This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
Assembly Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Assembly Magazine logo
  • Home
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Digital Edition
    • Archives
    • Specs Book
    • How-To-Guide
    • Buyers Guide
  • Exclusives
    • Plant of the Year
      • About Plant of the Year
      • Nomination Form
    • Capital Spending
    • State of the Profession
  • Industries
    • Aerospace
    • Appliance
    • Automotive
    • Medical Devices
    • DFMA Assembly
    • Green Manufacturing
    • Lean Manufacturing
    • Electronics Assembly
    • Machinery Assembly
  • Technologies
    • Adhesives
    • Assembly Presses
    • Automated Assembly
    • Dispensing
    • Motion Control
    • Screwdriving and Riveting
    • Plastics Assembly
    • Robotics
    • Test and Inspection
    • Welding
    • Wire Processing
    • Workstations
  • Columns
    • Assembly in Action
    • Automation Profiles
    • Medical Device Assembly
    • On Campus
    • Shipulski on Design
    • The Editorial
    • XYZ
    • Moser on Manufacturing
    • 21st Century Assembly
    • Mind Your Ps and Qs
  • New Products
  • More
    • Web Exclusives
    • Classifieds
    • eNewsletter
    • Blog
    • Market Research
    • Store
    • Product Spotlight
    • White Papers
    • Integrated Showcase
    • Custom Content & Marketing Solutions
    • Monthly Quiz
    • Sponsored Insight
  • Multimedia
    • Assembly Radio
    • Assembly TV
    • Image Galleries
    • Webinars
    • Interactive Spotlights
    • eBooks
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • The Assembly Show
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
  • InfoCenters
    • Collaborative Robot Revolution
    • Factory of the Future
Home » Editorial: Paws to Reflect on the Auto Industry
Columns

Editorial: Paws to Reflect on the Auto Industry

August 26, 2009
John Sprovieri
Reprints

Engineers and assemblers aren’t the only ones who are feeling the effects of the downturn in the automotive industry. Some real Detroit fat cats will soon be out of work, too.

I’m being unkind. They aren’t all that fat. But they are cats-literally. For at least 20 years, a feral cat colony has thrived on the grounds of Chrysler’s assembly plant in Sterling Heights, MI. Workers feed the cats nightly, and some even set out insulated crates for them in the winter.

Cats being cats, the colony has grown considerably, and people have augmented the population by dropping off unwanted pets near the facility. Dozens of cats now roam the plant’s 286 acres.

Sadly, the Sterling Heights assembly plant is one of six facilities that Chrysler will close by December 2010 as part of its restructuring process. The plant, which employs 1,322 people, assembles the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger. The facility was originally built in 1953 to make jet engines. Volkswagen converted it to an automotive plant in 1980, and Chrysler purchased the facility three years later.

Now, Chrysler is working with animal clinics to remove the cats before the plant closes. Homes have been found for some kittens, but adult feral cats aren’t suitable for adoption. At least 24 have been trapped and either spayed or neutered so they can’t reproduce.

Alarmed, I went up to Detroit to see if I could get within a whisker of the story. There, I met with Mr. Bobo, head of the union representing the cats, the Pet Autoworkers (PAW). “We were promised lifetime employment and an endless supply of Friskies,” the tabby complained. “Now they’re kicking us out, taking away our kids, and cutting our @#$% off. It’s so unfair!”

Was there any truth to the allegation that PAW members were becoming a nuisance, venturing near dangerous machinery and creating odor problems on the shop floor? “Nonsense,” said the 7-year-old father of 12. “PAW work rules strictly prohibit us from doing any task that we weren’t originally hired to do.”

What about charges that mousetraps had been disabled throughout the factory? “Another myth,” hissed Mr. Bobo, showing his claws. “Even though the contraptions take jobs away from hard-working PAW members, we support productivity-enhancing technology.”

What would Mr. Bobo and the PAW do now? Would they head south and hook up with one of the Asian automakers? “Naw,” he purred. “We got twice as many mice with Chrysler. Besides, our contract requires Chrysler to set up a jobs bank for us. The company has to keep feeding and caring for us until they can find us jobs at other facilities. It’s perrrfect.”

Well, it seems the cats of Sterling Heights will be taken care of after all. As for Chrysler, GM and Ford, let’s hope they have nine lives, too.

subscribe to assembly

Recent Articles by John Sprovieri

Robots assemble hydraulic valves

Right-to-repair law could affect product design

Soft Robotics Introduces Modular, Flexible Gripper for UR Cobots

Collaborative Robots Help Finish Cars at Ford Assembly Plant in Germany

Linear Motor Transport Systems

Sprovieri200
John has been with ASSEMBLY magazine since February 1997. John was formerly with a national medical news magazine, and has written for Pathology Today and the Green Bay Press-Gazette. John holds a B.A. in journalism from Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism.

Related Articles

The Editorial: A Speed Bump on the Road to Green

The Editorial: GM Looks to the Future

Getting Started on the Road to Industry 4.0

UAW, Detroit Three on collision course

Related Products

The Foreman on the Assembly Line

Faster, Better, Cheaper in the History of Manufacturing: From the Stone Age to Lean Manufacturing and Beyond

Introduction to the Design and Behavior of Bolted Joints, Fourth Edition: Non-Gasketed Joints

Digital Manufacturing and Assembly Systems in Industry 4.0

Related Events

Lean Six Sigma in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Harnessing the Power of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Related Directories

TSC Auto ID/Printronix Auto ID

Desoutter Industrial Tools

Industrial Controls Co

Subscribe For Free!
  • Print & Digital Edition Subscriptions
  • Assembly eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service
  • Mobile App

More Videos

Popular Stories

lordstown motors

Electric Truck Manufacturer Buys GM’s Lordstown Assembly Plant

IoT Boosts Productivity at Bosch Assembly Plant

IoT Boosts Productivity at Bosch Assembly Plant

Auto Industry Drives New Vision Technology

Auto Industry Drives New Vision Technology

Bobcat manufacturing

Bobcat Announces Manufacturing and Assembly Facility Upgrades

Linear Motor Transport Systems

Linear Motor Transport Systems

Upcoming Assembly Events and Webinars

Events

January 1, 2030

Webinar Sponsorship Information

For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Cloud Computing

Are you using cloud computing at your assembly plant?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

Welding: Principles & Practices

Welding: Principles & Practices

This text introduces students to a solid background in the basic principles and practices of welding.

See More Products
assembly buyers guide

Assembly Magazine

november 2019 assembly

2019 November

The 2019 November Assembly features our cover story "What's New With Manual Torque Tools", plus much more. Check it out today!
View More Create Account
  • More
    • Assembly Plant of the Year
    • Manufacturing Group
    • List Rental
    • Organizations
    • Connect
    • Want More?
    • Polls
    • Privacy Policy
    • Subscribe
    • Survey And Sample

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing