One word for summer in Florida: HOT!

I understand the concept of Siesta. Northerners don’t nap. They work right through the afternoon and don’t think twice about it. They (we) harshly judge those with their hats pulled over their eyes and their chair rocked back against the wall in the middle of the work day. I now understand that this kind of unrelenting heat sucks the life out of you unless you pace yourself.

I have been thinking about how I used to work in the plant when the temperature rose to the high 80’s outside, inside near the ovens it was often over 100 degrees. We were supposed to be sent home if the temperature got over 110, but if you were caught with a thermometer on site, you got walked out. Our plant had no air conditioning, but those days of sweltering heat could usually, be counted on one hand, most summers. This summer in Florida has been HOT, day after day. I am not complaining. I still have the luxury of air conditioning and siesta if I choose.

The devilish uncertainty of a career in the auto industry has reared its ugly head again this week. Just when we thought that the worst was behind us, the rug gets pulled out again. General Motors has just emerged from bankruptcy, only to announce that they will not keep their promise to take the retirees back from ailing Delphi. We worked for GM for over 28 of the 30 years of our careers, but still may not receive a pension from GM.

This atmosphere of eminent doom is not new to us. When we were hired, we endured threats that we would not make our 90 days (often GM would lay workers off on their 89th day to avoid paying holiday pay). We then struggled through the years of the oil embargo. I spent my 5th and most of my 6th year on lay off. The spin off of the component divisions to the new Delphi Corporation was unsettling. It was especially hard to watch as the mother corporation squeezed all of the profits out of her orphaned plants, while developing off shore strategies, and duel sources (planned obsolescence). Four years ago our struggling corporation was forced by its parent company into bankruptcy and we all were sent off to an early retirement, with the promise that if we went, GM would take care of the pension obligation.

Last week my benefits were slashed and my pension was taken over by the government. Whoopee! Here we go again.