Time was when Chevy Nomads were a line of stylish wagons. These days, the term is more likely to describe General
Motors’ pool of continually displaced workers, employees who migrate from factory to factory in search of steady
work.
As The General has been cutting capacity and shuttering factories, not everyone has been fortunate enough to find
their way into the UAW-secured ‘jobs bank’. Thousands of employees have been caught out in the aftermath, forced to
move nomadically where the work is. Many Ford Motor Company employees find themselves in the same boat.
Over the past 20 years, it is estimated that some 80,000 General Motors production employees have pulled up stakes
and moved at least 300 miles away to continue holding a job with their company. That number is set to increase for
among both GM and Blue Oval employees as workers play musical chairs across the nation for a decreasing number of
positions.
The Associated Press looks at the cost of building these ‘band of gypsies’– not just from a financial perspective,
but from a familial and societal standpoint as well.
[Source: AP via MSNBC.com]