Victor Voisinet discusses his career as a production and material handling worker and UAW member at the Fisher Body plant in Lansing, MI Cheryl McQuaid: [recorder clicking] [clicking] This is Cheryl McQuaid [clicking] with Lansing Fisher Body Historical Team. [clicking] It is December 12th, 2005, [clicking] at approximately 10:15. [thumping] We are preparing to interview Vic Voisinet. We're at the [clicking] 602 UAW Union Hall in the Conference Room. [clicking] First we're gonna go around and acknowledge everybody else in the room. Mike Fleming: [tsk] Mike Fleming. [clicking] Marilyn Coulter: Marilyn Coulter. Jerri Smith: Jerri Smith. John Fedewa: John Fedewa. [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: [0:32] And Vic Voisinet, could you state your name and spell your last name for us, please? Vic Voisinet: Uh, my name is Vic Voisinet, [clicking] and I spell my last name V-O-I-S-I-N-E-T. Cheryl McQuaid: [0:47] And what is your address, Vic? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: I live on 9265 Tallman Road, [papers rustling] [clicking] Eagle, [coughing] Michigan. [papers rustling] Cheryl McQuaid: [0:54] And are you married? Do you have children? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Yes. I've been married [scraping] for 37 years. [clicking] We have 5 children. [background noises] Cheryl McQuaid: [1:02] And do you have any [papers rustling] military service time? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: I was in National Guard for [scraping] 6 years from January of '63 till January of '69. [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: [1:14] And what is your educational background? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: [I went to 1:17] school to 12 years, graduated from Resurrection High School [clicking] in Lansing. [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: [1:23] And could you tell me, do you remember your hire-in date and the first day that you walked in to Fisher Body? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well I think [knocking] that's somethin' everybody kinda remembers. [thumping] It was March 11th, uh, 1964, [clicking] and I think everybody kinda had the same experience here. [clicking] Amazed by the size of it [background movement] from the time you walked to the office, [clicking] where they expect you to work, and you're kind of amazed by the noise and, uh, [background conversation] you feel like kind of an animal in a zoo or something [laughter]. It's a little scary. [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: [1:57] How old were you when [clicking] you hired in? Vic Voisinet: I was 20 years [clanking] old. Cheryl McQuaid: [2:02] And why did you seek employment at Fisher Body? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well I think for the reason everybody does, [clicking] you know. It paid a lot more money than any [clicking] place else, and [background conversation] [clicking] my first aim in life and only aim at that time was to buy a new car. [background movement] Cheryl McQuaid: [2:19] And did you [clicking] buy a new car? Vic Voisinet: Oh, yeah. About 2 months after I hired in, [clicking] I bought a 1964 Chevy Super Sport. [background conversation] [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: Michael Fleming. [clicking] Mike Fleming: Um, Vic, [clicking] you said a '64 Super Sport. [2:33] Uh, through, through the times that you worked at GM [knocking] up until the time you retired, have you always had GM vehicles? [background conversation] [clicking] Vic Voisinet: The only exception, in 1967 I bought a Jeep. [clicking] Mike Fleming: Did you? Vic Voisinet: Yeah. [clicking] Mike Fleming: So what are some of the types of vehicles that you've had [background conversation] from General Motors? [throat clearing] Vic Voisinet: Well I think I can go right down the list. I bought the '64 Super Sport, [clicking] then I bought a '66 Impala, [clicking] then I bought a '69 Chevelle. [background movement] Mike Fleming: Oh, that was a [clicking] good one. Vic Voisinet: That was a good one. [background conversation] Then a '73 Cutlass, [background conversation] and then I bought a – while I had the Cutlass, I also bought [clicking] a '74 Chevy pickup. [background movement] [background conversation] Then I bought a '78 pickup, [background conversation] and my next car I think [wasn't 3:21] – [clicking] the '73 Cutl-, Cutlass was an extremely good [background movement] car. I kept it till 1983 [clicking] when I bought a Delta 88. [background conversation] [clicking] And then our family was gettin' rather large, so we bought a [clicking] '87, uh, Astro minivan, [scraping] [clicking] and there was a '78 pickup [too threw 3:39] in there [clicking] someplace. [scraping] And after the Astro van, [clicking] we bought a full-size Chevy van in ninety o-, '91, [background noises] and then let me think the next one. [scraping] After the Chevy van [clicking] was a [scratching] Buick LeSabre, [clicking] and then we bought the c-, vehicle we have now, a 2003 Envoy. [clicking] Mike Fleming: And that's a, that's a, a very good [clicking] testament to, [clicking] uh... Vic Voisinet: Oh, plus I almost forget, we, we bought a '99 Cadillac DeVille, which we still have too. [clicking] Mike Fleming: That's a very good testament to GM loyalty. [clicking] Female: Hm. Mike Fleming: [4:28] Um, when you hired in, [clicking] which department, uh, did [background noises] you come in to? Wh-, where did you begin to work here? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: I hired in, uh, on the day shift, worked in the Trim Department in what was the 3X Building for a gentleman named, uh, [Russell Burt 4:33]. [clicking] They used to call him the little general. [background movement] And [laughter] I worked on the back end of Vista Cruisers, put moldings on the inside [clicking] around the windows. There were [clicking] 3, 4 windows and the roof. [clicking] Mike Fleming: Mm-hm. Vic Voisinet: And the main problem on that job, back then you used electrical drills and electrical driver motors. [clicking] [background movement] If you pushed too hard, you could [coughing] [inaudible 4:56] drill a hole right through the roof of the car... [clicking] Mike Fleming: Hm. Vic Voisinet: ...which they really frowned on. [laughter] [knocking] Cheryl McQuaid: Cheryl McQuaid. [clicking] [5:04] Vic, what shift did you hire in on? [knocking] Vic Voisinet: I hired first shift, and I worked first shift for almost 2 years. [clicking] Then I got bumped to nights for about a month, [clicking] then I came right back to days. [clicking] That's all the nights I ever worked. [thumping] Cheryl McQuaid: [5:19] And [clicking] what other jobs did you do? Can you walk us right through those like you can your cars? