Factory Rat

About the Book

Factory Rat is a uniquely American book. It documents a thirty-three year period of the industry that put a world on wheels. It is a tough, gritty, no-holds barred account that is sure to offend every white-collar worker that has been forced to kiss rump in his career. It is free wheeling, factual, and historical in its importance. Leon begins at Great Lakes Steel, gazes into the face of Hell itself while shoveling red-hot coke back into furnaces. He leaves this job so rapidly he receives a speeding ticket on the way to hire in at Ford’s. He installs seat belts and suffers as the kind time management folk pile on more work, thus ensuring shoddy quality. He moves to the Sterling facility to serve an apprentice ship as a Plumber-Pipefitter. He discovers the motto “it’s great to be young, good lookin’ and a skilled tradesman.” The daily life of the factory is revealed in great detail. One gains a view of what factory work entails and the difficulty of working long hours in a sweaty harsh environment. For those who ascribe to the theory all factory rats are drunk on Monday and Friday it is quite an eye opener. Come journey with Leon. Witness the battles with supervisors appointed for their crudity and ignorance. See how the advent of such employee empowerment groups such as Employee Involvement literally not only changed this industry but actually saved it from itself. For students of American history, the auto industry, or labor studies this is a book to be discovered.

About the Author

Leon Chamberlain was born in 1946 on a dead end street in Flat Rock, Michigan. He has been called a long-haired radical by the Detroit News and has appeared in the centerfold of High Times magazine. He worked for Great Lakes Steel, Ford Motor Company, Chrysler Corporation, and the Lear-Siegler Corporation. He is a Hypnotherapist, a Minister, a poet, and a father of two. His short stories and poetry have appeared in anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. He is known all over the Michigan area as a noted labor poet. He is the author of the novel The Yiddle Question and penned a book about the Sterling Heights Roadhouse called Naughty But Nice. He was editor of the 1991 labor anthology called Labor Pains. 16852 EAST LA MONTANA FOUNTAIN HILLS AZ 85268 1-480-836-4140