Hemmings Classic Car – October 2019

IWASTHERE

IWASACOLLEGESTUDENTAND

workedforGeneralMotorsinvariousjobs

andpositionsattheRochesterProducts

Division(RPD)inRochester,NewYork,

from 1961 to1966.Atthetime,RPD

suppliedGMwithsteeltubingforgas

andbrakelinesforavarietyofitscars

andtrucks.Italsomanufacturedthelocks,

keys,andcarburetorsfortheentireline

ofitsvehicles,includingCorvettefuel

injectionunits.

Iappliedforanhourlyposition

and,sincetheDivisionwashiring,Iwas

offeredajobimmediately;theofficer

askedifIcouldbeginonMonday.My

hourlywagewasmuchmorethanmy

othercollegefriendsweremakingintheir

part-timejobs,soIwasdelightedtobe

abletoattendcollegeduringthedayand

workeitherthesecondorthirdshift.Ihad

marriedatayoungage,andwehada

childbeforeIrealizedIhadtogetserious

aboutschool,obtainingadegree,and

pursuingthecareerthatIdesired.Mywife

tookafull-timejobasIbeganattending

collegesowecouldsurvive.Itwasn’t

longbeforewebothrealizedouryoung

daughterneededastay-at-homemom,

hencethereasonIsoughtemployment

withGM.

Beingadues-payingmemberofthe

UnitedAutomotiveWorkerslaborunion

wasallnewforme.Myfirstnightonthe

job,Iwasassignedtowashinganddrying

steelparts.Thepartsweredeliveredin

steeltubsdirectlyfromthepunchpress

areaandwerecoveredinoil.Myjob

wastoloadalarge,mesh-sided,round,

steelpail-likecontainerwiththeparts,

putthepailintoaheatedcausticsolution

forseveralminutes,removethepail,

andthenplaceitinamachinetodrythe

cleanedparts.

Thisdryingmachinespunthepail

insideaclosedcontainerthatwasheated

withsteam.Betweenthecentrifugalforce

ofspinningandthesteamapplied,the

partswoulddry.Itwasimportanttohave

thepartsdrythoroughlysotheywould

notrust,hencethedryingtimevaried,but

usuallyittook 15 minutesorso,which

gaveme,theoperator,some“downtime.”

Timedraggedonwhilewaitingto

checkthepartstoseeiftheyweredryand

Iworkedinanair-conditionedoffice

thatwasinthecenterofthemanufac-

turingarea.Thetopsectionofeachwall

consistedofglasswindows,soasIsat

atmydeskfiguringoutwhattheplant

neededandorderedmaterial,Icould

easilybeseenbyanyonelookinginor

walkingbyintheaisle.The“oldguys”

whogavemeadvicethatfirstnight

usuallywalkedbyontheirwaytothe

cafeteriaatlunchtime,andIalways

wonderedwhattheymightbethinking,

butIwasafraidtoask.

IappreciatedtheopportunityIhadto

workforGeneralMotors.Icompletedmy

degreewiththeassistanceofGM’stuition

reimbursementbenefit/program.Mygoal

wastobecomeateacher,andwhenI

turnedinmyletterofnotificationtoleave

forateachingposition,Iwaspleasedthat

mybossaskedmetoreconsider,indicat-

ingthatmaybetherewouldbeaplacefor

meatGMinFlint.It’sfunnyhowthings

workoutwhenyouarenotsureabout

whatthefutureholds.

Lookingback,IampleasedImade

therightdecisionforme.Itaughtfor

severalyears,becameanadministrator,

andthenspentthelast 20 yearsofmy

careerasaSuperintendentofSchools

leadingfourDistrictsinNewYorkState.

Andyes,IdodriveaGMvehicle!

Iwasbored.BecauseIhadthreedrying

machinesavailable,Isimplyranall

threeoftheminsteadofjusttheonema-

chineIwasassigned,asitmadethetime

goquicklyby.Itwasatthispoint,atthe

endoftheshift,whereIhadstacked

allthecleanpartsuponaskid,thata

coupleofthe“oldguys”cameoverto

talktome.TheytoldmeIwasdoingtoo

much,toslowdown,toonlyrunone

dryeratatime,becauseIwasmaking

otherguysdoingthisjob“lookbad.”

Ididnotheedtheiradvice,and

soonnoonewaswillingtotalktome.

WhenIcametoworkthenextevening,

thetowmotoroperatorshadburied

meinpartstobecleaned,andIcould

hardlymovearoundandhadnoplace

tostackthepartsIhadcleaned.Within

ashortperiodoftime,Iwastoldbymy

foremantoreporttothefrontoffice.

Intheemploymentoffice,Iwas

quizzedaboutmyworkonthenight

shift,mycollegeprogram,andfuture

plansbyaseniorstaffmember.AsIre-

memberthatmeetingendedwithsome-

thinglikethisbeingsaid,“Howwould

youliketohaveasalariedposition?”I

askedwhereandwhatwouldIbedo-

ing.IwastoldIwouldbeworkinginthe

ProductionControlDepartmentandI

wouldhavetowearawhitedressshirt

towork.Mynewassignedtaskconsisted

ofcheckingtheproductionschedulesfor

allsectionsoftheplant,inventorying,

andorderingthecardboardpackingand

shippingmaterialsandcontainersforthe

threeshiftsofmanufacturing.Istillwas

abletoworkthenightshift,andwasas-

signedtheuseofanelectricscootersoI

couldcoverallsectionsoftheplant.

Gary Buehler

Production Control Department

Rochester Products Division

IWasThererelatesyourstoriesfrom

workingforthecarmakers,whetherit

wasatthedrawingboard,ontheassembly

line,oranywhereinbetween.Tosubmityour

stories,[email protected]

orwritetousatIWasThere,c/o

HemmingsClassicCar, 222 MainStreet,

Bennington,Vermont05201.

GM ROCHESTER OPERATIONS

96 HEMMINGS CLASSIC CAR OCTOBER 2019 I Hemmings.com