what a world...

[kadiera]

One of the engineers I work with looked at us yesterday and said, "the engineer at the plant called me up today and asked if we'd ever considered making the copper washers for the banjo bolts out of something other than copper

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

First I'd check the plant wages. Taking things to sell is foraging behavior, often triggered by not having the means to meet one's basic needs. Very low wages can pressure people to scramble for survival in other ways.

Next I'd check how the company treats its workers. Employee-friendly companies have very low shrinkage problems because the workers feel invested in the place and want it to do well. But if they feel like they're getting screwed, they're likely to find ways of screwing the company in return. Taking stuff for personal use -- or even just taking it and not doing anything with it -- is a popular method.

If neither of those apply, then the problem is more likely personnel or flow related, deriving from the quality of people hired and/or the accessibility of materials. Some people will just grab stuff if it's in reach.

Each of those problems has a different solution. If the employees aren't making enough to live on -- so little that they need to steal frigging washers -- then the company needs to juggle its budget or something to make sure people get their basic needs met. If the company treats people badly, then it needs to improve employee relations and find ways to help people feel invested in the company. If the company is already doing fine in those regards, it may need better employees and should also see about keeping the washers out of easy pilfering reach.

Re: Thoughts

[pstscrpt]

This is a big 3 auto company. Michigan is collapsing because those three companies are collapsing. I doubt there's much that can be done.

Re: Thoughts

[kadiera]

Well, it depends. I have my own opinions, having worked with various plants for a few years now. The union insures that while the work is sometimes difficult and sometimes mind numbingly boring, it's safe, well paid, and the hourly folks generally get better benefits than salaried folks.

Average UAW wages before the most recent contract were ~$28+ per hour. Even new hires under the new contract start at $14 or more an hour.

Average scrap copper price is $3.75/pound, +/- a bit. It'd take a lot of washers to make any reasonable amount of money, but that doesn't stop people from breaking in to abandoned houses here in SE Michigan and stealing the wiring out of the walls.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Alas! Used to be, manufacturing jobs were good jobs and the dominant force in the American labor market. Now, it's frigging Wal-Mart. No matter what your skills are, statistically speaking you're likely to be stuck working retail. That's horrid.