when you let businessmen take over the economy and destroy independent labor
@@broadclothjack The only reason we have the standard of living we have now is because of the economies of scale provided by these "evil" businesses. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "capitalism is the worst economic system except for all the others". If you can't get rich in the current US economy than you need an attitude adjustment.
At least he was able to provide for an ENTIRE family WITHOUT education. Today's workers are even more disconnected from their labor and they make a fraction of what this guy did. Today, he'd still be miserable and his wife would have to work a retail job just to make ends-meet.
What wife? When would he ever have met a wife and how many women would want to be mothers at that age now? The reality is they would maybe be high school sweethearts and she'd be "unfulfilled" and divorce him and he then gets the plant AND alimony and an empty house to come home to. Or, more likely, he just goes through school, gets a dull job, works 10hrs a day and drinks in the evenings and lives a lonely miserable life on RUclips comments sections ..
I mean Gm assembly workers are paid on average 50k a year so pretty sure you can raise a familly on that today. As a generation we just have to watch where our money is going and only spend it on what matters.
And this was one of the better paying blue collar jobs around at the time. Strong union “skilled labor” and this man describes it like a prison sentence. It’s easy to criticize this man because we now know how good he had it compared to today. Today very few if any jobs requiring no education can support a family. But dull monotonous work is soul stealing regardless of pay.
I think we humans are never satisfied. We always want better. I haven't seen the whole video yet but I wonder if he was around when automation showed up and replaced him? Was he then _no, I am sorry, I won't take this job for granted?_
Wow Herbert is an example of my dad. My dad started working on the assembly line for Ford in 1966 when he was 30. He retired in 1996 and is living happily on his Ford pension. I never recall him being un happy or depressed about his job. He did at some point get off the assembly line and worked in material handling. He did like that a lot better.
Man finds purpose in doing his duty. Your father did what he had to do to provide. His duty was you and seeing as you're around he's a true success. Thank you for sharing your story
@@1stNumberOne thats an old school way of thinking and its wrong. Men aren’t supposed to just hold it in. We as brothers should be encouraging one another and taking time out to listen to one another. We should be providing service in any possible. But how do you know what to say when someone as how ya! Doing. Inside, you really need a confident ans someone to talk too. Except, as soon as you open up the other guy is judging you as a weak man. The whole thing is asinine and isn’t doing anyone any favors, The children need to see the realities of life. That way they can strive to gain employment that suites there soul.
Your comment is spot on. THIS IS what socialism was LIKE. Wealthy paid their fair share of taxes. We had more purchasing power back then. Those were 64 Chevies they were building at 1st. One of the best 60's cars built. Life seemed so simple back the
Don't forget that an accident, pregnancy, or illness wouldn't throw him deeply into debt, or health insurance which costs as much as rent/mortgage. Oh and he had a pension too!
Wait until they make you do the same work, but now instead of being able to at least buy one of those automobiles your making, and being able to afford to buy a house food and a vacation, now you can’t even afford to pay rent and eat hardly, let alone buy one of those cars.
@@asm2750 Right they basically screwed their selves by cutting the middle class and now there’s hardly even enough people left to buy their product except for the wealthy basically and so it’s become you have two main classes of citizens in America the poor and struggling and the rich and the divide gets greater every day
@@thetechlibrarian well said. It's like the county I live in. Tons of empty "luxury apartments" and half empty cookie cutter garden home neighborhoods that want outrageous prices that hardly anyone can afford.
@@loganstroganoff1284 same here in the states 2 bedroom apartments not even luxury going for $1300 a month plus all utilities, with a note must make 3x rent. Lol like if I made 100k a year I am not renting. Funny how it’s the same all over the developed world. But yet when you tell people that’s the goal they laugh at you, and you can see the same thing happening with cars and personal transportation, because a car means freedom. They want you pushed into a mega city for easier surveillance, and your freedom of moment restricted.
I'm a millennial, born in the late 80's college drop out, trade school grade working as a bottom level grunt at Amazon, I can both relate and envy Herbert, relate to his suffering and envy his life style. The things said in this video still resonate today. Damn.
As a former Toyota factory worker that experienced how boring and depressing that line of work is, I relate to this hard. Your higher ups don't care at all about you, or the fact that you work 11 hard hours every day. Decided to switch jobs and be a pitmaster. While I make less money, I'm so much happier with what I do now, and plan to go into culinary school. Long story short: if you don't have a family that you desperately need to take care of, please explore your options. Factory work can tear anybody down
My Father came to the states Worked At A Tire Recycling Factory From 17 In 1973-2018 til 64 had plans but Had kids etc so just the mind of this baffles me.
It's the repetitive nature of the work that is soul destroying. It was working in a factory that made me change career and thankfully I found my calling early in life.
After years of University education I must be honest I regret it. Sitting in front of an excel spread sheet all-day is the new definition of mind-numbing. All for mediocre pay, lack of physical activity, depression. My most happiest times were working in a car dealership service depot, where you were always running around and things were interesting. Everyday was something different. Management is horrible in those types of businesses but the socialization of techs and problem solving make up for it.
I work in a service center for a large auto manufacture and I get caught in the same loop of thought. Some days it's absolute hell and I just want to walk out, and other times I catch myself thinking that pound-for-pound it's a great job. Decent money for needing no formal education, some days you have plenty of free time to stay sane but are still busy enough to make the days pass by. And the greatest part, is it's a total boys club, even with the women there. We have 50+ employees, men and women, technicians, parts guys, etc. who all think alike for the most part and you can say and do dumb things that would probably land you in some class room or HR office at other jobs, and just spend your days cracking up. Idk if it's what I want to do for the rest of my life though.
@@GoofysBandit I totally agree about it being a hang out. I would spend hours at the parts department just talking about random stuff. Lots of people at my dealer were employed for over 30 years, especially parts. Porters have the quickest turnover along with service writers tho
They won't even let you say hi to the customers if you fail a THC test. The THC test keeps so many good workers from getting jobs seeing as it is their only brickwall. They'll hire the drunks instead.
@@FUBBA I on and off smoke Marlboros as it comes with my accounting degree stress but I never did THC. A lot of people were users of it though. No one ever cared for the most part, some people were vocal about it too, even management. It's legal here in IL
My dad worked on the assembly line for the 1954 Ford Fairlane after the Korean war. He later left and became a union painter with a side business. He did well, RIP dad.
I was one of the last of the well paid, HS educated workers outside of the auto and related industries. I told my son's, do NOT follow in my footsteps, the jobs are no longer there, get a trade or an education, and they did both, and are doing well. Me? I retired at $29 an hour. The guy replacing me is making $21 for the same job, and will probably never make what I did. I'm glad I got out when I did. It was hard, hot, dirty work and I don't miss it one bit!
People always say oh just be a carpenter, but we make almost money for hard work these days, you cant do mich with the $40,000 you get a year in the part of the country i live in and on top of all this you get treated poorly in the workforce
A friend of mine that’s 82 years old now went to Detroit in the 60s and worked for Ford after 6 months he quit to come back to Tennessee to work in the cotton field. That’s how bad he hated it
"I think of my wife and baby at home." Hits me right in the gut. Work-from-home has made me appreciate my family and my house so much. Whenever I'm away, I think of what my grandmother is cooking and why can't I be there to help her, or why I can't work on my grandfather's truck so he doesn't have to bust his back- yet I'm stuck in the workplace doing something I never wanted to do, all because I was told I have to. And this is the case not just for me, but for many others. The relationship between human and work is a deep, tumultuous line.
Can confirm nothing has changed in the automotive industry. I spent 13 years at a large UK manufacturing plant in NW England. Every day was groundhog day on the production line, when you clocked on for shift you left your brain at the gate and only inserted it once you clocked off. We did however used to rotate around the jobs, the more processes you could learn the better it was. Managers and engineers were always looking at ways to give you more work on your process though or remove men to save money. The worker at the beginning of the video is correct, if you get a man in a job like that with financial commitments, then he's there for life. I was lucky and managed to get out. The wages were excellent and it gave me a very good standard of living, but boy it took it's toll in other ways.
I worked at Toledo Jeep Assembly from 1978 to 2008 , I hated it at first but my last 10 years I kind of enjoyed it . The 7 day 10 hour weeks were crazy but the paychecks were out of this world , my wife didn't have to work and life was great . I retired at 49 and then started driving semi truck hauling auto parts into different auto plants from Warren , MI to Fort Wayne , In . I found out a long time ago any job is what you make it out to be . I actually miss working at Jeep .
When you work on the assembly line and you get your job down, all you have is your own thoughts for hours on end, and there is nothing you can do about it. This video is accurate. 20 years on the line.
I was 19, and my dad got me a factory job (plastic injection molding!) at $8/hr. One week, the machine I was operating was facing a wall with a big analog clock on it. That's the worst, 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, just watching the clock.
@@p8nisman-not Doesn't change the job. Only dissociates the worker, like a drug, so that presence is absent, in order to get through. Understandable though it is, it will create more dissatisfaction in the long run, as engagement in a task is the point of engaging in tasks. If avoidance is necessitated, the job is wrong for the individual. I suppose this is the illustrated problem- a lack of engagement and the fruitlessness of the day-to-day mindless "grind."
@@Eric-tj3tg not always, I work at a grocery store picking out items for pick up this is super easy and I don't need to be focusing so its a better use of my time to have airpods and listen to some old history or coding tutorials
Whats the point of working for your family if they grow up to do the same. Its better to pursue more fulfilling activities even if its for less pay to serve the well being of ones self. If not we will continually be raptured into a realm of perpetual monotonous existence generation after generation.
@@haleyblackburn4336 because these men didn't have the willpower to pull out. The end result? Babies. So now they have no choice but to take accountability for their actions and do whatever they can to care for their family. I noticed that a lot of these guys aren't very smart. They're almost robotic in a way, no soul, almost no emotion. It's sad. If they were smart, they would have pushed off the idea of meeting women and having kids to focus on their own happiness and growth as a human being. Unfortunately, we are human and to get ourselves in all sorts of predicaments that are self-inflicted.
@@piperpilot26 It's not all about that, a lot of the guys and gals I work with are older folk, their kids are already grown and have their own families. But the way things are set up they have to keep on working to be able to retire, some don't make it sadly.
These guys were tough. I work at Honda in ohio. Everything they are doing looks unsafe compared to today. Still hurts your body/joints today and is still monotonous and boring. Paid great until last few years. Inflation right now is so bad that they can't get new people. Nobody wants to do physical labor anymore. I'd still rather do it than sit in front of a computer all day.
Worked 30 yrs at an automotive plant and got a small retirement, just before they sold the plant. I made almost 21 dollars an hr.in 2007 when i retired. They sold the plant to an area in the world were workers would make 50 cents an hr. I could go on for a while why companies go under and not even speak of money.Thank you David for your work and time....
Worker’s do not make that now in tier 2 plants. Plus no retirement,$600 monthly for health care,while running 4 machines. I’d gladly exchange for a mind numbing job of yesterday!
@@davidheinzmann4403 First of all David , Thank you for your comment. If it wasn't for me knowing construction , i would probably never been able to hold a job or would have been in jail in today's world. People my age had it made when it came to finding a good paying job.Many jobs you did work hard but you weren't dumped on even close like today. Today your worked long and for many times horrible pay and then are expected to set up a retirement .With what?" Many places don't care if you quit , they hire someone cheaper. I have kids and they have never been lazy and i would say most the younger generation aren't lazy too. Hope something goes your way fast......
@@gregmoore7709 management acknowledged that they cannot find skilled workers. Our union has stated that the company wants to increase the starting wage $3/hr with no increases for the higher ups. Our last proposal offered $1/hr more for an additional machine to operate. Never thought of retiring. I'm 58 and beat . My mom worked until she turned 75. She's now 97.I put my wife and two kids through college. I don't have time to read the newspaper. I'm the last of seven kids. What I find troubling is that there's only 7 grandchildren. Two are adopted. I would gladly go back to the 50 s to 70 s. Thanks for letting me ramble
The loss of blue collar jobs is the biggest blow to equality in this nation, hands down. Not everyone is a rocket scientist, and not everyone is a capable decision-maker. If the average IQ is 100, that implies an inconvenient truth; that half of the people in the available work force are under that. There has to be a place in this world for that other half to make a meaningful and fruitful life for themselves. Automation and outsourcing has left these workers without any meaningful future, even if the work itself was a drudgery. If people aren't busy making a future for themselves, then they will fall victims to vice and envy. Drugs, gangs and crime all have a common link; lost opportunity.