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well it's been a long time. [laughter] I went on Utility after that, [laughter] but basically [doin' every 5:33] job in [thumping] the Trim Shop and what they called Hardware at that time... Female: Mm-hm. Vic Voisinet: ...yep. [clicking] You know, [clicking] I installed carpets, put in windshields, [throat clearing] body side moldings, rocker moldings, bedliners. [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: Marilyn Coulter. [throat clearing] Marilyn Coulter: [5:50] Vic, could you please tell us what is Utility, please? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well good question. [clicking] Utility replaces [thumping] people that are on vacation or [clicking] sick leave or just absent, uh, for the day [clicking] for whatever reason, you know. [clicking] You expect to be able to cover their job, you know, after like 3 minutes [background movement] of [break-in 6:09] [creaking] time, ya know. [clicking] Marilyn Coulter: S-, mm-hm. Mike Fleming: Jerri Smith. [thumping] [clicking] Jerri Smith: [6:14] Also what did, what did they – what do you mean by Hardware Line? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well the Trim Shop used to be di-, be divided. It [clicking] was call-, [clicking] it was called soft trim and [throat clearing] hard trim. [clanking] [thumping] It was actually the same line where they came out of Paint and went through Hardware first, [clicking] what they referred to as Hardware, [scraping] where you did what they consider the [clicking] hard trim, you know, body side moldings, rocker [clicking] moldings, interior wiring, windshields. [clicking] And then it went out to, ta – kept right on going on the same line, but they did the soft trim then, [clicking] you know, [clicking] headliners, uh, seats, carpets, and stuff of that nature. [clicking] Mike Fleming: Mike Fleming. [6:56] Vic, [clicking] um, you spoke of you went to [thumping] nights for how long? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Just a couple months was all. [clanking] Mike Fleming: [7:04] And then [clanking] you came back to days [clicking] for the, the [rest of 7:05] your time here. Vic Voisinet: Yeah. [clicking] Mike Fleming: Um, that's kind of unusual. [7:10] Um, could you talk about that a little bit? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well I think the whole reason was in '62 or '63, they added the 3X Building on, which doubled the size of Fisher Body. [clicking] So when I hired in in '64, [background conversation] your seniority was good right away, you know, on account [background noises] of the fact they had doubled the size of the plant [clicking] [scraping], you know. [clicking] Mike Fleming: Uh, well yeah because we, you know, most of us realize there was a time, once you get put on nights, you'd be [scraping] there for some time... Vic Voisinet: Oh, yeah [inaudible 7:39]... [knocking] Mike Fleming: ...until you return. Vic Voisinet: ...yeah. Mike Fleming: That's, that was very good. [clanking] Another [clicking] question I want to ask you before we move on [clicking] was your last name is Voisinet. [clicking] [7:47] What, um, is that [clicking] a particular – is it, it sounds French. Is that French or... [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well the name itself is French, but I'm about 95% Irish. [clicking] Mike Fleming: Okay. Vic Voisinet: It goes back to a great-great-grandfather [clicking] that was French. Mike Fleming: Sure. Vic Voisinet: Everybody after that's [clicking] been Irish, though. Female: Mm-hm. [sighing] Mike Fleming: But here's the question. [8:06] Do you have [clicking] any relatives, uh, that work for Fisher Body or any GM, [clicking] General Motors, um, operation besides [clicking] yourself? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well I had several cousins, and I had one brother that, that [clicking] retired and a brother-in-law that both [clicking] wor-, worked here in Lansing. [clicking] Marilyn Coulter: Marilyn Coulter. Vic, I just want to digress a little bit. [8:28] Now, you said that you were a resident of Lansing? Vic Voisinet: [tsk] I was born in Lansing. Marilyn Coulter: In [clicking] Lansing. Vic Voisinet: And I went to school in Lansing. [clicking] I lived in DeWitt till I was 20... Marilyn Coulter: Okay. Vic Voisinet: ...but we went to a Catholic school which [clicking] was in Lansing, [clicking] yep. Marilyn Coulter: In Lansing. [clanking] [8:42] So did you know, in, uh, growing up did you know anything about [clicking] Fisher Body before you came in here? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Absolutely nothing, you know. [laughter] 'Cause I went to school on north side and east side. [clanking] I never knew the building [clicking] was here till a month before I hired in, probably. [thumping] Marilyn Coulter: Okay. [thumping] [9:00] When you did hire [clicking] in, were there any types of – even though you came into a new building, was there any types of new hire initiations, any kind of pranks that were pulled on you when you came, when you first hired in? Vic Voisinet: [tsk] Actually they [clicking] didn't do too many of'm then 'cause there were so many new hires. [clicking] I don't think there was time, you know, you know, [clicking] 'cause the day I came in, there [clicking] were like 12, 15 of us came, [clicking] you know. And I was the only one that actually stayed beyond a [clicking] couple weeks. [clicking] But every morning they would bring 10, 12 new c-, [clicking] people up, yep. Marilyn Coulter: Um, Marilyn Coulter. You said something. [clicking] You said you were one of the few that stayed [scraping] beyond a couple a weeks. [thumping] [9:38] Can you tell us what, uh, it was like to come in here and what type of work it was, and why [knocking] was it that people were so able to leave a job [knocking] so easily back [clicking] then? Vic Voisinet: Well [creaking] things were [knocking] different. Like myself, I had put applications in [clicking] at, you know, Fisher Body and Olds and [REO 10:00] and Motor Wheel. [clicking] And they all called me in a matter of 2 or 3 days for interviews, [clicking] but Fisher happened to call first, so [clicking] I came here first, you know. Marilyn Coulter: [10:11] So it was true back then if you didn't like work at one plant, you just went to another... Vic Voisinet: Yeah, you just... Marilyn Coulter: ...back then? Vic Voisinet: ...went to another, you know. Marilyn Coulter: Jobs were... Vic Voisinet: And... Marilyn Coulter: ...