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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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very large number of the automobile workers were either machinists or doing the work of machinists and machinists' helpers.

They had been completely unsuccessful, partly because the workers didn't want to belong to unions and saw no sense in paying union dues. I speak now from personal comments made to me by automobile workers over a long period of time prior to 1933 and after that too. They saw no sense in paying dues - ridiculous! They regarded the leaders of the trade unions as “labor skates”as they called them, taking soft and easy jobs, going around being an organizer, being a kind of a walking delegate, butting in on everything, then collecting, having a soft snap themselves, not working at the bench and not being a bona fide worker, and generally interfering with things.

Most of the automobile workers felt that they could do very well indeed with their bosses, superintendents, foremen and so on. It was still the high wage industry, although other wages had to some extent caught up with Ford's five dollar a day minimum wage. However, the automobile industry still remained a high wage industry compared to other wages for other occupations in American life. That's why people in other industries had left their occupations had gone to making automobiles.





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