Agree on the IQ component and otherwise law abiding folks needing to earn a decent living but claiming that people become murdering gang bangers because they have no opportunity is BS. Gang bangers can make more money than those with PhDs; they literally can make millions a year in the illegal $100 billion+ a year drug trade. Do you really think even $30 an hour would change that mentality? Gang bangers can and do make the average American workers salary in a week. Don't be so naive.
@@byoshizaki1025 And normal people will resort to it just to live. I know of a few people who would love to have a decently paid blue-collar job over having to sustain a half decent living via crime. Greedy sociopaths choose crime for the sake of massive riches.
@@Ziess1 That's a false dilemma; nobody needs to engage in criminal activities in the U.S. to survive. It's a choice they make and an excuse they tell themselves. I'm not saying things don't need improvement.
@@byoshizaki1025 9% of people are below 80 iq. This is what? Around 20 million adults in the US? As time goes on the jobs these people can work will be automated away (transportation, cashier...). Not only that, but these jobs do not pay well enough to make a living. It would be no surprise if these people turn to crime as what else can they do?
@@AJ213Probably Japan, South Korea, Sweden , Singapore, Norway, and Finland don't have and never will have 10% of the population engaged in criminal acts as a way of earning a living. Many criminals are not low IQ, they just lack a proper moral compass. Also, there are social services for those truly unable to provide for themselves to an extent and those may have to be expanded to a degree.
When I started in manufacturing I was an assembler, press braker, welder. Despised all of them. Hated it. I was bored out of my mind. Then I made it into the Engineering department doing programming, quality control, tool buying, machine troubleshooting, prototyping, process writing; so much better because everyday there was a new problem to solve or lengthy projects to push forward. Any kind of repetition or repeating problem is painful.
Today in the Detroit area and in America people would love those jobs to come back. America was at its strongest back then when middle class workers made up the bulk of commerce. Now look today at places like Flint and Pontiac, Detroit and Toledo and Youngstown and Gary. Look how the loss of jobs ruined cities and took opportunities away from generations of future workers like myself. That guy complaining about his job on the line, he’d have a hard time making it today because he worked in the golden age. 40+ years later he had no idea how hard it was going to get.
Those jobs are never coming back. It was the unions that made those jobs so lucrative. And it was the age of the Big Three and the attitude, "we build them, you buy them."
Those factories are all in the US South, which until 1940 hadn't really begun industrialization. As the South developed, it stole what little might have been left for the Midwest. It has since began stealing jobs from China. Even Chinese Textile Firms have opened factories in the US, notably in Arkansas.
The demographics of the cities you mentioned also changed. This helped to bring about the downfall of the automotive industry. I can't say more because RUclips will censure me.
The lack of self esteem by a guy who is doing something that is physically difficult and exacting is sad. Many who degrade specialized labor do it to keep the cost down. The people who build and built cars do it for the money and because they can and are willing to.Most would not last a day on an assembly line. If you can and do this kind of work and enjoy the money you’ve won the game of life. Lots of people are miserable in-spite of their job and they bring this miserableness with them. Such an interesting look back thanks David.
As a postal worker working nights sorting mail this definitely hit home. I have had the exact same thoughts regarding my job and the realization that I want more out of life.
Before COVID I felt the same way sitting in my cubicle everyday. March 2020 they sent us home and we've been working from home since then. I've been able to create a whole new life!!
One of the best things that ever happened to me was a tour of the local Ford plant when I was in highschool. Even as a 17 year old kid I was absolutely horrified at the thought of working on the line. I stayed in school and ended up in a job that kept my interest for 30 years and allowed me to retire at 49.
I entered the auto industry about 14 years 1964. As part of engineering co-op training, I worked for months on the assembly line. Most guys around me were happy with life and friendly. There were card games at break and lunch, plenty of socializing after work involving sports, outdoor activities and hanging out at the local bars. Most guys owned homes and many had cabins "up north". The first day of deer season was like a national holiday amongst the working men of Michigan. New cars were not uncommon as were boats, snowmobiles, campers, etc. Another benefit was most people got off work at 2:30 so you saw some day light year round. All of these workers were about $125,000 ahead of me in earnings 5 years into their career because they didn't have to give up 4-5 years to get a degree. This short film was interesting but it did fit the author's idea of what working life was like.
My dad was a hi lo driver in a factory for 35 years. He made enough money that mom didn't have to work we always had nice cars and nice things he loved it because of the low responsibility and the simplicity of the job. I always said I don't wanna be like my dad and sit on my ass all day so I became an auto mechanic. Now that I'm 50 I hate it because of all the BS on the car's today and being on flat rate it's hard to make money. Now I think to myself that I wouldn't mind having a hi lo job.
It makes me think of my dad, he went to night school in his 30's to get a BA in psychology, graduating back in the 1970's. He was able to get out of his job as an insurance agent into something he found a lot more fulfilling. Dad was smart, hard working and never played the victim.. but I guess not everyone had his kind of intelligence and drive. I love these interviews because it gives me some insight into my parent's times
Thank you for your comment. If your resources allow, I would sure appreciate your using the THANKS button under any of my videos including the one you have commented on. It is something new that RUclips is beta testing and would mean a great deal for my continuing efforts. David Hoffman filmmaker
The "Golden Handcuffs" as it used to be referred to. It looks as if Mr. Slater is providing well for his family. The stress of an unfulfilling job is minor compared to not being able to do that.
This isn’t an example of golden handcuffs. This is an example of servitude. Golden handcuffs requires a substantial reward for sticking around. Like earning a deferred comp that you only receive after 10 years, and if you leave you forfeit your deferred comp. Thats golden handcuffs.
I worked security (contracted) for GM and people on and off the line would always ask me why I didn't work for the line for better pay. What they didn't see was what I saw, workers who worked 5-6 10+ hour days of constant work, often literal back breaking, monotonous work. I remember speaking to a line worker who looked exhausted and he told me he worked 6 days a week and barely got to see his wife and children. That was all I needed to hear and see.
The Army was my first official Job, i worked in a Chicken Proccesing plant (factory) for 5 years after i got out of the Military, and that was the 5 most miserable years of my existence on this planet... i feel this guy for real , I too got trapped in the factory and hsd no other options at the time nor means to change , Thankfully , i now have a Job that i dont hate , and i may make a bit less money, but id take that any day over hating my life from the moment i wake up until the very end of the day. Quality of life over money, all day every day!
I feel you there. Every job I’ve had outside of the Army has sucked worse than the last one. I’d rather go back to Afghanistan than work most of the jobs available out there. Luckily I’ve found a way to make a living doing things I like. I won’t get rich but I’m happy enough.
How'd you find a way out? I've been stuck on the 3rd shift factory grind for as long as I can remember and there's no end in sight. Out here in the midwest it's either mcdonalds, farmwork, or factory work. I live 50 miles from the nearest college and work 6 days a week, 10 hours days. Applied to the plumbers pipefitters and HVAC union several times but never hear anything back, from what i've seen and heard it's next to impossible to get good work out here without having someone to put in a word for ya. And I have nobody
The whole “this generation just doesn’t want to work!” Is no different than the last, there’s just more people so it seems that it’s more common today to hate their jobs, who wouldn’t!? It’s not natural to go to a boring place and do the same thing all day long until you get your worth at the end of the week just to get drunk.
Just yesterday I heard some guy pull out a Reagan era comment. Some welfare queen just wants to pop out another kid so they get a bigger check. Yeah, right. Lots has changed in 40 years except for these prejudices.
Mr Slater's plight reminds me of a book called Rivethead by Ben Hamper, which details his life as an automotive worker with GM in the '70s and '80s. I recommend it!
I used to work in a factory doing the same thing over and over. Luckily I was only 19 and I thought there is no way I’m doing this forever, so I went to uni to study engineering, got my diploma and now working on a bachelor, absolutely love it.
If I met Herbert Slater in a interdimensional bar and had a drink with him and showed him most comment sections i bet he'd probably even be more depressed. But instead, if I showed him how a few people are using the internet to better themselves and in turn trying to better those around them and the world maybe he would feel content with his life. It's tireless work like Herbert Slaters that we have the ability and bandwidth to communicate to eachother across continents in a blink of an eye. I will try day in and day out not to let those efforts go to waste.
I think if you showed Mr Slater how America has devolved so badly that it takes both parents working full time and paying a stranger hundreds of dollars a week to watch their child and not be able to afford anything outside of bills and not even always with those he would feel much more fortunate despite the tedious job. America has gotten much better with petty electronics and a communication and broadcast medium like the internet but when it comes to legitimate issues like healthcare and workers wages America is garbage in that aspect
@@zachhoward9099 You mean show him your narrative? Yeah like I said he would probably become more depressed. Probably thousands of people agree with you who are on this very channel. Do you live in a big city by chance?
Honestly, I don’t know how someone could do the same tedious and monotonous job for thirty or forty years. I would become absolutely unhinged! The argument is always people do it to live, but if you’re absolutely miserable, why would you want to live? This can be especially difficult if you’re someone with artistic or creative aspirations. It’s not that you’re lazy; it’s just that you would rather spend your time toiling away on aspects of life that give you fulfillment. I understand the necessity of monotonous work, but people shouldn’t have to devote the entirety of their lives to it. This is one of the cultural aspects of the fifties that I detest. It’s the idea that a man’s worth is limited to the paycheck he brings home to his family. Of course, even then, exceptions and situations varied, but that was the dominant cultural narrative. Even today, however, such expectations haven’t completely disappeared, but they’re just more unspoken.
I said something Similar this to my beautiful, creative childhood friend today♡ That what she has done thus far isn't the Same type of Currency that our Hometown considers a Measure of Success ♡
I grew up during this era. My step father worked for Chrysler for 30 years. He encouraged me to learn a trade. I learned, practiced and made a good living in the building trades. Built my own home from the ground up. Very rewarding and happy life.
As a tradesman myself I can say I’ve loved my work every day. I worked for a short while right out of high school in manufacturing and it was MISERABLE!
As a retired auto manufacturing employee, trust me, it was the worst job I ever had in my entire working years. There are way too many reasons I feel this way to mention them here. Trust me when I say that EVERYONE doing that work hates it with a passion.
I realized when I get a new job, it feels good for the first few months. Then it turns me into a goddamn zombie. I feel like we shouldn’t be doing one thing our whole lives unless we really love it, like a sport or music. Which are 2 therapeutic things. Lifting boxes at Amazon isn’t so therapeutic. Working in a landfill, working construction in horrible weather conditions, sitting in an office all day, etc. isn’t something humans should be doing their whole lives. We should be able to rotate between things at least.
My grandfather was the exact same time at Ford. He tried to move back to the farm multiple times, but he couldn't raise his family there the way he wanted to.
It's remarkable how healthy and alert they all were. No meth or fastfood, no cell phone. Those were the most thoughtful and articulate high school drop outs I've seen.
A high school graduate from 1962 had the equivalent education to someone with 4 years of college today, they actually taught kids back then, now they only dumb them down and indoctrinate them.
@@wymonwatson1309 No way in hell that is the case. Our exam supervisors (boomers) told us that the content in our exams during high school was what they learnt at university as a bachelors degree.
Both of my Grandfathers worked in the coal mines in northeast pennsylvania durring the depression, then fought in WW2..........after hearing their stories I really should be embassased to ever complain about a job, although I still catch myself doing it sometimes.
My grandfather did the exact same thing , polish/Russian immigrant hauled ass when Hitler took power before he invaded Poland , fought in WW2 against him came back to Bessemer Michigan and worked the coal mines till he saved enough to move the family out west, he worked hard and sacrificed his life so we could have a better life my mom and myself never forgot that .
I have worked many jobs for many businesses over the years, and I can say that becoming my own boss through the blessings of God and my wife has been completely life changing. The beginning bit where the worker says that his in-laws have better quality of life because they work for themselves is true…more try today than ever. All these problems described in the video have gotten worse, and the only way to fix it is to leave. At least as far as I can see. Make enough money to live for a couple months without a job, proceed to quit your job, and then put all your focus and time into a niche in your community that is needed and build a business off of it. You may not be above water for a couple months, but those early times of full commitment are crucial. This is the way to true freedom and fulfillment in our modern time. Frankly, any time.
Your channel is truly something special. it gives a glimpse into day to day life in a changing world in a way that many of us would never even imagined finding out more about, simply because it was too much before our time. Seriously thank you for putting up your videos.