[plenty 10:16]... Vic Voisinet: ...and several guys came in and worked here a week or 2 weeks and [clicking] [knocking] didn't like it, and they'd leave and they'd go someplace else, [knocking] and 6 months later they'd come [scraping] back, you know, [thumping] you know. It was an option we had that, you know, [scraping] definitely [clicking] don't exist anymore... [thumping] Marilyn Coulter: Mm-hm. Vic Voisinet: ...you know. [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: Cheryl McQuaid. Vic, you said you did a lot a jobs. [10:36] Can you tell us what's the worst job you did in that plant? Marilyn Coulter: Hm. [clicking] Vic Voisinet: The worst job [laughter] without a doubt was when I first hired in, and for several years [I did it, 10:48] to put the rear speakers in cars [laughter]. You had to lay on your back in the trunk. There was, there was nothing in there to lay on other than the sheet metal [clanking], you know. You had to lay in there, and you had ta use a hand ratchet thing ta put 2 nuts on each speaker to hold'm in place, [clicking] you know. It hurt the back a your head, it hurt the back a your legs and [clicking] hurt your back, and you were layin' flat on your back, and you had ta stand up from [clicking] that position, you know. Somethin' I definitely [thumping] couldn't do anymore at my age. [laughter] [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: [11:26] So [clicking] since working there, when you first hired in to present day, or before the plant closed, [clicking] um, what were some of the major, [clicking] um, differences in the way the plant operated? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well [clicking] the, everything is totally different from the way a department is managed. Back then the supervisor was, it [clicking] was his [knocking] business [clicking] from where the first car came into his department, [clicking] you know, till it left. He totally controlled absolutely everything, you know. There was no such thing as time study [clicking] or somebody else telling how to delegate work or [clicking] anything. [thumping] And if he didn't like you, he just got rid of you, you know, shipped you to another department [clanking] or whatever, and there was absolutely nothing, you know, anybody could do or say about it [clicking] 'cause the boss in that department, he was the boss in that department, period, you know, you know. Which had good points and bad points 'cause you definitely knew where you stood, [knocking] [laughter] you know. [clicking] Mike Fleming: Mike Fleming. [12:30] Vic, were you ever involved in any layoffs or strikes during your time with Fisher Body? Vic Voisinet: [clicking] The only layoffs I ever was involved in kinda when I hired in. It was [clicking] just when the whole plant was off for [clicking] major changeovers, or I think '73 and '74 we had slowdowns [clicking] [on account of 12:49] car sales. [knocking] But it was always [knocking] the whole plant. [clicking] I was never individually laid off. [thumping] [clicking] Mike Fleming: [12:54] How 'bout a strike that you can remember? [scraping] Vic Voisinet: I was [thumping] involved in 2 strikes. [background movement] One was in 1964, the first year I was here, and we were out about 6 weeks that time. [clicking] I think that's when we got full [clicking] coverage on our health care, I believe, if memory serves [me right 13:12]... Mike Fleming: Or 30-and-out. Maybe it was a 30-and-out, [clanking] [no? 13:14] Vic Voisinet: No, 30-and-out I don't believe came till 1970 when we were on [clicking] strike again... Mike Fleming: Mm-hm. [clicking] [throat clearing] Vic Voisinet: ...for about the same length a time, about 6, 7 weeks. [clicking] Yeah, and that's when I'm sure, I'm sure that was 30-and-out. [clicking] Mike Fleming: [13:26] Did you, how did it affect you back then to be on lay-, on strike? Did it, [clicking] um, when, did you receive strike pay or anything? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Yeah. If my memory serves me right, we, we received like $30 a week if you were single. [clicking] Then by 1970 I was married, so we got $35 a week, [clicking] you know. [laughter] But thir-, $30 to $35 [background movement] was worth a whole lot more now than it was. Mike Fleming: Six weeks is quite a [clicking] bit a time to be off. [13:54] Did you do anything to supplement that back then or you just [throat clearing] had to ride it out? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well actually in '64, that was, [scraping] I know I worked here like 6 months [clicking], and I was thinkin' seriously of going to work full time for the National Guard. [clicking] So during that downtime or the strike time, I spent quite a bit of time workin' there. [clicking] But by 1970 I was married, and we built a new house, [clicking] and we moved in [clicking] like 1st September, and the strike was 14th September. [clicking] So it gave me – my wife was workin' full time. We didn't have any kids, so it gave me a lot of time to plant the grass and paint the house and clean the house, and [laughter] so it was time well [clicking] spent, I, I guess [coughing] [inaudible 14:34]. [clicking] [throat clearing] [scraping] Mike Fleming: Uh, Vic, [clicking] now y-, you talked [knocking] about the different departments you went into [scraping] and your Utility. [14:49] Where did you end up and, [knocking] uh, [clicking] and, as you are now from th-, from that time? Talk about that if you could. [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well for about the last 20 years I've been in Material, [background conversation] and for the last 16 years I've held the same job in Material, a material controller in Trim Shop. [background conversation] [clicking] And the Material Department [clicking] I always liked [clicking] a lot better 'cause [inaudible 15:13] wait in line. [background conversation] I think you may have [clicking] worked [just as 15:17] many hours a day, but you had a little more freedom to make a phone call or go to the bathroom or whatever, [knocking] you know. And for some reason, I [don't 15:25] know if it's 'cause I had more seniority at the time I got to Material, [clicking] the supervisors always treated me a lot better. They acted like I might know something, [throat clearing] [laughter] which is a feeling you didn't get a whole lot [clicking] working on the line. They assumed you didn't know anything. So I think Material to that, [clicking] you know, extent was a lot better. They, you know, we had to do more thinking of things, you know, plus the fact that your, you know, superiors, you know, gave you credit for whatever reason for having some [clicking] knowledge, you know. [clicking] It definitely made the days go way, way faster, yep. Mike Fleming: [tsk] I, I, I can attest to that. I know [clicking] it's more responsibility. [It's a very responsible 16:05]... [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Yeah, yep. Mike Fleming: ...position to make sure stock gets to where it needs to be in time. [16:12] Um, you, well you wanna talk about the times [clicking] that you, when you first came in and how bulk stock was taken care of, and then it went to just-in-time delivery, n-, the different concepts? