Well it seems the inevitable is going to happen and I hear it is rumored to be around 8am Eastern time tomorrow. I am sure there are a plethora of commentaries out on the Internets and blog-o-sphere about what is going to happen now, how we got here, and what to do next, but I would like to share a more personal side of this momentous event.
My dad was hired in to, what was at the time AC Delco, in the mid-nineties, I think around 1995 or so. Before then had worked at several companies doing engineering-type work, and at that time was not an issue that he didn't have have any sort of degree; his innate skill were enough to get by. That did not last forever, and he worked several other jobs, most of which I don't remember. Before he started at AC Delco, he was working with my grandfather selling chemicals for DuBois. I remember he did not say much at first about the prospect at AC Delco, because I later found out that he had several rounds of skills testing he went through as well as the standard background check. He was part of a pretty major hire, I think one of the biggest in a few decades, and well, given the current circumstances, probably one of the last.
He was brought in as a line-workers and mainly worked second shift for a few years. Despite the increased job security and increase in Christmas presents, it was not all a bowl of cherries. It was very hard on our family having him gone pretty much most of the time the rest of the family was home. His shift was usually 2-11p. However, we could not complain, we had made it, we were going to be OK. At some point in time before this blessing, things were pretty tight and we ended up receiving food stamps and some other assistant. This was when they were actually stamps and I had to wait in line at the grocery store while my mom tore the little perforated sheets of paper out of the book. I did not know this at the time, but they had to be removed in sight of the cashier to ensure they belonged to the one purchasing the items. I was so embarrassed at times it got to the point that I would go wait outside the store or in the car until she had finished paying.
We had great insurance and my dad was even able to save for retirement; things were looking up. After a few years on the line he was moved in to an apprentice-ship program within, what was now GM. They had taken over AC Delco or dissolved it at some point in time. This was even better for our family situation. He was off the line on to a first shift schedule and had even more job security as a skilled-trademans.
He worked at this position and took his classes for several years in Flint, very close to our home town. He was then transferred to Bay City, which was an hour north and made this commute for 2 or 3 years; an hour each way. This put a serious strain on the family and after I graduated high school my parents moved to Bay City, as Stuart and I were both out of the house and away at college. He has been working at the Bay City plant since 1997 and thankfully still has a job.
His plant has been spared, for now, and will remain open with, as my dad puts it, with a bare-bones work crew. His plant is a parts plant and they provide numerous assembly plants all over the state, which gives them some priority in the GM's scheme (I hope) and given he is skilled-trades, well that helps even more. He lucked out though, it was only because some more senior workers on the list took the voluntary lay-off, that he still has a job, for now.
It is a very scary time and I am quite amazed at how calm he is. He has been frugal, saved most of this life and doesn't have many extravagant "toys" to pay off; he still drives a GMC Safari. We don't talk many specifics, but I know that he is in OK shape now and if or when he does get laid off he will have 26 or more weeks of unemployment, however, my biggest concern comes after that. If he does get laid-off - which now pretty much means fired, and is not like it used to be when you were pretty confident you'd get your job back - what then? What will he do? Him and the rest of Michigan will be looking for jobs and they will all pretty much have the same resume. I know it is not a immediate concern, and that I shouldn't be so worried, but who would have ever thought GM would go bankrupt. Given that uncertainties is the only certainty today, I can't help but worry.
The other major concern is his health insurance and retirement savings. When GM is in negotiations in court all of that is on the table. Granted they can't take away what he has saved in retirement, but it could all be stopped and his medical benefits severely slashed. He shows great resolve about the how situation and does not let on if he is concerned, but I guess, even when we are both adults, that is what parents do.
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