Working in a Detroit fast food joint in the 80s, I used to envy all of the auto workers during bonus payout time every year. All of the local appliance, car, and boat dealerships would run special ads in the newspapers to target them. I always felt forgotten and left out. :(
The point people miss from this is your job should not define your existence. It wouldn't matter if this movie was on farming or coding, you would get the same attitudes. Yesteryears were better and things seem to be worse. In many ways the are better and many ways they are worse, its a matter of perspective and choice.
you are wrong in the sense that higher IQ people have a hard time doing monotonous jobs. it feels like a prison where you can't be yourself. it's not just about money but intellectual fulfillment too.
@@susrev88 ahh, thats was my point. Coding and farming can be monotonous too. Both types of career choices require high intelligence as well, farmers aren't dumb to put it simply.
@@hellspawn6641 ok, i agree about monotony. this why i'm not an IT guy. while i have the mental capability to become one, i'd find it very hard to do that for every day for years. my positive example would be the cobblers. requires anylitic skills, hands-on skill plus each shoe is a unique case. i'd love to be a cobbler but i'd starve. this is why i'm an office nobody with average salary.
Not really a matter of perspective and choice. The economy has gone from industrial to service to speculation. Decent jobs have been off-shored for corporate profit. What's left is a predatory state-subsidised corporate apparatus that has made industrial complexes out of health, military and prisons whilst selling the population's futures down the river.
Interesting how they felt the way I feel about working in a warehouse, repetitive and tedious, dead end. You start to talk to yourself and reflect on your life,”is this what I want?” When I saw the black man working I could picture an employee in the present bitter and moody and that’s no fun. The manager meeting was funny it’s not staged it was real life wearing white shirts this avoids doing any dusty work they just manage and that was a way to notice. Im going based on what a manager once told me at a company and it made sense. There are many different trades you can also work in you just have to handle to use of tools and have some knowledge. Thank you for sharing this video.
*David Hoffman (1960's auto mechanic hating his job Herbert's future machines doing these job's) appreciate your videos Listening from Mass USA TYVM 💙 David*
I love the comment section of this video. Especially those that point out how he can afford a house and have a family with a wife and children, a dream of young people today.
Great era, reminds me of my neighbors Across the street the O’Sheas that started their family in ‘64, all American family, probably held jobs like this. Raised their kids through the 60s, 70s, 80s, until their last child graduated high school in the early 90s. Watched a son become a marine and die, watched families form, grandkids and great grandchildren. Then Mrs. O’Shea whisked away due to some mystery paralysis, Mr. O’Shea similarly for his heart. Just like that spent one last day in their house together, never returned. Mrs. O’Shea passed away a year later, a few months ago. Mr. O’Shea living with family. The cycle of life…..
Definitely feel for Herbert. Can see the pain in his eyes and you can hear it in his voice. As others have mentioned you could definitely afford much more with a lot less back in the day. I hope we can somehow get back to that some day. Also, that Dodge commercial at the end was something else. From another era as well. While it was playing all I could think of was Will Ferrell in character as Robert Goulet belting out that song.
I went to college and got an advanced degree. Afterwards, I became an office worker, sitting in a cubicle, looking at a computer screen, performing monotonous tasks every day for more than 35 years. As I near retirement, I suffer from a bad back and hips, what I regard as the crippling effects of sedentary work. There are days that I wish I had become an electrician or a park ranger.
You wish you had become an electrician or park ranger? Well, guess what? I worked 20 years with unionized electricians at the local power plant. They were a motley crew who were exposed to danger every day.Consider: 1. Electricians had to roll out big cables to the proper length,cut and transport them to the work area and then install this cabling with a long, tedious procedure. Fuses and rebuilding units are included. 2. They were also exposed to explosions on the big breakers as well as electrocution for not paying attention to detail and following procedure. 3. While employing test equipment there would be unexpected situations, like finding animals (cats,lizards)in the work area attracted by the warmth in the load center. 4.I suppose you get the picture. At any rate, as an office worker you can learn new skills,go to the gym and keep in shape. All without being subject to an often fatal mistake. Regards
it kind of goes to show that even with a "good" job, sometimes benefits and money are not enough. Man needs more than just a paycheck to live. The brain rebels at stagnation. He says it himself, he's thankful for the opportunity it gives him and his family, but he looks at those in that family, who are tradesmen, as having a better job, because they are their own boss, and don't suffer the same monotony. it's not too dissimilar from people who strike it super rich, and all of a sudden realize they are not happier for it, because sure, they have money, but no life. Humans crave and need purpose. We are not machines, and industrialization turned humans into machines. In fact, the very word "robot", is derived from a czeck word robota, referring to hard work or slavery, forced labor, etc the assembly line is not a natural form of human behavior. We now look at these guys and think "man, they had it good" but having it good is relative. they had financial security, but they were, as the video starts, often forced into the job due to lack of skill or education to do anything else. Perspective is everything. The people who have those jobs hate them, because they simply have no other alternative. And the people who are in that "no other alternative" but dont have that opportunity, wish they had it.
Well put. Too bad that the politicians in west and... actually all over the world.. only think in terms of growth and putting as many people as possible in work.
I completely understand this man. I can’t do repetitive production work like that. It messes with my mental health. I used to just shut up and do it. Then later on I switched jobs.
Both of my grandfathers took an early retirement from the General Motors Leeds plant in Kansas City. This was in 1984. The Japanese auto makers were kicking our ass, and further automation was coming fast. They saw the writing on the wall and got the hell out. As a kid, I could tell that they hated working at the plant. But, they lived the American dream. Nice house in the suburbs, wife, and two kids. They drove nice cars, had boats and campers, and went on vacations every year. I could tell that they didn't like working at the plant, but at least GM paid them enough to provide comfortable lives for their families. So they stuck it out and it paid off. Nice, long, comfortable retirements. That was 1984. In 2022 is 'sticking it out' even possible anymore? Probably not. I make a great deal more than my grandfathers, and have a great deal less. Good luck buying a home now on one income. The system that we're trapped in makes it very difficult for a single person to get ahead. It seems like one can either live comfortably, or get ahead in life and suffer for it. This country's employers/employees are headed towards a cliff, and we're gonna run off the edge sooner than later.
I remember many years ago getting a tour of a paper plant while I was in engineering school in Thunder Bay. As they were showing the incredible material handling machines for handling the rolls of kraft paper the rolls finally settled into place where robot arms slapped paper protective caps on the rolls. However in the middle of this machine were two guys with buckets and swabs painting glue on the folded roll ends before being capped. By coincidence I knew one of the guys doing it. Later I asked him about it. He explained he had been doing it for 10 years since the automation machines were installed but the unions had fought to keep this position. Although the fellow seemed pretty happy, I still remember to this day thinking to myself a fate worse than death.
The one guy was called an unskilled worker as the micrometer was sticking out of his pocket. Oh well, being a college graduate doesn't necessarily mean that one has any skills either. Knew a guy that owned and operated his own very well known and respected automotive machine shop. The local high school asked him to come teach machining , auto shop and set up their brand new shop, all was well until they found out he had no high school diploma. All of the technical courses, he'd racked up which were numerous and prestigious in his field didn't matter once they found out he quit school at 16 and went to work. Being a mechanical and engineering Wizard Business Man already, he laughed it off. After all, he wasn't looking for a job, it was they who came to him. They did get a teacher, one with a piece of paper that said he knew machine theory, a high school and college diploma but had zero skill or hands on practical experiences. The 16 year old gear heads in the class had more skill than the degreed teacher. You know, the unskilled without degrees or HS diplomas. Sorry I wrote a book here about it, just that I was there then.
This looks like a video to encourage people not to be angry at the fact that some jobs will be disappearing soon, “you didn’t like this job anyways, look how miserable you are, now a robot can do it”
Probably the sad part is that everyone of them believe it's because of lack of education. But today most people is college educated and still working in the factories.
What a complete lack of understanding in the value of a formal education. The entire point of a formal education is to get a piece of paper saying you can do a job. (diploma) It is why people from MIT and Harvard get first jobs in the six figures while community college graduates in the culinary arts get jobs which pay 17 dollars an hour. You go to school for the job you want to fill. Back in the 1950s and 60s lots of BS degrees paid 2 or 3 times as much as this young man's already considerably better the menial income. Nowadays the only way to make 2 or 3 times as much money as a union job is to get a degree(paper to get a job) in a few very difficult to completed educational paths. He was right that lack of education was holding him back. And modern people are right that excess of education has done nothing for them. Both generations are right because the fundamental value of those educations have changed.
when i went into the mines just as my freinds was graduating from college all i heard from them was this "can you get me a job there'? this was back in 1977
@@miltonsteele6676 Just got my BS in IT in my 40s, and I can tell you that most kids in college are there because they don't know what else to do. Most of them drop out. Just because you're in college doesn't mean js.
Here we are, still living lives of quiet desperation. So many of us live this life. Mundane, repetitive days. I felt that hard when he talked about turning on that "switch". It's what I do every day, flip that switch on that says time to go to work and spend the day doing shit I don't want to do so that I MIGHT have a few moments of happiness outside of work on occasion. It can definitely get depressing knowing this will more than likely be the rest of your life.
I'm curious where Mr. Slater ultimately wound up, or if he's still with us today. I read through as many of the comments as I could, but never saw his story come up.
@@scoopitywoop he was around in a time where careers such as that were way more plentiful… so yes, he absolutely was “lucky”. Were he around today, he wouldn’t have a career such as that to take for granted and loathe.
@@scoopitywoop it’s not about “celebration”, it’s about appreciating what you’ve got..it’s about being able to provide for your family, and earn a good living, and not having to worry about the bills getting paid. Life isn’t always about what you want to do.. sometimes it’s about what you need to do… especially if you have others depending on you.. It’s not always about just you.. Also… modern Equivalents??? Folks like that are few and far between… jobs like that don’t really exist anymore.
I remember working in a factory in my early 20s and hated every minute of it. Got myself a government job that allowed me to pay for my tuition and was able to get my college degree free of loans. Did not start a family until I was educated. Education is key.
As a guy in my early 20s I would say this is dated. Current trends show that many young men (including myself) aren't going to school. I see a major social shakeup as political pressures of old men and the existential angst of the youth clash. If we don't have WW3 first.
@@thesnowman7715 as a Mom of teens, please help me understand this trend. Not being sarcastic here; just really need to understand to be a supportive parent.
@@je9833 Your generation as well as your parents sold us down the river to China. Rampant inflation, tyrannical government, astronomical housing/automotive prices, abortion on demand, no-fault divorce, gynocentric family courts, broken foster systems full of nonces… We have no future, so why even bother? It is statistically impossible for us to achieve everything detailed here in this interview at his age barring extreme privilege or extreme luck. So even if we work our guts out, it is almost guaranteed that it will not be worth it. No house, no wife, no children, and soon, due to inflation, no food, cars, gas, or ammunition. And all while our government is importing illegals and letting them vote, displacing us. Just…fuck me. Christ…
@@je9833 I used to think it was just that college was not providing something for us guys or something. But that was until I was suggested that its rather men don't see the value in it. I.e. its not worth the debt for most degrees unless your going to be a Engineer, Doctor or Lawyer.
This guy got fired for speaking out. Part of the same documentary -
ruclips.net/video/jHHDIccW450/видео.html
presumably this guy has a HS diploma and works a dull monotonous full time job that he hates. Yet he’s married, has a stay-at-home housewife and a kid. He also has an apartment or house. Today this is nearly impossible. We’ve lost a lot in the 40-5O years since this was made.
Correction, this is absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to achieve now.
And some fat steaks on the grill.
People wouldn’t mind working monotonous jobs if they could provide a good life for themselves. Imagine being miserable at work and still not being able to make end meet and provide a good life for yourself.
I’ll never forgive the traitors in DC for what they’ve done to my beloved nation.
@@socialitenoel If the job doesn't offer a decent reward, and you hate it, then it's usually not worth. ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Good to know that existential dread created by work isn't a new phenomenon.
Lol no doubt. I can imagine an ancient worker, Babylon, 2000 b.c.e. and a worker despising the monotony of his job making sun dried bricks for the Kings new city wall. Millions and millions of little clay rectangles, daydreaming of farming, or making chariots
Neither is quitting and starting your own business
As old as humanity
Now the ones dreading this type of work are 5yo CCP kids.