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Yeah, that, that, that was a [clicking] huge benefit to everybody. [knocking] It was a huge money saver for GM, [thumping] [plus the fact that 16:32] we didn't run out of stock near as often, 'cause we used to have sometimes I think up to a year's worth of stock, [clicking] but we had just these huge, huge piles. [clicking] Regulators I remember especially. We had'm – [used ta 16:45] come in a 5131 basket. [clicking] They were, those baskets were approximately 4 feet square, and we might have'm stacked 10 high, [clicking] but there was no actually designated spot. [clicking] You might have a stack of 100, 200, you know, 5131 baskets, and nobody really knew what was in it. [clicking] They were just placed in randomly, and some of'm might be there for a year before they were used. [background conversation] You never really knew how many you had until [clicking] [background conversation] you would look for one and couldn't find it, [laughter] [clicking] yep. Mike Fleming: [17:17] So [clicking] it wasn't uncommon to lose stock. [background conversation] Vic Voisinet: Yes. [clicking] But once we got to where we're at now, just-in-time, [background movement] everything had a designated lane, l-, lane, and you could [knocking] glance and see exactly what you [clicking] had, you know. And our books were considerably more on [background conversation] [clicking] than they were, you know, 15 years ago, so... [background conversation] Mike Fleming: [tsk] You say regulators. [17:37] Are those door [knocking] regulators you're [clanking] talkin' about, which, um, [clicking] allow the doors t-, to open and close with a [clicking] lock, or what type of regulators? Vic Voisinet: Well th-, th-, the regulators I was referring to was like the, the, run the windows up and [clicking] down in the, [background noises] in the doors [clanking] of the cars, yes. [clicking] [background conversation] But Material I think we have probably, y-, you know, 10% of the inventory we had 20 years ago. [clicking] But any item, if you wanted it brought on the floor [and counted 18:03] [clicking] we're way, way closer to what [background conversation] our book says we had than we were, [background conversation] you know, 15, 20 years [clicking] ago. [clicking] [background conversation] Mike Fleming: Sixteen years as a [dock 18:14] controller. [18:14] How many [scraping] controllers have you trained? [background conversation] [clicking] Vic Voisinet: [tsk] I don't know. It'd be [clicking] hard to say. I, I would say probably 5, [throat clearing] 6. [background conversation] [clicking] Mike Fleming: [18:25] How about [background conversation] [hot stock 18:27] people? And talk about the people that [clicking] were [hot stock 18:30] people [thumping] and [clicking] that kind a stuff. [scraping] [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well the [hot, the hot stock 18:35] job basically got eliminated over the years. [creaking] Fifteen, twenty years ago we were chasing [hot stocks 18:41] [clanking] continuously [clicking] because our system wasn't good enough, and we didn't know what we had or where it was, [clicking] so you could go out and search for a half hour for a box a screws, [clicking] you know, and find'm at the other end of the building, you know. 'Cause they [thumping] came in on pallets with 10 other parts, whereas the last number a years, screws came in just [clanking] on a pallet, and, uh, each pallet had just one part number [clicking] on it, [scraping] and it had a designated storage spot, so you always knew what it, [thumping] where it was. So [knocking] [hot stock 19:15] became [knocking] way, way less of an issue over the last, you know, 5, 6 years, you know. [clicking] You know, one guy might, uh, spend an hour a week chasin' [hot stock 19:24], [clicking] where 15, 20 years ago we had 5, 6 guys doing it all day, [clanking] you know, basically just lookin' for stuff that was [scraping] supposed to be there, [clicking] and nobody, other than [to know it was 19:34] in the building, nobody really knew for sure where it was, you know. [background conversation] Mike Fleming: W-, as I can recall, there was a guy out on [thumping] 15 dock. [coughing] Um, he had a nickname, something Bob. And you'd have trailers that [scraping] would be dropped, and then you would have a guy that would go and get trailers. [19:53] Do you remember [clicking] anything about that type of situation? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Uh, yeah, let me think. Yeah, Bob the switcher, they'd [background noises] call him, right? Mike Fleming: Switcher Bob. That was... [clanking] Vic Voisinet: Yep. Mike Fleming: ...his name, yes. [clanking] Vic Voisinet: There was 2 different guys. I can't – both of'm, first name was Bob. [clicking] Mike Fleming: Yeah. Vic Voisinet: I don't recall their last names. [scraping] They didn't work for GM. They worked [scraping] for, uh... Mike Fleming: [20:13] Talk about the switcher... Vic Voisinet: ...