Idle Observations On the Factory--1982 vs. 2005

Then: Personal phone calls allowed at break and during lunch
Now: Cell phones and headsets

Then: Shop foreman’s choice of music piped in over loudspeaker
Now: Personal CD players and Ipods

Then: Work hours 8 to 4:30 with ½ hour for lunch
Now: Time off to take kids to the doctor, attend soccer practices, etc.

Then: Coffee club with $1.50/week dues
Now: Free coffee

Then: Names like Williams and Brown
Now: Names like Kim, Khanh and Khamsing

Then: A turkey at Christmastime
Now: Cash

Then: Trash cans and garbage trucks
Now: Hazmat and AQMD (Air Quality Management District)

Postscript: Not four hours after I posted the above, "the City" came by to investigate a report that we were "washing our forklift." Uh, excuse me? Didn't know that was a municipal crime. (And besides, we weren't guilty--anybody who takes a look at said forklift would know it's NEVER been washed--we were simply ADDING WATER to the radiator.) Anyway, suffice to say one thing led to another...and I had to step in before the police were called.