@@brandoncornwell52 I mean probably not despise it like we would, but probably as monotonous as cleaning dishes at a chipotle. We have tons of distractions in day to day life nowadays whereas they didn’t really at all. Just every few generations or so you’d get enslaved.
It's amazing, his job still exists, except now it pays less, has many educated people doing it, and his wife has to work to have the house and appliances. We're losing ground here.
not only that, most of the appliances are made in COmmie Chyna!
We lost unions. Republicans destroyed unions in order to reduce wages.
Nice try but this guy had an 800 sq foot house.
@@harrisonwintergreen1147 Most adults his age now live with their parents, so he still had more.
Lost ground! & Earning a livable wage.
Amazing how one factory job supported his whole family. In 2022 it’s almost impossible.
@@mocassin92 Probably requires auto engineering training, at least community college cert level Id bet.
It’s entirely possible. Just as this guy said.. join the trades. Get your license become your own boss before you’d even be out of college. I’m so happy my dad raised me this way. Life is amazing when you’re able to control your own life.
I coud have did it working at a factory in ohio in 2010 through 2019.
But now in 2024 it could be done BUT housing cost is to high. Up 100% from 2015. Automobile are pretty insane also.
Everything else cost more but some cost can be absorbed bacause the pay has increased also. But not to keep up with real estate, real estate tax and rent.
Now, a guy could still do it in a factory in ohio making $25hr. Paying $1,400 a month for a $200,000 loan, 20% down at 8% intrest including an escrow account for taxes and intrest.
The house payment would be about 50% of his net pay. That would leave him with $1400 a month.
Add utility bills $220
Now add a car payment $500
Car insurance $80
The guy has $600 bux.
$150 a week.
Need some gas for that car. Hope the wife knows how to stretch a dollar at the grocery.
It can be done.
I can tell he hates his job but he is able to afford a house and pay utilities and food as well for his family and have savings and a pension for retirement… all on one income.
Today, you can work just as hard but only afford a house in the hood or an apartment and maybe* provide for one other person. Times have really changed.
ever since women started working you can't live on one salary...
@@palbo7871
Double the working population, half the pay for the same work. Simple mathematics.
@@palbo7871 Women have nothing to do with that. It's capitalism. Everything has gone up, except wages.
exactly
@@katealexsparrow capitalism disolved the traditional roles, women are now free of their husband and can finally be the slave to a coorporation.
I cant even imagine my company sitting down to talk about the well being of their employees
No, me neither, buddy
It was a more serious, more practical generation back then. Bosses were hard and they demanded results, but they also understood what _they_ had to do for their employees to help get those results.
Nowadays managers only care about their own bonuses. They don't give a fuck about either the employees, or the overall well-being of the company as a whole.
Yeah and let me tell you the Union workplaces are even worse in this regard. Its like you have a union file a grievance. Except in my case the union was the UFCW probably the worst in Ohio
@@EarlFaulk We have USW, company just walks all over them, ignores contracts, and at one point our local union was in bed with the company. We were a small factory until we got bought out by an international company. Things have gotten substantially worse.
@@skydude38 Yeah if a union is more than 40 years old chances are they are buddy buddy with corporate. I go out of my way to shop non union grocery stores....thankfully the UFCW hasnt gotten their claws into other places. If they fucked me over by hiding all the bad crap in the contract only the lawyers see then they get nothing from me
But look where we've come today!
You can have a master degree in economics, having spent 20 years of your life in school and university, and write hundreds of applications until you get a job interview for an office job that lets you end up in the same boring everyday routine.
Just now it won't pay for a non-working wife, 2 kids and a house.
Progress.
And don’t forget two hundred grand in student loan debt like yours truly. I’m not complaining, I signed the papers and took the money but I will never have it paid off in my lifetime.
@@riceflatpicking4954 You might yet. In many cases there are pernicious little expensive habits that you don't realize how much they cost until you run the numbers. So look for such habits anywhere and everywhere. Maybe cut cable tv; that's a good one to cut, for example.
@@unconventionalideas5683 yes. I’ve ran all of those thoughts through my head many times and I will say that I make my payment each month I do my due diligence. But yes it’s amazing how much a person can save you know if you spend six dollars a day at Starbucks like someone that I dated for a while that’s $180 a month or $2160 a year. So many things that add up quickly.
That should tell you that you wasted 20 years at school and learnt nothing. School is to train you to follow instructions and be an obedient worker.
It's the stupids taking stupid degrees. I had an interview for a wonderful high paying job a week ago that I didn't apply for (self employed for a year) he can't find anything people are not taking the HARD degrees and not spending their free time learning new disciplines. I did not take the job
As an old school pizza maker for the last 25 years, I feel this guy's pain. Just doing the same thing for 12 hours straight non-stop in a busy joint is killing me.
Bless u for staying solid! Remember there’s another side of the spectrum where people are living chaotic unstable lifestyles feeling the same way. I prefer solid stable stress free life. Watch some toxic tik toks if u need some perspective lol
@@um_from_umbridge7285 Thanks man!
Bro I know fast food is a killer I will not miss these days when I'm older
Your best bet is education if your circumstances still allow for thay.
Heck even learning some programming on the side in your own free time will serve you very well.
@@xyzmediaandentertainment8313 Can learn programming, photography, web design, video editing, etc. I worked at a pizza joint for 2.5 years in my teens and couldn't take it after so long.
When you hate a job. Paydown your debt, save as much as possible and seek out new opportunities. Factory work taught me I do not like repetitive jobs. Working outside in construction was extremely hard work, yet it was very rewarding and never got boring.
That seems sensible! Nothing will change unless you try to change things for yourself. Debt is the anchor that keeps people under the cosh!
I worked in construction and 2 guys tried to rape me!
My dad wanted me to be a carpenter but his idea of it was building single family houses. The reality of it today is finding yourself setting roof trusses on a 3 story apartment complex, the wind is howling and its minus 25F. Im retired now, and never swung a hammer for a living in my life.
Try paying down debt with a wife. Women hate savings. My experience with Women is that they like to push finances to the limit. Today we have credit cards, loans on 401k, 2nd mortgages, (sorry Refi).
I know their are frugal Women, but I have never found one.
@@bastogne315 True?
My grandfather had to quit high school, when his dad died, and get a job to support his mom and siblings. Never had a so-called "formal education" but applied himself to better himself. He got a job at an oil refinery and started out as a grunt. He took correspondence courses through the mail and earned his boiler operator's license (they used steam to power industrial machinery back in those days). He became a supervisor, supported a wife and two kids, bought a house, bought a vacation house, made a pension that took care of my grandmother in her old age... all on ONE SALARY. You could do that back in those days. Now? Good luck, Charlie.
What are you talking about?
You are describing a 75k-95k salary.
Lots of people make high five figure salaries.
You basically just have to either get a valuable education(like some engineering paths) or do what your grandad did and get a small education in an undesirable field.(like a dangerous dirty, uncomfortable job like boiler operator, or a modern equivalent would be iron worker)
@@kkknotcool iron workers make five figures?
@@geddon436 Everybody in America who works full time makes five figures.( 5 figures is between 10 thousand and 99 thousand dollars a year)
But Iron workers usually make in the upper five figures.(the vast majority of jobs start out in the lower 30s per hour after your trained and get into the upper 30s per hour when you get your bearings (so you start out at like 60k a year and grow into a bit under 80k a year and that's not counting any overtime which can push people into the bottom of six figures. ) )
@@kkknotcool Its unfortuante, to get middle and higher money one needs a college degree, for working at an office type job.
@@geddon436 It's just paying people to do hard stuff. Nobody wants to climb up 300 feet and weld all day and nobody wants to spend 4 or 5 years paying a university to learn stuff, but there is good money behind those paths.
You can't expect to just walk in and make as much as an engineer or iron worker without taking on an equally big sacrifice as they took.
Back then people were willing to work lousy jobs because at least they could afford to buy a home and raise a family. My grandmother worked a horrible job in healthcare that paid barely above minimum wage but was still able to afford a 3 bedroom home and raise two daughters on her own.
Now I work full time but am at risk of homelessness if I have to move or the rent goes up because I can't even afford a studio apartment anymore.
Definition of Inflation
Describe your living situation. How much do you make? How much is rent? How far are you from work?
@@zacharyshoemaker835 I make $800 a week. Rent is $500 a week for my studio apartment. Work is 30 minutes away. Where I live most studios apartments now in the $700 area.
Her 3 bedroom home is worth over 600k i bet
@@2prize if rent is 500 a week you pay $26,000 a year in rent. Your pay is 800 a week which is approx 42k a year multiply it by .75 which is usually what taxes come out to be so you have around 32k a year to spend and 26k is rent leaving you only 6k left over for the rest of the year not including utilities transportation and your phone. The problem is you care to much about WHERE you live and thats why you feel you cant achieve these basic goals.
This breaks my damn heart. I'm in my break room at work and trying to hold back tears. I've been in this guy's shoes so many times in my life. I'm thankful I don't have kids. No human deserves to feel like they're trapped in a machine, and that they need to turn off their mind to live
I've worked at couple factory jobs , and man I'll tell you it was just depressing as this video
Yes, exactly
You're not alone.
People will complain about how terrible factory work is and they will complain when they take those jobs away.
I've done some factory jobs that were varied and engaging for the most part. But I once worked on a production line doing the same monotonous thing about every 10 seconds, I only lasted a week as it felt torturous. I have a lot of respect for those that can rough that out, and empathy for those who had little choice.
It's almost eerie to see upper management of an industry talking in earnest and with nuance about the wellbeing of their own employees; to make an honest attempt to better the lives and personal progression of those employees -- and to do so in a way that could potentially negatively effect their business model and revenue. Absolutely incredible.
Yeah, it isn't that way now. Funny how the trades are viewed with rosy glasses as they are now
The cameras were rolling. That is the difference.
I could be wrong, but I think all of those guys (even the last one) are middle management. I'm talking middle of the middle management. I've been in an auto plant for almost 20yrs and can spot a middle manager from a mile away. I actually feel kinda bad for those people because no matter how they think or feel about something they have to do it. I'm at least in a position where I can say "I don't think that's going to work, so figure it out and I'll do what I can." I can't tell anyone to F-off, but I can decide (a little) of how to spend my time.
Supervisors are not upper management.
You act as if all management is cruel and heartless, in reality they're just people doing a job like you and me
I remember my uncle coming home from a job like that, and how he’d sit in the bathtub smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer. He was the sweetest soul, and was absolutely trapped. He lived to fish on the weekends. And he had a weekend. And all he wanted was for his kids not to have to do this kind of work. He worked so his kids could go to college, but then they ended up being fuckups, and by the time they were 18-19, all of these jobs had disappeared. I just adore your old documentary films, David.
That totally fuckin sucked for dad.
Should of beat them.
@@toddpacker7058 Lol.....you'd end up in prison this day and age
@@toddpacker7058 yeah teach em that when someone does something you don't like, violence is the answer. fuckin brilliant
Maybe do extra work on weekends instead of getting drunk and fishing
I'm a postal worker. My job is monotonous like his, but I'm happy to have it because it pays my bills, buys food, and provides a good life for my family thanks to the union which stepped in back in 1970. I recognize that I'm a fortunate one, whereas most people in 2022 are not. It's the reverse of what was in 1964 where most people could provide for their families with one job.
You said the keyword: union.
Unions made that possible. Any forms of worker organization has been under attack by republicans, in order to reduce wages and put people down.
And the same people who would benefit from unions are voting against their own interest.
City or Rural?
RCA here and I enjoy the pay but the long hours make this job very taxing.
@@quincy-2000 My wife is rural Hendersonville, Tn.........it took her 8 yrs to become regular, she loves her job!!!!! She works her ass off!!!! She is always working her days off because they can't keep anyone.......nobody wants to work!!!!
Your not a postal worker.
@@Quintos. how do you you know?
I work at a Toyota plant & when I started there, I determined to never settle there. I’ve been at the plant for 7 years now. I’m still fighting to escape but my desire has dwindled. People keep telling me to stay & retire here but idk if I can hold on much longer. Every day I feel like dying just because I don’t feel any purpose. Even when I meet people in public that talk about how much they love their truck or when I’m able to treat my girl at random because I have the money, I come back to that feeling of despair. I sometimes wonder at work if I’m just another machine on the line, just built slightly different. I’m sure that’s how the executives see us anyways. If you’ve read all this, heed my warning: never settle. When you settle, you die.