[inaudible 20:12]... Mike Fleming: ...and drop trailers and what, what, what that meant to your job. [creaking] [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well when we had drop trailers, it made the job way more complicated 'cause I looked on my computer every mornin' and had to pick out which trailer I [want unloaded 20:26] when, [clicking] 'cause there might be 25 trailers sitting out in the yard. [clicking] And then you'd give a list to switcher Bob, [background conversation] and he'd bring the trailers in [in order of the, 20:38] you thought you needed'm. [clicking] But you looked at the trailer and see what was all was on it. There might be 40 different [clicking] parts, and you kinda had ta pick the one that had the most parts that you [clicking] needed th-, first and hoped you guessed good, [clicking] you know. [thumping] Whereas time progressed to the just-in-time stock, [clicking] the office people actually set the trailers up on what they called a [milk run 21:01], [clicking] which worked, you know, basically kinda like UPS. [thumping] These trailers went around to different vendors, picked up parts, took'm to a central locating area, [clicking] and then they were loaded there in the order we needed'm, [clicking] and then they called [inaudible 21:17] the trailer. It just came right s-, [clicking] straight into Fisher to the dock and were unloaded, so you always got your stock in time 99.9% of the time. [thumping] There was no more of [clicking] looking at your computer screen for an hour in the mornin' and try ta pick out trailers and [clicking] hope like hell you go-, had'm in the right order, [clicking] you know. [laughter] [clicking] Mike Fleming: [21:37] So the stress of [throat clearing] stoppin' the line was [scraping] [throat clearing] kinda taken away from, [scraping] uh, or that burden, [clicking] uh, was taken away from you [clicking] a little bit, eased up a little? [scraping] [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Yeah, it, it, it eased it up considerably unless you got [clicking] into a bad stock situation or, or once in a while parts were not in the trailer they [clicking] were supposed to be in. [clicking] Then that kinda raised other problems, but it got con-, considerably smoother as the years went by, yep. Mike Fleming: [tsk] Just one more question [clicking] before I let, turn it over to someone else. [thumping] [22:06] Talk about [clicking] the, um, [clicking] your, your, um, [clicking] bosses, um, [clicking] your manufacturing [clicking] coordinators, your supervisors, some of the [clicking] ones that you really, really got [thumping] along well and, and enjoyed work with, and maybe there was [clicking] a couple that you [clanking] didn't get along with. [background conversation] [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well I think one of the better supervisors we ever had [clicking] was a guy named [Max Folsen 22:28] [clicking]. And Max was good 'cause he, he, he liked people to start with. [clanking] He was extremely good at the Material end of it. [throat clearing]. He never took his job so serious s-, where he would, you know, just holler at people for the sake of thinkin' that was gonna get something done. [clicking] And Mark had a lotta one-liners – or Mark – Max, that he would say. One was [clicking] when people'd come up with new ideas, [clicking] if Max thought it was an idea that probably wouldn't work out, his, you know, [patented 23:06] answer was, "Yeah, that should work probably about as good as tryin' ta nail Jell-O on a wall." [laughter] Male: Yep. [laughter] [thumping] Vic Voisinet: And he could kinda diffuse a [clanking] real serious meeting with these little remarks, [throat clearing] you know. [clicking] And he had a habit when people talked [background noises] in meetings, he always carried a little notebook [background movement], and he'd write down, [clicking] summarize what they would, uh, talk about. And I can remember this one guy, he was talking one time on and on and for like 20 minutes, [not saying 23:40] a whole lot, and Max [clicking] happened [scraping] to be sitting next to me. When the gentleman [scraping] got done, Max says, [clicking] "Can I borrow your, your pen 'cause [scraping] that guy talked 20 minutes." He says, "My pen won't write a thing," you know. [laughter] But he was a good supervisor. [clicking] He was a good people person. [scraping] He always kept a [rolodex 23:58], [clicking] you know. If it was somebody's birthday, he'd write that in the [rolodex 24:02], [clicking] [background movement] or if it was their anniversary or if they had a kid that was graduating from high school on such a date, he'd write that in the [rolodex 24:09]. And every mornin' he'd get his [rolodex 24:12] out and look, [thumping] and if it was somebody's birthday, he'd make a point to wish'm [thumping] a happy birthday, or if their son or daughter was graduating or getting married, he'd [clicking] congratulate'm and so forth, you know. And he was extremely knowledgeable about the Material end of it, yep. [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: Marilyn Coulter. Marilyn Coulter: Um, that was something that [clicking] the supervisors did when there was somebody's birthday or things like that. [24:38] Were there things that [clicking] you people did in the Material world itself [scraping] for your co-workers when there was a [clicking] birthday or a retirement [clicking] or anything special? [thumping] Vic Voisinet: Actually, in the Material world we didn't get into it that [clicking] much 'cause by the time I got into Material, you know, I, [thumping] we were an older group of men, and the anniversaries and [laughter] birthdays [by now 25:01] were not [laughter] a big, big event for us I guess, [laughter] you know. [laughter] Marilyn Coulter: [25:05] What about holidays? [scraping] [clicking] Vic Voisinet: We did have, you know, like potluck dinners for holidays and things like that or retirements, but [knocking], you know, like say, we weren't like, uh, celebrating, you know, occasions, you know. [thumping] [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: Cheryl McQuaid. [25:22] Vic, did you, um, [clicking] ever sell anything in the plant, or did you ever purchase [thumping] anything from [clicking] fellow employees in the plant? [background conversation] [clicking] Vic Voisinet: I used to purchase little stuff from here and there, but I never sold anything. So I had like 5 kids, and they were always selling something [clicking] from school, and I just [clicking] flat out made a decision that I wasn't [thumping] gonna bring it into the [thumping] shop 'cause [clicking] I'd be selling something every day pretty much, [laughter] you know, for band or softball or football or basketball or... Mike Fleming: Mm-hm. Vic Voisinet: ...you know. Mike Fleming: Mm-hm. [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: [25:51] So what were some of the types of things that you did purchase? Vic Voisinet: Well somebody was always selling some kind a candy, which was real hard ta pass up, you know. [clicking] Like that was pretty much all I ever bought was candy of different types, so. Mike Fleming: M-, m-, Mike Fleming. [clicking] [26:08] Vic, I want you to talk about, um, [clicking] how the safety within the Material [clicking] Department