Before Hickory came in it was basically like family. You basically got
along with everybody. You practically knew everybody at the company. I
guess there were close to three hundred employees and you practically
knew all these people by name.
Your work load wasn't that difficult. By not having production rates set
you would just work at your own pace. A lot of times that would work out
pretty good because a lot of people like to work steady to stay busy to
make the day go by. It's just like anything else; you would have some
people that were deadbeats whether they are working in a pie factory or
not.
It was easier then and a lot less tension. Everybody seemed to have
gotten along a lot better. It wasn't that much animosity towards one
another. If you were working beside a guy, doing the same job, making
the same thing, you didn't think that much about it. But if you were
working beside a guy, both of you doing the same job he might have been
making anywhere from a dollar and a half to two dollars more per hour
than you were, it would create a lot of animosity. You would think,
we're doing the same job why should he be making more than I'm making?
Some people were really just busting their chops.
Some people had these positions as inspectors. They didn't have that much
to do and they were making good money. They would just stand around and
watch everybody else while you were just busting your butt and making a
dollar or a dollar and a half less. It created a lot of animosity.
When White's was there it wasn't that bad. It was a whole lot easier
because then too you didn't have a pint system. The point system means
as far as absentees or tardiness goes at the plant. If you have
something like three times or eight times within a month period, you
were automatically terminated.
At White's--before Hickory bought it--it wasn't like that. I mean, if you
needed to be out for maybe a week or two weeks you could go to your
supervisor or go to management and tell them you have this situation
come up and you need to be off for two weeks. A
lot of times you would get it. I know when my first child was born, my
son, I asked for a week off to be at home to help my wife out and they
said, "Yes, no problem, go ahead and take the week off." After Hickory
bought the place out I wouldn't have asked for a week off if my wife had
died.