EDIT: I came back here to give good news to everyone. I finally landed a new job. I no longer have to deal with the swing shift or the monotony of a plant. I took a $2/hr pay cut but I can have a normal life now. My job requires me to use critical thinking skills instead of being a machine. Even with work being slow right now, I feel a great sense of pride on my job. So don’t settle. I went through dozens of interviews at several other jobs before I landed this one. Keep fighting for a better life. Struggle onward no matter what.
I feel you. I know exactly what it's like to be unseen, unheard, unappreciated, and stuck in an unfulfilling toxic workplace but please keep your head up because there really is hope for anyone to have the future they really want ❤️
Start your own business
at this point i would just like a 40 hr a week 5 days 8 hr job with weekends off, but every manufacturing job i get or look at ends up with never ending soul crushing overtime
I don’t know what job is fun I serves a purpose only when you own your own business and are not working for the middleman will you feel fulfilled but even then you’re overworked jobs are not meant for you to be sipping martinis are playing video games they are meant for you to provide for your family especially right now with people losing jobs left and right we should be grateful for what we have I am a business owner and know this vary well and came from corporate America I don’t think any jobs are fun or server progress but to provide financial stability for both you and your family
@@jemcanalesable what business do you own?
Office Space made me realize this when I was in high school. "We werent made to sit in cubicles all day looking at screens". I worked dead end jobs for good little bit after going to prison at 18. Jack in the box, oil change place, car washes, etc. I always felt unchallenged so I usually just drank all day at the job or got high. I'd easily leave a job because they were all the same. I finally got into roofing 6 years ago. Made no money at first but started to learn and loved the freedom I had and meeting people, driving and it seemed like there was something about this I really liked. Started my own roofing company outside Houston TX in 2021 and did half a million in sales my first year.
Get out of your job and find something you like!!!
Good story. Thank you.
David Hoffman Filmmaker
Inspiring story, thank you
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker Thanks David! You're creating something great man
dammm half a million ? wow!
Awesome stuff, brother.
My husband works for a major auto manufacturer and has for eleven years now.
He’s moved up but It hasn’t changed even now. Production floor guys hate their job, even with robots doing their share of the work. It’s hard on the body, repetitive and boring.
And yet, we still need cars.
@@dannyarcher6370 Who said we didn't?
For his sacrifice you should service him nightly
Sadly, that applies to about 90% of jobs. I think TV, movies and social media have made many people feel even worse by creating the illusion that there are tons of of people with sexy, fun and high paying jobs.
Is it denso by chance lol? I work in a factory and I fucking hate it
I thought that was pretty impressive the way that guy effortlessly flipped that bumper perfectly into that car. If he was like a 16th of an inch off he would have banged and scratched and banged up that car and they would have had to stop the whole of assembly line.
In those days, the line didn't stop for anything.
@@ctbcubed Nope. Mistakes were made and you just kept moving.
That was pretty slick huh ?!?!
@@ctbcubed not toyota i heard they can stop a line just to hear an idea
In those days the discrepancy would be noted and the unit would be routed to rework
David, you are a national treasure. I have been watching your archival footage for a year or two now and you did such a great job encapsulating these times, lives, and issues. You are straight gangster. It's wild seeing people back then saying things we still say today. Says a lot about corporations.
Thank you for your comment. If your resources allow, I would sure appreciate your using the THANKS button under any of my videos including the one you have commented on. It is something new that RUclips is beta testing and would mean a great deal for my continuing efforts.
David Hoffman filmmaker
Funny how bad things have gotten. I'm watching this and all I can focus in on is: Wife, kid, house, grilling in the backyard. Try slaving away at a dead end job and having none of that on top of everything else.
It’s better than lying in a fox hole in a frosty snow filled forest being bombed by the Germans. Having limbs blown off
@@tonysoprano9370 ya, you tell that entitled little whining millennial. You actually have to work hard and strive to be the best at any job you do not just do the bare minimum expecting success too.
@@Shornandkenny millennials do want to strive for the best in whatever job they do. What they do not want to do and will not do is grind away all day like this guy, and still not be able to afford anything. And to a degree I don’t blame them. Millennials want to see some worth in what they do and want to know that what they do will get them what they want. A comment above is true to a degree. These days you can grind away in a job, work your Arse off and still not be able to afford a house. Wages are not high enough. The amount of people these days who go out every day just to pay rent and food and have nothing left over is staggering. You can’t blame people for being a little down about it. In this day and age unless you have a business, wages are not going to get you the lifestyle you want.
@@jjtrucker5950 yeah it is better than being bombed. But it is still shit. The fact is we don’t have to go through things like world war anymore because times have moved on. And the fact that times have moved on should mean people get more from work. And these days they don’t. Wages are not high enough. And rents are too high. Nobody can afford to buy a house. This guy in the 60s could easily afford a house. In todays work place, people go through this all day, then they go home to a rented house, and struggle to pay the bills.
Go out and have the confidence to talk to a girl and get married, nothings going to come whining and doing nothing about it.
Excellent video. I did assembly line work as well. I would daydream for my entire 10 hour shift. Sometimes I would think to myself " This job isn't going to change. 30 years from now, I'll be doing it the same way". There was zero thought needed for that job. I could perform the job whether I was in a good mood, bad mood, sick, tired, sober, or drunk. I tried not to think about the job I was doing as those thoughts would lead to nothing other than madness. I finally got out of that job and moved onto a job that requires thought and has a lot of freedom to it. To those that do work in factories, I salute you as I could not handle it.
When I was much younger I worked a punch press. I found that I could basically do the job without much thought. I would basically day dream the whole shift. In fact I got mad if the parts got hung up between stations and it interrupted my day dreaming.
I can't complain. It paid my way through college. The irony is that I worked the rest of my career as an engineer making the manufacturing process more efficient.
I would like to add that modern manufacturing is much different from what is portrayed in this video. The modern factory worker interacts with computers and need a good understanding of modern technology.
Sounds like working for the post office lol
The point about jobs like this are youre literally a unit in a machine owned by a businessman.. thats what happens when you let businessmen take over the economy and destroy independent labor
@@broadclothjack The only reason we have the standard of living we have now is because of the economies of scale provided by these "evil" businesses. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, "capitalism is the worst economic system except for all the others". If you can't get rich in the current US economy than you need an attitude adjustment.
@@jimfarmer7811 you know churchill caused hundreds of thousands of poor lads to die on gallipoli right?
At least he was able to provide for an ENTIRE family WITHOUT education. Today's workers are even more disconnected from their labor and they make a fraction of what this guy did. Today, he'd still be miserable and his wife would have to work a retail job just to make ends-meet.
What wife? When would he ever have met a wife and how many women would want to be mothers at that age now? The reality is they would maybe be high school sweethearts and she'd be "unfulfilled" and divorce him and he then gets the plant AND alimony and an empty house to come home to. Or, more likely, he just goes through school, gets a dull job, works 10hrs a day and drinks in the evenings and lives a lonely miserable life on RUclips comments sections ..
I mean Gm assembly workers are paid on average 50k a year so pretty sure you can raise a familly on that today. As a generation we just have to watch where our money is going and only spend it on what matters.
"Disconnected from their labor" communist spotted.
@@kennyg1358 Good. We need revolutionaries.
@@zacharyshoemaker835 50k a year when a house costs 500k+
And this was one of the better paying blue collar jobs around at the time. Strong union “skilled labor” and this man describes it like a prison sentence. It’s easy to criticize this man because we now know how good he had it compared to today. Today very few if any jobs requiring no education can support a family.
But dull monotonous work is soul stealing regardless of pay.
I think we humans are never satisfied. We always want better.
I haven't seen the whole video yet but I wonder if he was around when automation showed up and replaced him? Was he then _no, I am sorry, I won't take this job for granted?_
Wow Herbert is an example of my dad. My dad started working on the assembly line for Ford in 1966 when he was 30. He retired in 1996 and is living happily on his Ford pension. I never recall him being un happy or depressed about his job. He did at some point get off the assembly line and worked in material handling. He did like that a lot better.
it still sucks
Wow! He’s still with us? That’s awesome
Man finds purpose in doing his duty. Your father did what he had to do to provide. His duty was you and seeing as you're around he's a true success. Thank you for sharing your story
Well a good man would never let his family see it, even if he was miserable.
He Sounds like a good man!
@@1stNumberOne thats an old school way of thinking and its wrong. Men aren’t supposed to just hold it in. We as brothers should be encouraging one another and taking time out to listen to one another. We should be providing service in any possible. But how do you know what to say when someone as how ya! Doing. Inside, you really need a confident ans someone to talk too. Except, as soon as you open up the other guy is judging you as a weak man. The whole thing is asinine and isn’t doing anyone any favors, The children need to see the realities of life. That way they can strive to gain employment that suites there soul.
Imagine an entry level job paying enough to buy a house, a car, and support a wife and kid at home. This man didn’t know how lucky he was.
best comment and most honest one.
Guess you didn't get it the man was broken
Your comment is spot on. THIS IS what socialism was LIKE. Wealthy paid their fair share of taxes. We had more purchasing power back then. Those were 64 Chevies they were building at 1st. One of the best 60's cars built. Life seemed so simple back the
Don't forget that an accident, pregnancy, or illness wouldn't throw him deeply into debt, or health insurance which costs as much as rent/mortgage. Oh and he had a pension too!
And he could invest in the market and COUNT ON 12% return on his money. Even CD's back then were like 5% I think.
Wait until they make you do the same work, but now instead of being able to at least buy one of those automobiles your making, and being able to afford to buy a house food and a vacation, now you can’t even afford to pay rent and eat hardly, let alone buy one of those cars.
Isn't that the truth. Companies are chasing short term profit so vigorously that they eventually going to run off a cliff.
That’s the shift
@@asm2750 Right they basically screwed their selves by cutting the middle class and now there’s hardly even enough people left to buy their product except for the wealthy basically and so it’s become you have two main classes of citizens in America the poor and struggling and the rich and the divide gets greater every day
@@thetechlibrarian well said. It's like the county I live in. Tons of empty "luxury apartments" and half empty cookie cutter garden home neighborhoods that want outrageous prices that hardly anyone can afford.
@@loganstroganoff1284 same here in the states 2 bedroom apartments not even luxury going for $1300 a month plus all utilities, with a note must make 3x rent. Lol like if I made 100k a year I am not renting. Funny how it’s the same all over the developed world. But yet when you tell people that’s the goal they laugh at you, and you can see the same thing happening with cars and personal transportation, because a car means freedom. They want you pushed into a mega city for easier surveillance, and your freedom of moment restricted.
I'm a millennial, born in the late 80's college drop out, trade school grade working as a bottom level grunt at Amazon, I can both relate and envy Herbert, relate to his suffering and envy his life style. The things said in this video still resonate today. Damn.
You should get a better skillset.
@@Donner906 Isn't that what they said in the video too?
@@Marcus-zx8su Yes, he can either bitch or he can improve himself. There are opportunities. You shouldn't envy anyone from the 1960s.
As a former Toyota factory worker that experienced how boring and depressing that line of work is, I relate to this hard. Your higher ups don't care at all about you, or the fact that you work 11 hard hours every day. Decided to switch jobs and be a pitmaster. While I make less money, I'm so much happier with what I do now, and plan to go into culinary school.
Long story short: if you don't have a family that you desperately need to take care of, please explore your options. Factory work can tear anybody down
best of luck, Zerosyste BBQ has a nice ring to it lol
@@mistermood4164 lmao thanks man. At work rn
My Father came to the states Worked At A Tire Recycling Factory From 17 In 1973-2018 til 64 had plans but Had kids etc so just the mind of this baffles me.
It's the repetitive nature of the work that is soul destroying. It was working in a factory that made me change career and thankfully I found my calling early in life.
May I ask, are the people working in the factory aware of repetitive work? Do they get bored and change jobs?
"By day I make the cars, by night I make the bars." Detroit City, Bobby Bare
Goddamnit but I’m dead happy someone else remembers Bobby Bare
Good times
@@eliotduhan4391 ;-) ;-)
Well, hot diggity dang it, Crazy Cooter! Someone done gone and fetched us up a real country song! ❤️
The anthem of every southerner who moved to Detroit in hopes of finding work.
After years of University education I must be honest I regret it. Sitting in front of an excel spread sheet all-day is the new definition of mind-numbing. All for mediocre pay, lack of physical activity, depression. My most happiest times were working in a car dealership service depot, where you were always running around and things were interesting. Everyday was something different. Management is horrible in those types of businesses but the socialization of techs and problem solving make up for it.