evolved. Even though you weren't [scraping] driving a truck, I'm sure you were aware of it. We had [clicking] at one point, um, [clanking] [Jim 26:19] uh, created [scraping] [clicking] what was called bring your child to work day. [clicking] What was that day like [thumping] than any other day [clicking] because we had so many people [clicking] in the plant as far as safety and a Material person driving a truck. Can you talk about that? [coughing] [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well bring in your child to work day we always thought was kind of a nice thing, [clicking] but we always didn't really look forward to it [thumping] 'cause you had to really be aware of what was going on. [clicking] They usually tried to get a couple extra drivers on the floor, you know, 'cause the younger kids or adults were guilty of it too. [They were 26:56] used to the, you know, factory, [thumping] you know, lifestyle of just walking here and there, you know, and thinkin' that the fork truck drivers [thumping] were, you know, had all day to get where they're going, not realizin' that [scraping] they had to del-, deliver X amount of stock, you know, in a certain amount of time, [clicking] you know. [clicking] But it was probably good 'cause it kinda, [thumping] [clicking] you know, we'd go over a lotta safety rules [knocking] leading up to it, [which 27:21] [clicking] never hurt anybody ta, you know, revisit those from time to time, [creaking] you know. [thumping] So it, [clicking] it was probably a [thumping] good thing overall, [scraping] you know. [clicking] It was always fun [clanking] to see the people in there gawking and, you know, being amazed at what we were doing, [laughter] [clicking] the things that we took for granted, [clicking] you know. Mike Fleming: Mm-hm. [throat clearing] Cheryl McQuaid: Cheryl McQuaid. [27:40] Vic, do you remember any of the weather constraints [clicking] that were put upon Material? [clicking] [background conversation] Vic Voisinet: Well in [clicking] the, in the last few years, it got to be more of a [clicking] problem 'cause when trucks came in to the dock, they basically had to be unloaded, [clicking] well especially like the, [clicking] the [IP pads 27:59] and stuff had to be unloaded, you know, in a very timely manner. You had about 20-minute [clicking] window. [background movement] And when the [clicking] weather was bad, the trucks would get here late, and there sometimes was a problem with'm backin' up to the dock [on account of 28:12] the ice, you know. We'd come several times within a matter of 2 or 3 minutes of shutting [clicking] the line down, you know. There'd be guys out there shoveling and throwing salt under trucks, and [clicking] couple times we had a [wrecker 28:25] push trucks up to the dock 'cause they couldn't get traction. And [clicking] it, it, it made it a more interesting day [clicking] when you'd get a good ice storm or [clicking] [scraping] good, heavy snow storm, [laughter] you know. [clicking] You kinda regretted [half, 28:37] but it broke up the [clicking] brunt of the daily [laughter] [knocking] everything clicking accordin' to plan. [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: [tsk] [28:45] So what about, um, trucks that were maybe coming from [clicking] further away [clicking] than just the [IP 28:50] plant from Ohio, or [clicking] was there any problems with that or... [clicking] Vic Voisinet: That usually didn't happen that often, [clicking] I mean, 'cause [clicking] they're all, all obviously travel the interstate, [clicking] you know. I don't think – there was 2 or 3 times in all the years that I was [clicking] in Material that we had a problem with, [thumping] you know, storms, you know, say [clicking] in Ohio or Pennsylvania or New York, you know. But couple times it got us in a little bit of a bind, but I don't believe we ever shut the plant down, [clicking] [knocking] you know, due to those problems, you know. [clicking] [background conversation] Cheryl McQuaid: Marilyn Coulter. [clicking] Marilyn Coulter: [29:26] Um, Vic, can you, I know you – can you tell us what types [scraping] of things you did like [clicking] during your lunch hour? Um, [clicking] did any of your, did you [scraping] develop any [clicking] friendships that went outside the plant? Can you tell us anything about those? [thumping] [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well as far as my lunch hour, the last 5, 6 years I [background movement] basically took a nap. [knocking] [laughter] The previous years, you know, we did all sort a thing, [scraping] you know, played, [clicking] I played cards for several years. [clicking] A lotta euchre was played, [coughing] you know, some poker, you know. [coughing] [tsk] As far as developing friendships outside the plant, I, I don't think I did a whole lotta – well I didn't do a whole lotta that, [clicking] I think mainly 'cause I'm from a rather large family and so is my [knocking] wife. And we live in a small town, Westphalia, Michigan, which we do a lot of, you know, [clicking] social activities with neighbors and the church and so forth. [clicking] So I guess, basic-, and having 5 kids too [knocking] occupies your time quite a bit, so it, it was more of a time restraint. Not, not that I didn't, [background movement] you know, [background conversation] [clicking] like the people I worked with. I worked with a lot of super nice people over the years, yeah. [clicking] Marilyn Coulter: They had, um, [throat clearing] [background conversation] I know like – [clicking] you mentioned church. I know that they had Bible study groups and things like that in the plant. [30:44] Did you participate in any of those groups? Vic Voisinet: [tsk] No, I never actually got involved in any of those, no. [clicking] [background conversation] Marilyn Coulter: Okay, [scratching] um... [coughing] Cheryl McQuaid: [tsk] Cheryl McQuaid. [clicking] You, um, [clicking] [scraping] it was known that GM Fisher Body was [clicking] number 1 in capital quality. [thumping] [31:07] What do you think is the reason for that? