Back in 1984, the UAW worried that a tsunami of automation would result in robots replacing loyal union members on auto factory floors. To counter the possibility of wholesale layoffs, the UAW struck a bargain with GM, Ford and Chrysler. In exchange for being allowed to bring productivity-improving automation into their factories, the automakers agreed to create "jobs banks."
The concept was simple and, on the surface at least, socially responsible. Laid-off workers could do community service, go back to school or in some cases, sit around the factory, continuing to collect pay and benefits until the automaker found other jobs for them. At the time, American automakers expected that continuing growth would enable them to bring laid-off workers back out of the job banks and onto the factory floor quickly.