I work in a service center for a large auto manufacture and I get caught in the same loop of thought. Some days it's absolute hell and I just want to walk out, and other times I catch myself thinking that pound-for-pound it's a great job. Decent money for needing no formal education, some days you have plenty of free time to stay sane but are still busy enough to make the days pass by. And the greatest part, is it's a total boys club, even with the women there. We have 50+ employees, men and women, technicians, parts guys, etc. who all think alike for the most part and you can say and do dumb things that would probably land you in some class room or HR office at other jobs, and just spend your days cracking up. Idk if it's what I want to do for the rest of my life though.
@@GoofysBandit I totally agree about it being a hang out. I would spend hours at the parts department just talking about random stuff. Lots of people at my dealer were employed for over 30 years, especially parts. Porters have the quickest turnover along with service writers tho
They won't even let you say hi to the customers if you fail a THC test. The THC test keeps so many good workers from getting jobs seeing as it is their only brickwall. They'll hire the drunks instead.
@@FUBBA I on and off smoke Marlboros as it comes with my accounting degree stress but I never did THC. A lot of people were users of it though. No one ever cared for the most part, some people were vocal about it too, even management. It's legal here in IL
Management at car dealerships are just boy's clubs who got each other those jobs
My dad worked on the assembly line for the 1954 Ford Fairlane after the Korean war. He later left and became a union painter with a side business. He did well, RIP dad.
I was one of the last of the well paid, HS educated workers outside of the auto and related industries. I told my son's, do NOT follow in my footsteps, the jobs are no longer there, get a trade or an education, and they did both, and are doing well. Me? I retired at $29 an hour. The guy replacing me is making $21 for the same job, and will probably never make what I did. I'm glad I got out when I did. It was hard, hot, dirty work and I don't miss it one bit!
"Never make what I made" is the truest thing ever
W/ inflation the difference is even starker
People always say oh just be a carpenter, but we make almost money for hard work these days, you cant do mich with the $40,000 you get a year in the part of the country i live in and on top of all this you get treated poorly in the workforce
How many years of working to retire at 29 an hour?
@@Relentlessperformance 35, but when I started there I was making $15 an hour, which was a good wage in the mid Eighties.
A friend of mine that’s 82 years old now went to Detroit in the 60s and worked for Ford after 6 months he quit to come back to Tennessee to work in the cotton field. That’s how bad he hated it
"I think of my wife and baby at home." Hits me right in the gut. Work-from-home has made me appreciate my family and my house so much. Whenever I'm away, I think of what my grandmother is cooking and why can't I be there to help her, or why I can't work on my grandfather's truck so he doesn't have to bust his back- yet I'm stuck in the workplace doing something I never wanted to do, all because I was told I have to. And this is the case not just for me, but for many others. The relationship between human and work is a deep, tumultuous line.
Can confirm nothing has changed in the automotive industry. I spent 13 years at a large UK manufacturing plant in NW England.
Every day was groundhog day on the production line, when you clocked on for shift you left your brain at the gate and only inserted it once you clocked off.
We did however used to rotate around the jobs, the more processes you could learn the better it was.
Managers and engineers were always looking at ways to give you more work on your process though or remove men to save money.
The worker at the beginning of the video is correct, if you get a man in a job like that with financial commitments, then he's there for life.
I was lucky and managed to get out.
The wages were excellent and it gave me a very good standard of living, but boy it took it's toll in other ways.
Same here. I just began working full time 10m ago. It's good money at my level, but physically exhausting and stressful
I worked at Toledo Jeep Assembly from 1978 to 2008 , I hated it at first but my last 10 years I kind of enjoyed it . The 7 day 10 hour weeks were crazy but the paychecks were out of this world , my wife didn't have to work and life was great . I retired at 49 and then started driving semi truck hauling auto parts into different auto plants from Warren , MI to Fort Wayne , In .
I found out a long time ago any job is what you make it out to be . I actually miss working at Jeep .
Hey, maybe you're a guy who helped build my '01 Cherokee Sport. You did an awesome job! Still runs like a champ!
@@ianmackenzie686... in 2001 I was working on the TJ line .
@@toledojeeper2932
Lol, well I'm certain you did an awesome job there!
Man, lucky you got out in 2008. Things would've gotten ugly.
@@hellenicboi14 ...Thats what I hear from friends still working on the line , that it's terrible in the auto plants now .
When you work on the assembly line and you get your job down, all you have is your own thoughts for hours on end, and there is nothing you can do about it. This video is accurate. 20 years on the line.
That's where the airpods come into play makes jobs like that 3x better
I was 19, and my dad got me a factory job (plastic injection molding!) at $8/hr. One week, the machine I was operating was facing a wall with a big analog clock on it. That's the worst, 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, just watching the clock.
@@p8nisman-not Doesn't change the job. Only dissociates the worker, like a drug, so that presence is absent, in order to get through. Understandable though it is, it will create more dissatisfaction in the long run, as engagement in a task is the point of engaging in tasks. If avoidance is necessitated, the job is wrong for the individual. I suppose this is the illustrated problem- a lack of engagement and the fruitlessness of the day-to-day mindless "grind."
@@Eric-tj3tg not always, I work at a grocery store picking out items for pick up this is super easy and I don't need to be focusing so its a better use of my time to have airpods and listen to some old history or coding tutorials
@@p8nisman-not Whatever works my man.
I can relate so much to most of these guys. Struck in dead end job no matter how strenuous or boring it is just to ensure the welfare of our families.
Whats the point of working for your family if they grow up to do the same. Its better to pursue more fulfilling activities even if its for less pay to serve the well being of ones self. If not we will continually be raptured into a realm of perpetual monotonous existence generation after generation.
@@Mortimer_Duke unskilled? Why don’t you try doing it for a day? I thought so.
@@lafawnduhjackson1601 “Unskilled” doesn’t necessarily imply easy or valueless. This video refers to these workers as “unskilled”.
@@haleyblackburn4336 because these men didn't have the willpower to pull out. The end result? Babies. So now they have no choice but to take accountability for their actions and do whatever they can to care for their family. I noticed that a lot of these guys aren't very smart. They're almost robotic in a way, no soul, almost no emotion. It's sad. If they were smart, they would have pushed off the idea of meeting women and having kids to focus on their own happiness and growth as a human being. Unfortunately, we are human and to get ourselves in all sorts of predicaments that are self-inflicted.
@@piperpilot26 It's not all about that, a lot of the guys and gals I work with are older folk, their kids are already grown and have their own families. But the way things are set up they have to keep on working to be able to retire, some don't make it sadly.
These guys were tough. I work at Honda in ohio. Everything they are doing looks unsafe compared to today. Still hurts your body/joints today and is still monotonous and boring. Paid great until last few years. Inflation right now is so bad that they can't get new people. Nobody wants to do physical labor anymore. I'd still rather do it than sit in front of a computer all day.
Worked 30 yrs at an automotive plant and got a small retirement, just before they sold the plant. I made almost 21 dollars an hr.in 2007 when i retired. They sold the plant to an area in the world were workers would make 50 cents an hr. I could go on for a while why companies go under and not even speak of money.Thank you David for your work and time....
Worker’s do not make that now in tier 2 plants. Plus no retirement,$600 monthly for health care,while running 4 machines. I’d gladly exchange for a mind numbing job of yesterday!
@@davidheinzmann4403 First of all David , Thank you for your comment. If it wasn't for me knowing construction , i would probably never been able to hold a job or would have been in jail in today's world. People my age had it made when it came to finding a good paying job.Many jobs you did work hard but you weren't dumped on even close like today. Today your worked long and for many times horrible pay and then are expected to set up a retirement .With what?" Many places don't care if you quit , they hire someone cheaper. I have kids and they have never been lazy and i would say most the younger generation aren't lazy too. Hope something goes your way fast......
@@gregmoore7709 management acknowledged that they cannot find skilled workers. Our union has stated that the company wants to increase the starting wage $3/hr with no increases for the higher ups.
Our last proposal offered $1/hr more for an additional machine to operate. Never thought of retiring. I'm 58 and beat . My mom worked until she turned 75. She's now 97.I put my wife and two kids through college. I don't have time to read the newspaper. I'm the last of seven kids. What I find troubling is that there's only 7 grandchildren. Two are adopted. I would gladly go back to the 50 s to 70 s.
Thanks for letting me ramble
The loss of blue collar jobs is the biggest blow to equality in this nation, hands down. Not everyone is a rocket scientist, and not everyone is a capable decision-maker. If the average IQ is 100, that implies an inconvenient truth; that half of the people in the available work force are under that. There has to be a place in this world for that other half to make a meaningful and fruitful life for themselves. Automation and outsourcing has left these workers without any meaningful future, even if the work itself was a drudgery. If people aren't busy making a future for themselves, then they will fall victims to vice and envy. Drugs, gangs and crime all have a common link; lost opportunity.
Agree on the IQ component and otherwise law abiding folks needing to earn a decent living but claiming that people become murdering gang bangers because they have no opportunity is BS. Gang bangers can make more money than those with PhDs; they literally can make millions a year in the illegal $100 billion+ a year drug trade. Do you really think even $30 an hour would change that mentality? Gang bangers can and do make the average American workers salary in a week. Don't be so naive.
@@byoshizaki1025 And normal people will resort to it just to live. I know of a few people who would love to have a decently paid blue-collar job over having to sustain a half decent living via crime. Greedy sociopaths choose crime for the sake of massive riches.
@@Ziess1 That's a false dilemma; nobody needs to engage in criminal activities in the U.S. to survive. It's a choice they make and an excuse they tell themselves. I'm not saying things don't need improvement.
@@byoshizaki1025 9% of people are below 80 iq. This is what? Around 20 million adults in the US? As time goes on the jobs these people can work will be automated away (transportation, cashier...). Not only that, but these jobs do not pay well enough to make a living. It would be no surprise if these people turn to crime as what else can they do?
@@AJ213Probably Japan, South Korea, Sweden , Singapore, Norway, and Finland don't have and never will have 10% of the population engaged in criminal acts as a way of earning a living. Many criminals are not low IQ, they just lack a proper moral compass. Also, there are social services for those truly unable to provide for themselves to an extent and those may have to be expanded to a degree.
When I started in manufacturing I was an assembler, press braker, welder. Despised all of them. Hated it. I was bored out of my mind. Then I made it into the Engineering department doing programming, quality control, tool buying, machine troubleshooting, prototyping, process writing; so much better because everyday there was a new problem to solve or lengthy projects to push forward. Any kind of repetition or repeating problem is painful.
Beautiful documentary it feels so real and I feel so much sympathy for the guy
Today in the Detroit area and in America people would love those jobs to come back. America was at its strongest back then when middle class workers made up the bulk of commerce. Now look today at places like Flint and Pontiac, Detroit and Toledo and Youngstown and Gary. Look how the loss of jobs ruined cities and took opportunities away from generations of future workers like myself. That guy complaining about his job on the line, he’d have a hard time making it today because he worked in the golden age. 40+ years later he had no idea how hard it was going to get.
Those jobs are never coming back. It was the unions that made those jobs so lucrative. And it was the age of the Big Three and the attitude, "we build them, you buy them."
He just knows there's more to life than the grindstone . It's the reason why we humans can only tap 5% of our own brain
Those factories are all in the US South, which until 1940 hadn't really begun industrialization. As the South developed, it stole what little might have been left for the Midwest. It has since began stealing jobs from China. Even Chinese Textile Firms have opened factories in the US, notably in Arkansas.
Exactly!
The demographics of the cities you mentioned also changed.
This helped to bring about the downfall of the automotive industry. I can't say more because RUclips will censure me.
The lack of self esteem by a guy who is doing something that is physically difficult and exacting is sad.
Many who degrade specialized labor do it to keep the cost down.
The people who build and built cars do it for the money and because they can and are willing to.Most would not last a day on an assembly line.
If you can and do this kind of work and enjoy the money you’ve won the game of life.
Lots of people are miserable in-spite of their job and they bring this miserableness with them.
Such an interesting look back thanks David.
As a postal worker working nights sorting mail this definitely hit home. I have had the exact same thoughts regarding my job and the realization that I want more out of life.
This is the postal job 2022
invest in yourself and you'll do better
Be thankful you have a job
Before COVID I felt the same way sitting in my cubicle everyday. March 2020 they sent us home and we've been working from home since then. I've been able to create a whole new life!!
One of the best things that ever happened to me was a tour of the local Ford plant when I was in highschool. Even as a 17 year old kid I was absolutely horrified at the thought of working on the line. I stayed in school and ended up in a job that kept my interest for 30 years and allowed me to retire at 49.
What job was that??
@@MicahPotts they mysteriously never say...
@@maxmccullough8548 probably some sort of government job.. teacher.. police/fire.. military maybe.. do your 20 years, maybe 25.. retire still young.
@@maxmccullough8548 If it were respected, he would have said. Banker or whore.
What job, David Giles?
I entered the auto industry about 14 years 1964. As part of engineering co-op training, I worked for months on the assembly line. Most guys around me were happy with life and friendly. There were card games at break and lunch, plenty of socializing after work involving sports, outdoor activities and hanging out at the local bars. Most guys owned homes and many had cabins "up north". The first day of deer season was like a national holiday amongst the working men of Michigan. New cars were not uncommon as were boats, snowmobiles, campers, etc. Another benefit was most people got off work at 2:30 so you saw some day light year round. All of these workers were about $125,000 ahead of me in earnings 5 years into their career because they didn't have to give up 4-5 years to get a degree. This short film was interesting but it did fit the author's idea of what working life was like.
Amazing how articulate that high school drop out line supervisor was. Times sure have changed.
Super. I needed this. Thank you David.
My dad was a hi lo driver in a factory for 35 years. He made enough money that mom didn't have to work we always had nice cars and nice things he loved it because of the low responsibility and the simplicity of the job. I always said I don't wanna be like my dad and sit on my ass all day so I became an auto mechanic. Now that I'm 50 I hate it because of all the BS on the car's today and being on flat rate it's hard to make money. Now I think to myself that I wouldn't mind having a hi lo job.
It makes me think of my dad, he went to night school in his 30's to get a BA in psychology, graduating back in the 1970's. He was able to get out of his job as an insurance agent into something he found a lot more fulfilling. Dad was smart, hard working and never played the victim.. but I guess not everyone had his kind of intelligence and drive.
I love these interviews because it gives me some insight into my parent's times
Thank you for your comment. If your resources allow, I would sure appreciate your using the THANKS button under any of my videos including the one you have commented on. It is something new that RUclips is beta testing and would mean a great deal for my continuing efforts.
David Hoffman filmmaker
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker I used super thanks
he couldnt play the victim because there was no reason to lol
The "Golden Handcuffs" as it used to be referred to. It looks as if Mr. Slater is providing well for his family. The stress of an unfulfilling job is minor compared to not being able to do that.
Living is more than simply being alive.
This isn’t an example of golden handcuffs. This is an example of servitude. Golden handcuffs requires a substantial reward for sticking around. Like earning a deferred comp that you only receive after 10 years, and if you leave you forfeit your deferred comp. Thats golden handcuffs.
Exactly.
@@RhodokTribesman that's completely objective. Alan watts would disagree.
I worked security (contracted) for GM and people on and off the line would always ask me why I didn't work for the line for better pay. What they didn't see was what I saw, workers who worked 5-6 10+ hour days of constant work, often literal back breaking, monotonous work.
I remember speaking to a line worker who looked exhausted and he told me he worked 6 days a week and barely got to see his wife and children. That was all I needed to hear and see.
The Army was my first official Job, i worked in a Chicken Proccesing plant (factory) for 5 years after i got out of the Military, and that was the 5 most miserable years of my existence on this planet... i feel this guy for real , I too got trapped in the factory and hsd no other options at the time nor means to change , Thankfully , i now have a Job that i dont hate , and i may make a bit less money, but id take that any day over hating my life from the moment i wake up until the very end of the day. Quality of life over money, all day every day!
I feel you there. Every job I’ve had outside of the Army has sucked worse than the last one. I’d rather go back to Afghanistan than work most of the jobs available out there. Luckily I’ve found a way to make a living doing things I like. I won’t get rich but I’m happy enough.
How'd you find a way out? I've been stuck on the 3rd shift factory grind for as long as I can remember and there's no end in sight. Out here in the midwest it's either mcdonalds, farmwork, or factory work. I live 50 miles from the nearest college and work 6 days a week, 10 hours days. Applied to the plumbers pipefitters and HVAC union several times but never hear anything back, from what i've seen and heard it's next to impossible to get good work out here without having someone to put in a word for ya. And I have nobody
The whole “this generation just doesn’t want to work!” Is no different than the last, there’s just more people so it seems that it’s more common today to hate their jobs, who wouldn’t!? It’s not natural to go to a boring place and do the same thing all day long until you get your worth at the end of the week just to get drunk.
Just yesterday I heard some guy pull out a Reagan era comment. Some welfare queen just wants to pop out another kid so they get a bigger check.
Yeah, right. Lots has changed in 40 years except for these prejudices.
@@jonbaker3728 it still happened back then, there’s more people today so that number will be greater and seem more common
@@jonbaker3728 many women do have kids just to get child support though. That isnt a bad thing to say.
@@joshuablair252 Many women huh? You personally know of a single mother that intentionally got pregnant?
@@jonbaker3728 lol my close relative did, she expected the father to stay. Nope he left to China. It's not common of course it happens.
Mr Slater's plight reminds me of a book called Rivethead by Ben Hamper, which details his life as an automotive worker with GM in the '70s and '80s. I recommend it!
I love that book! It really does describe what it was like.
I wonder how 'steering gear man' is getting on these days...
I used to work in a factory doing the same thing over and over. Luckily I was only 19 and I thought there is no way I’m doing this forever, so I went to uni to study engineering, got my diploma and now working on a bachelor, absolutely love it.
If I met Herbert Slater in a interdimensional bar and had a drink with him and showed him most comment sections i bet he'd probably even be more depressed. But instead, if I showed him how a few people are using the internet to better themselves and in turn trying to better those around them and the world maybe he would feel content with his life. It's tireless work like Herbert Slaters that we have the ability and bandwidth to communicate to eachother across continents in a blink of an eye. I will try day in and day out not to let those efforts go to waste.
I think if you showed Mr Slater how America has devolved so badly that it takes both parents working full time and paying a stranger hundreds of dollars a week to watch their child and not be able to afford anything outside of bills and not even always with those he would feel much more fortunate despite the tedious job. America has gotten much better with petty electronics and a communication and broadcast medium like the internet but when it comes to legitimate issues like healthcare and workers wages America is garbage in that aspect
@@zachhoward9099 You mean show him your narrative? Yeah like I said he would probably become more depressed. Probably thousands of people agree with you who are on this very channel. Do you live in a big city by chance?
Honestly, I don’t know how someone could do the same tedious and monotonous job for thirty or forty years. I would become absolutely unhinged! The argument is always people do it to live, but if you’re absolutely miserable, why would you want to live? This can be especially difficult if you’re someone with artistic or creative aspirations. It’s not that you’re lazy; it’s just that you would rather spend your time toiling away on aspects of life that give you fulfillment. I understand the necessity of monotonous work, but people shouldn’t have to devote the entirety of their lives to it. This is one of the cultural aspects of the fifties that I detest. It’s the idea that a man’s worth is limited to the paycheck he brings home to his family. Of course, even then, exceptions and situations varied, but that was the dominant cultural narrative. Even today, however, such expectations haven’t completely disappeared, but they’re just more unspoken.
I said something Similar this to my beautiful, creative childhood friend today♡
That what she has done thus far isn't the Same type of Currency that our Hometown considers a Measure of Success ♡
You just described so damn well what I'm going through right now. Only been working for 4 years but I'm 20yo and it's taking it's mental toll.
Yes America so much better now all these tedious jobs are offshore
heading on the way to be a hobo rather than suffer for the man ✌
@@tokyobrwn
Look around you. It never stopped being necessary.
Oh god I work at Amazon and it made me uncomfortable how much I feel I can relate to these men. Thank you so much for sharing this !
Thank you for your comment
Now remember that he made more than $50/hr in todays money
@@gwills9337 I know, I wouldn’t mind Amazon as much if I made this much money and could support a family on it !
I grew up during this era. My step father worked for Chrysler for 30 years. He encouraged me to learn a trade. I learned, practiced and made a good living in the building trades. Built my own home from the ground up. Very rewarding and happy life.
I'd love to have one of those Impala's fresh off the line.
Just imagine 😳 for like a few grand too back in the day.
I always think of Cheech Marin cleaning his car to "Low rider" . Lol
Believe me you wouldnt 😅 build quality was horiffic , and the reason is clear watching this video
My mom had a brand-new '64 Impala -- so we kids thought of it as a "Mom car." Do I ever wish I had that beast now!
As a tradesman myself I can say I’ve loved my work every day.
I worked for a short while right out of high school in manufacturing and it was MISERABLE!
As a retired auto manufacturing employee, trust me, it was the worst job I ever had in my entire working years. There are way too many reasons I feel this way to mention them here. Trust me when I say that EVERYONE doing that work hates it with a passion.
Work environment as a auto worker suck. An it don't what it used to
I realized when I get a new job, it feels good for the first few months. Then it turns me into a goddamn zombie. I feel like we shouldn’t be doing one thing our whole lives unless we really love it, like a sport or music. Which are 2 therapeutic things. Lifting boxes at Amazon isn’t so therapeutic. Working in a landfill, working construction in horrible weather conditions, sitting in an office all day, etc. isn’t something humans should be doing their whole lives. We should be able to rotate between things at least.
My grandfather was the exact same time at Ford. He tried to move back to the farm multiple times, but he couldn't raise his family there the way he wanted to.
It's remarkable how healthy and alert they all were. No meth or fastfood, no cell phone. Those were the most thoughtful and articulate high school drop outs I've seen.
To be fair there probably were drug addicts working in factories too. But this doc isn't about one of those people. 😅
A high school graduate from 1962 had the equivalent education to someone with 4 years of college today, they actually taught kids back then, now they only dumb them down and indoctrinate them.
No obese diabetics either. I see 30yos that look like diabetic 75yos today. Guy looks like he could almost be an athlete :lol:
@@wymonwatson1309 No way in hell that is the case. Our exam supervisors (boomers) told us that the content in our exams during high school was what they learnt at university as a bachelors degree.
@@chrischoy9 Look it up.
Both of my Grandfathers worked in the coal mines in northeast pennsylvania durring the depression, then fought in WW2..........after hearing their stories I really should be embassased to ever complain about a job, although I still catch myself doing it sometimes.
Just because it was worse before. Doesn't mean that you can't want a better life, that's progress.
My grandfather did the exact same thing , polish/Russian immigrant hauled ass when Hitler took power before he invaded Poland , fought in WW2 against him came back to Bessemer Michigan and worked the coal mines till he saved enough to move the family out west, he worked hard and sacrificed his life so we could have a better life my mom and myself never forgot that .
Those old guy's being everyday bad asses like that was normal operating procedure ....not like today's snowflakes mesmerized by their phones
@@steelwheels327 so true
@@steelwheels327 you act like they choose that life when in reality they had to be that way by force you understand this right?
I have worked many jobs for many businesses over the years, and I can say that becoming my own boss through the blessings of God and my wife has been completely life changing. The beginning bit where the worker says that his in-laws have better quality of life because they work for themselves is true…more try today than ever. All these problems described in the video have gotten worse, and the only way to fix it is to leave. At least as far as I can see. Make enough money to live for a couple months without a job, proceed to quit your job, and then put all your focus and time into a niche in your community that is needed and build a business off of it. You may not be above water for a couple months, but those early times of full commitment are crucial. This is the way to true freedom and fulfillment in our modern time. Frankly, any time.
Your channel is truly something special. it gives a glimpse into day to day life in a changing world in a way that many of us would never even imagined finding out more about, simply because it was too much before our time. Seriously thank you for putting up your videos.
Working in a Detroit fast food joint in the 80s, I used to envy all of the auto workers during bonus payout time every year. All of the local appliance, car, and boat dealerships would run special ads in the newspapers to target them. I always felt forgotten and left out. :(
The point people miss from this is your job should not define your existence. It wouldn't matter if this movie was on farming or coding, you would get the same attitudes. Yesteryears were better and things seem to be worse. In many ways the are better and many ways they are worse, its a matter of perspective and choice.
you are wrong in the sense that higher IQ people have a hard time doing monotonous jobs. it feels like a prison where you can't be yourself. it's not just about money but intellectual fulfillment too.