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well I think it's due to our workforce, you know. [thumping] So I think anybody that ever worked there will tell you 99% of the people [clicking] that worked there [clicking] were very, you know, aware of quality and wanted to do a good job, [clicking] you know. [thumping] So I think it's, it comes right down to the [thumping] people were, you know, very, very good people, you know, [clicking] 99.9% of'm, you know. [background movement] [clicking] Marilyn Coulter: Um, Vic... Cheryl McQuaid: Marilyn Coulter. Marilyn Coulter: Marilyn Coulter. [laughter] [clicking] Um, you've worked [knocking] here for a lot of years, and, um, [thumping] [clicking] the plant has gone through a lot of different changes. We had name changes and we also had policy changes. [clicking] [31:51] Can you tell us how you felt about those things that happened? Vic Voisinet: Well the name [thumping] changes, [clicking] I always had a theory that it was kind of a s-, smoke and, uh, mirror deal 'cause where GM was getting in trouble, [thumping] you know, financially somewhat. [coughing] [thumping] They were doing all these [clicking] changes [clicking] that they thought was accomplishing something, which I, [clicking] you know, it's probably, you know, a narrow [clicking] point of view, but I thought it was just kind of a waste of time and money, you know. [clicking] You know, 'cause we were always the same building, we were basically building the same product over the years, and our whole purpose was to build a car at a profit, [clicking] and I don't think it mattered if we were called Fisher Body or BOC or Lansing Car Assembly. I thought it was kinda, on management's part, a waste of money [thumping] changing our letterheads all the time and changing the [clicking] name on the building [scraping] when we were [knocking] the same, [scraping] [clicking] you know, building, like say building cars, tryin' ta [clicking] build cars for a profit, you know. [clicking] I think they should've concentrated more on, you know, getting us a better product and [thumping] selling the product and getting market share than, you know, [a sign, well 32:59] we're BOC, and now we're part of Lansing [clicking] Car Assembly. [clicking] And I'm not sure who we [clicking] actually are at the time we close, you know. [laughter] It changed so often, you know. [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: Cheryl McQuaid. Vic, you mentioned that you thought it was maybe management's way of wasting money, and [clicking] that made me think about you bein' in the Material [clicking] world. [33:20] Did you ever see management, or did you ever see a, [clicking] a big waste of money that you just thought whoa? [clicking] [scraping] Vic Voisinet: Well th-, there's – [clicking] about 5 years ago, we built [clicking] a bunch of docks on the building, 4 years ago, whenever [scraping] it was, [clicking] that, that we were told were well in excess of a few million dollars. [clicking] And I think if they'd done a little [clicking] better planning, [clicking] if they knew the building was gonna close, [background conversation] you know, [in the amount a time, 33:51] seems like that was total waste of money. [background conversation] [Say it was 33:55] like building the instrument panels. [We moved'm in plant 33:58] [clicking] about 10 years ago at a huge [background conversation] expense, [clicking] built lines to build'm on. [background conversation] We did'm for 2 or 3 years, and then they decided it was cheaper to [clicking] build'm off site, [clicking] and they built a, or [Delphi 34:11] built a building off site to build'm. [clicking] Then we trucked'm in for 3 or 4 years. Then all the sudden, you know, then we built these millions of dollars [clicking] of docks, [scraping] then all the sudden we're out of business. It's, you know, it's like gee, guys, maybe we need like a 5-year plan and a 10-year [clicking] plan and a 15-year plan rather than a [clicking] 6-months plan, you know. Mike Fleming: Mm-hm. [clicking] Vic Voisinet: I think people meant well, but it's like [clicking] group A is not talkin' to group B, and group B is not talkin' to group C. [clicking] We need to get together and, you know, [clicking] look down the road, [clicking] you know, 5 years, 10 years, [scraping] where we wanna be, you know. [clicking] Mike Fleming: M-, Mike Fleming. [throat clearing] Certainly it's, um, [scraping] they were all short-term fixes. They had no milestone [clicking] plans in place. Um, [throat clearing] let's, let's talk [thumping] about changeover, um, and, [clicking] you know, you worked here, and I, I know that in Material and some of the, um, [thumping] uh, groups in, in, like [clicking] Environmental Services and Trades, [clicking] there's an awful lot of [clicking] money to be made. [background conversation] [35:14] Um, what is, [clicking] in, in your opinion, the most amount of money you made in one year? [thumping] Was it attributable to changeover, overtime, or whatever? [thumping] Talk about the overtime and changeover [background conversation] and, and amount of money you made per year. [clicking] [background conversation] [thumping] Vic Voisinet: Guess I don't follow. [clicking] [background conversation] How much money I made personally? Mike Fleming: [35:31] What's the most you, that you think you made in [thumping] one year here, [scraping] um, over and above [clicking] what your regular salary would have been, and was it attributable [thumping] to changeover, um, was it attributable to the s-, the overtime [thumping] throughout the year? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well in the Material world, we got [clicking] a lot of overtime beyond the line, [thumping] you know. And actually it was a smart business move to do it 'cause it was cheaper ta pay, say, 10 of us people to come in and count stock, inventory stock, and make sure we were on, you know, book and everything, as opposed to havin' the line come in Monday morning [scraping] and send [knocking] 3,000 people home at 10:00 in the morning [thumping] 'cause you're out of parts, you know. [thumping] And when we had major [changeover, yes, we 36:12] made, you know, [clicking] a lotta money 'cause we'd work 10, 11 hours a day through, [thumping] you know. In '91 or somewhere there we had a large changeover that I – it was when they brought the [IP line 36:23], and I worked straight through, you know. And we'd work a lot [clicking] of, you know, 10, 11-hour days, you know. You'd make big money. I mean, it was [clicking] good money, but it wa-, you know, you, you definitely worked for it, you know. [background noises] But it was interesting work, so you, you know, you didn't mind doing it, you know. [clicking] 'Cause the biggest problem I see in a car assembly plant is tryin' ta eliminate the boredom of the poor people workin' on the line, [thumping] you know. [clicking] 'Cause once you can get off line, it's really a good place to work, you know. [clicking] Mike Fleming: [36:53] What was – did you have a, [scraping] a dollar amount that you think that you made more in one year than you did any [clicking] other year? [background conversation] Vic Voisinet: I couldn't really [clicking] tell you the year, but I made like [scraping] $70,000 a couple years, [thumping] you know. Mike Fleming: Mm-hm. Vic Voisinet: I'm not sure what years. Maybe – [clicking] it'd be just a wild guess, so I'm, [clicking] I'm not ev-, even gonna guess, [clicking] you know. [thumping] [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: Um, Cheryl McQuaid. [37:16] But that $70,000 [clicking] came at a cost. Vic Voisinet: Oh, yeah. It came at a cost. A lot of overtime hours, [thumping] a lot of Saturdays, you know, [thumping] a few Sundays here and there, you know. [throat clearing] [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: [37:28] I-, if I was to ask your wife or your children, [tsk] [scraping] um, what would you think that their answer might be to that? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well having been married 37 years, I wouldn't even guess what my wife's answer would be. [laughter] [clicking] It'd be just a guess, and I know [coughing] I'd be wrong. [laughter] [thumping] Cheryl McQuaid: [37:52] Did you miss out on a lot of school activities for the kids? Um... [thumping] Vic Voisinet: Well you, you definitely miss out on some, but [clicking] my wife didn't work when our [thumping] kids were all, you know, young and, and at home, so [clicking] you know. [clicking] You felt like, you know, marriage is, you know, [clicking] wife and I are one person, so you know, between the two of us, we got pretty much to everything, you [clicking] know, you know. [scraping] [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: Marilyn Coulter. Marilyn Coulter: [38:17] Um, Vic, did you ever participate in any [clicking] of the, your union meetings or your union [scraping] functions? [sniffing] [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Not a whole lot. I went to [clicking] maybe 20 union meetings in, uh, [thumping] 30 plus years, you know. [clicking] I, I went to [clicking] quite a few of their picnics since they've been, uh, held in Eagle the last 10 years or whatever, but you know. [beeping] They're always very, you know, enjoyable, you know. Marilyn Coulter: [38:42] Bu-, did you participa-, did you vote in the union elections? Vic Voisinet: Oh, yes, and I don't think I ever missed voting in any, uh, [clicking] election to my knowledge, [clicking] no. Marilyn Coulter: Hm. [clicking] [38:51] What would you say would be your most [thumping] appreciated [clicking] bargained benefit [thumping] that the union got for you? [thumping] Vic Voisinet: See that's kind of a big question [laughter] [clicking] 'cause when I had [clicking] first hired in, we paid like half for our Blue Cross. [clicking] We didn't have SUB pay. [clicking] We didn't have, uh, [thumping] [scraping] you know, 30-and-out. [thumping] We didn't have tuition assistance for, [clicking] you know, yours-, children or yourself, you know. So it'd be hard to nail [clicking] down one. Right now as I'm facing retirement, I'd say the pension's the best part, [clicking] you know, but you couldn't retire without the health care, [clicking] you know, coverage, you know. [clicking] Marilyn Coulter: [39:33] So the union's given you a lot of [clicking] things? Vic Voisinet: Oh, yes, an enormous [clicking] amount. And I've got 5 kids that all went through college, and the union, [clicking] you know, paid I think $750 on the older ones and $1,500 on my son that's a senior in college now. So [clicking] I collect a lot of money from, you know, GM there that would not have happened without the union. [scraping] You know, s-, [for the, still, 39:54] for the union's sake, I hired in at like $2.68 an hour. We'd probably be up to $2.69 an hour now I think. [clicking] Male: Hm, yeah. [laughter] [clicking] Marilyn Coulter: So in [thumping] 1964 it was $2.68. [clicking] Vic Voisinet: $2.68, [yeah. 40:12] Marilyn Coulter: [40:13] And then in [clicking] 2005, [background movement] [clicking] what is it now? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Yeah, I'm not real sure. I think it's like $28 an hour I think, [clicking] $28 and [scraping] few odd cents. Marilyn Coulter: [40:24] So it's... Vic Voisinet: Yeah... Marilyn Coulter: ...been very good? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Yes, very good, yes. Marilyn Coulter: [Inaudible 40:26] take it. [40:28] Um, is there anything, Vic, that we haven't asked [background movement] that you'd like to tell us about? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Not that I'd want recorded, no. [clicking] [laughter] Mike Fleming: Well, you, I want to ask you – Mike, [scraping] Mike Fleming. I want to ask you one thing. [thumping] You did mention your wife and yourself, [thumping] you're involved in church [thumping] and in community activities. [clicking] [40:49] What type of activities are [knocking] you involved in in [thumping] your community? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well if you live in Westphalia, you get involved in [clicking] everything, you know. [clicking] [thumping] You know, [clicking] we have, they have dinners at church we get involved in. [clicking] We were on the education committee for [clicking] many years at church and, you know. But when you live in Westphalia, [clicking] it's a small town. There's only about 1,000 people there. [scraping] It's almost like that's, that's [clanking] your life, [clicking] you know. Mike Fleming: Sure. Vic Voisinet: It's some place you almost have to live to [clicking] understand it, [clicking] you know. [clicking] Marilyn Coulter: Um... Vic Voisinet: And I, I thoroughly enjoy it. We've lived there for 35 years now. [coughing] Marilyn Coulter: Marilyn Coulter. My [coughing] [inaudible 41:26] [clicking] [inaudible 41:29] but anyways, Marilyn Coulter. [clicking] [41:32] How [clicking] far is Westphalia from the plant? [clicking] Vic Voisinet: Well from where I live, it's 19 ½ miles, to be [scraping] exact, you know. [thumping] And Westphalia's another 5 miles north of [inaudible 41:43]. [thumping] Marilyn Coulter: Okay. [background movement] [clicking] Okay. [clicking] Cheryl McQuaid: Vic, [thumping] we really appreciate you takin' time outta your day to come talk to us. Thank you so much. [clicking] Mike Fleming: Yes, Vic... Male: [Inaudible 41:55]... Mike Fleming: ...thank you. [clicking] Marilyn Coulter: Thank you. [throat clearing] Vic Voisinet: Thank you. It's been very interesting. [clicking] Female: [Okay 41:59]. [recorder clicking] /lk