@@susrev88 ahh, thats was my point. Coding and farming can be monotonous too. Both types of career choices require high intelligence as well, farmers aren't dumb to put it simply.
@@hellspawn6641 ok, i agree about monotony. this why i'm not an IT guy. while i have the mental capability to become one, i'd find it very hard to do that for every day for years.
my positive example would be the cobblers. requires anylitic skills, hands-on skill plus each shoe is a unique case. i'd love to be a cobbler but i'd starve. this is why i'm an office nobody with average salary.
Not really a matter of perspective and choice. The economy has gone from industrial to service to speculation. Decent jobs have been off-shored for corporate profit. What's left is a predatory state-subsidised corporate apparatus that has made industrial complexes out of health, military and prisons whilst selling the population's futures down the river.
@@Matt-vo1ge wonderful thought Matt..Couldn't have said it better myself..
Interesting how they felt the way I feel about working in a warehouse, repetitive and tedious, dead end. You start to talk to yourself and reflect on your life,”is this what I want?” When I saw the black man working I could picture an employee in the present bitter and moody and that’s no fun. The manager meeting was funny it’s not staged it was real life wearing white shirts this avoids doing any dusty work they just manage and that was a way to notice. Im going based on what a manager once told me at a company and it made sense. There are many different trades you can also work in you just have to handle to use of tools and have some knowledge. Thank you for sharing this video.
*David Hoffman (1960's auto mechanic hating his job Herbert's future machines doing these job's) appreciate your videos Listening from Mass USA TYVM 💙 David*
I love the comment section of this video. Especially those that point out how he can afford a house and have a family with a wife and children, a dream of young people today.
Great era, reminds me of my neighbors Across the street the O’Sheas that started their family in ‘64, all American family, probably held jobs like this. Raised their kids through the 60s, 70s, 80s, until their last child graduated high school in the early 90s. Watched a son become a marine and die, watched families form, grandkids and great grandchildren. Then Mrs. O’Shea whisked away due to some mystery paralysis, Mr. O’Shea similarly for his heart. Just like that spent one last day in their house together, never returned. Mrs. O’Shea passed away a year later, a few months ago. Mr. O’Shea living with family. The cycle of life…..
Definitely feel for Herbert. Can see the pain in his eyes and you can hear it in his voice. As others have mentioned you could definitely afford much more with a lot less back in the day. I hope we can somehow get back to that some day.
Also, that Dodge commercial at the end was something else. From another era as well. While it was playing all I could think of was Will Ferrell in character as Robert Goulet belting out that song.
Imagine how his head would spin if he walked through the doors of that same factory in 2022 and realize how much further those conditions have fallen.
That factory is still open?
Imagine if he knew that these jobs would all move to Japan
@@javiervega1065 imagine that and that he'd pay for it. The time machine really needs it's bar for entry lowered.
He’d have to go to Mexico or China where he’d find out how lucky he was.
This guy had it good. Today, people with much more education make a lot less money and still feel disconnected and now can barely have a family
Guess what happens when you have a whole bunch of dissastisfied intellectuals, unemployed, and reading the works of Karl Marx or Leon Trotsky?
@@raymondfrye5017 sounds like a recipe for social change.
I went to college and got an advanced degree. Afterwards, I became an office worker, sitting in a cubicle, looking at a computer screen, performing monotonous tasks every day for more than 35 years. As I near retirement, I suffer from a bad back and hips, what I regard as the crippling effects of sedentary work. There are days that I wish I had become an electrician or a park ranger.
You wish you had become an electrician or park ranger?
Well, guess what? I worked 20 years with unionized electricians at the local power plant. They were a motley crew who were exposed to danger every day.Consider:
1. Electricians had to roll out big cables to the proper length,cut and transport them to the work area and then install this cabling with a long, tedious procedure. Fuses and rebuilding units are included.
2. They were also exposed to explosions on the big breakers as well as electrocution for not paying attention to detail and following procedure.
3. While employing test equipment there would be unexpected situations, like finding animals (cats,lizards)in the work area attracted by the warmth in the load center.
4.I suppose you get the picture.
At any rate, as an office worker you can learn new skills,go to the gym and keep in shape. All without being subject to an often fatal mistake.
Regards
We sometimes forgot that for every one of those vintage cars we love so much is a guy like Herbert assembling it.
it kind of goes to show that even with a "good" job, sometimes benefits and money are not enough.
Man needs more than just a paycheck to live. The brain rebels at stagnation. He says it himself, he's thankful for the opportunity it gives him and his family, but he looks at those in that family, who are tradesmen, as having a better job, because they are their own boss, and don't suffer the same monotony.
it's not too dissimilar from people who strike it super rich, and all of a sudden realize they are not happier for it, because sure, they have money, but no life.
Humans crave and need purpose. We are not machines, and industrialization turned humans into machines. In fact, the very word "robot", is derived from a czeck word robota, referring to hard work or slavery, forced labor, etc
the assembly line is not a natural form of human behavior. We now look at these guys and think "man, they had it good"
but having it good is relative. they had financial security, but they were, as the video starts, often forced into the job due to lack of skill or education to do anything else.
Perspective is everything. The people who have those jobs hate them, because they simply have no other alternative. And the people who are in that "no other alternative" but dont have that opportunity, wish they had it.
Well put. Too bad that the politicians in west and... actually all over the world.. only think in terms of growth and putting as many people as possible in work.
rossum's universal robots
Well said.
You said it. The assembly line was never meant to be for humans.
Now we have the same jobs just with none of the good things they had
I completely understand this man. I can’t do repetitive production work like that. It messes with my mental health. I used to just shut up and do it. Then later on I switched jobs.
Both of my grandfathers took an early retirement from the General Motors Leeds plant in Kansas City. This was in 1984. The Japanese auto makers were kicking our ass, and further automation was coming fast. They saw the writing on the wall and got the hell out.
As a kid, I could tell that they hated working at the plant. But, they lived the American dream. Nice house in the suburbs, wife, and two kids. They drove nice cars, had boats and campers, and went on vacations every year. I could tell that they didn't like working at the plant, but at least GM paid them enough to provide comfortable lives for their families. So they stuck it out and it paid off. Nice, long, comfortable retirements.
That was 1984. In 2022 is 'sticking it out' even possible anymore? Probably not. I make a great deal more than my grandfathers, and have a great deal less. Good luck buying a home now on one income. The system that we're trapped in makes it very difficult for a single person to get ahead. It seems like one can either live comfortably, or get ahead in life and suffer for it. This country's employers/employees are headed towards a cliff, and we're gonna run off the edge sooner than later.
I been there when working at Ford and I definitely felt his pain word for word.
I work a desk job. I feel the same way. It’s not physically exhausting but mentally.
I retired yesterday ending my automotive logistics career.
Congratulations. I wish you the best, also a long healthy retirement 👍.
Wow, congratulations! My husband is entering his 20th year of automotive logistics. Not quite retirement age, but _so_ close.
I remember many years ago getting a tour of a paper plant while I was in engineering school in Thunder Bay. As they were showing the incredible material handling machines for handling the rolls of kraft paper the rolls finally settled into place where robot arms slapped paper protective caps on the rolls. However in the middle of this machine were two guys with buckets and swabs painting glue on the folded roll ends before being capped. By coincidence I knew one of the guys doing it. Later I asked him about it. He explained he had been doing it for 10 years since the automation machines were installed but the unions had fought to keep this position. Although the fellow seemed pretty happy, I still remember to this day thinking to myself a fate worse than death.
The one guy was called an unskilled worker as the micrometer was sticking out of his pocket. Oh well, being a college graduate doesn't necessarily mean that one has any skills either. Knew a guy that owned and operated his own very well known and respected automotive machine shop. The local high school asked him to come teach machining , auto shop and set up their brand new shop, all was well until they found out he had no high school diploma. All of the technical courses, he'd racked up which were numerous and prestigious in his field didn't matter once they found out he quit school at 16 and went to work. Being a mechanical and engineering Wizard Business Man already, he laughed it off. After all, he wasn't looking for a job, it was they who came to him. They did get a teacher, one with a piece of paper that said he knew machine theory, a high school and college diploma but had zero skill or hands on practical experiences. The 16 year old gear heads in the class had more skill than the degreed teacher. You know, the unskilled without degrees or HS diplomas. Sorry I wrote a book here about it, just that I was there then.
This looks like a video to encourage people not to be angry at the fact that some jobs will be disappearing soon, “you didn’t like this job anyways, look how miserable you are, now a robot can do it”
Exactly haha. Poor little guys were bored 😭😭😭😭😭😭
Probably the sad part is that everyone of them believe it's because of lack of education. But today most people is college educated and still working in the factories.
What a complete lack of understanding in the value of a formal education.
The entire point of a formal education is to get a piece of paper saying you can do a job. (diploma)
It is why people from MIT and Harvard get first jobs in the six figures while community college graduates in the culinary arts get jobs which pay 17 dollars an hour.
You go to school for the job you want to fill.
Back in the 1950s and 60s lots of BS degrees paid 2 or 3 times as much as this young man's already considerably better the menial income.
Nowadays the only way to make 2 or 3 times as much money as a union job is to get a degree(paper to get a job) in a few very difficult to completed educational paths.
He was right that lack of education was holding him back.
And modern people are right that excess of education has done nothing for them.
Both generations are right because the fundamental value of those educations have changed.
when i went into the mines just as my freinds was graduating from college all i heard from them was this "can you get me a job there'? this was back in 1977
It's not the lack of education. It's the lack of the creative spirit.
@@miltonsteele6676 Just got my BS in IT in my 40s, and I can tell you that most kids in college are there because they don't know what else to do. Most of them drop out. Just because you're in college doesn't mean js.
Here we are, still living lives of quiet desperation. So many of us live this life. Mundane, repetitive days. I felt that hard when he talked about turning on that "switch". It's what I do every day, flip that switch on that says time to go to work and spend the day doing shit I don't want to do so that I MIGHT have a few moments of happiness outside of work on occasion. It can definitely get depressing knowing this will more than likely be the rest of your life.
This dude just sounds like an honest man. I love it
I'm curious where Mr. Slater ultimately wound up, or if he's still with us today. I read through as many of the comments as I could, but never saw his story come up.
Man…. He had no idea how lucky and fortunate he really was..
Just because it could have been worse does not make him lucky...
@@scoopitywoop he was around in a time where careers such as that were way more plentiful… so yes, he absolutely was “lucky”.
Were he around today, he wouldn’t have a career such as that to take for granted and loathe.
@@nochey78 neither his peers nor his modern equivalents are lucky. Being miserable is not a position to celebrate
@@scoopitywoop it’s not about “celebration”, it’s about appreciating what you’ve got..it’s about being able to provide for your family, and earn a good living, and not having to worry about the bills getting paid.
Life isn’t always about what you want to do.. sometimes it’s about what you need to do… especially if you have others depending on you..
It’s not always about just you..
Also… modern Equivalents??? Folks like that are few and far between… jobs like that don’t really exist anymore.
Hey, when you bored you bored.
I remember working in a factory in my early 20s and hated every minute of it. Got myself a government job that allowed me to pay for my tuition and was able to get my college degree free of loans. Did not start a family until I was educated. Education is key.
@@tokyobrwn Agreed 💯! A trade or college degree will open up many doors.
As a guy in my early 20s I would say this is dated. Current trends show that many young men (including myself) aren't going to school. I see a major social shakeup as political pressures of old men and the existential angst of the youth clash. If we don't have WW3 first.
@@thesnowman7715 as a Mom of teens, please help me understand this trend. Not being sarcastic here; just really need to understand to be a supportive parent.
@@je9833
Your generation as well as your parents sold us down the river to China. Rampant inflation, tyrannical government, astronomical housing/automotive prices, abortion on demand, no-fault divorce, gynocentric family courts, broken foster systems full of nonces…
We have no future, so why even bother? It is statistically impossible for us to achieve everything detailed here in this interview at his age barring extreme privilege or extreme luck. So even if we work our guts out, it is almost guaranteed that it will not be worth it. No house, no wife, no children, and soon, due to inflation, no food, cars, gas, or ammunition. And all while our government is importing illegals and letting them vote, displacing us.
Just…fuck me. Christ…
@@je9833 I used to think it was just that college was not providing something for us guys or something. But that was until I was suggested that its rather men don't see the value in it. I.e. its not worth the debt for most degrees unless your going to be a Engineer, Doctor or Lawyer.