This last item has emerged as perhaps the most important and vital issue facing our country today. The events of the past several years have brought home in the most dramatic and troublesome fashion our complete dependence on imported fossil fuels and derivatives of crude oil such as gasoline. Our entire economic life has become dependent upon this. When the flow from the oil-producing nations is interrupted, we feel the effects immediately. As a result a search for alternative forms of energy and power sources has been launched with the adoption by Congress of a multi-billion dollar program for developing synthetic fuels. These may be liquids and gases made from coal or from shale rock or tar sands as well as heavy oils. They also include fuels made from organic materials such as the garbage collected from communities. This will mean the building of plants, the design and manufacturing of machinery and equipment, and other activities in which the machinist will have a vital role. In addition to all this, other forms of energy production are being explored, such as that derived from the sun and the wind.
One needs but to look at our automotive industry to note the effects of the phenomenal rise in gasoline prices as a result of ever-increasing costs of imported crude oil. The car makers have had to change over to the manufacture of smaller and smaller cars in order to improve mileage ratings. This vast multi-billion dollar redesigning and retooling effort has affected the machine tool industry in particular, for it is obvious that skilled machinists must play an important role in these developments.
Despite fluctuating economic conditions, the demand for skilled machinists seems to be constant, and the future employment picture looks promising. There is a shortage of qualified applicants for jobs as toolmakers, die makers, mold makers, and machinists. Of course, this shortage will vary from one area to another. Even in periods of high employment, there still persists a need for skilled people in certain crafts and occupations, particularly those in metalworking. Skilled mechanics enjoy the benefits of increased job security.
The future demand for machinists will be affected by two main factors. As population and income rise, so, too, will the demand for such goods as automobiles, household appliances, and other industrial products, all requiring the machinists' skills. Partially offsetting this, however, will be worker productivity increases resulting from technological advances.
Chief among these advances is the expanding use of numerical and computer controls, which may greatly simplify the job of many machining workers and increase their efficiency. Additionally, more sophisticated applications of numerically controlled machine tools will require operators of greater skill and knowledge.
The last sentence of the preceding paragraph has particular significance. A great deal is heard today about automation and computerized devices that some predict might replace human hands in our factories and plants. What is often forgotten in all these predictions, however, is that it will take an increasing number of skilled hands to make and maintain these devices. In all this activity, the machinist will be a key figure.
There still exists a great diversity of all-around and specialized skills in the machine shop trades. Just examine the classified ads in any newspaper and you will see appeals for the following categories of skilled machinists: lathe hands, milling machine hands, jig borer operators, gear cutter operators, automatic screw machine hands, set-up persons for various operations, turret lathe hands, assemblers, all-around machinists, numerical control machine operators, tool and die makers, mold makers, radial drill operators, and inspectors. Good hourly salaries will be offered, with plenty of overtime. Again it should be pointed out that while automation of machine operations may be spreading, it would seem that skilled machinists of all kinds will probably be in demand for a long time to come.
In the words of the former President of the National Tooling and Machining Association, and a very successful tooling and machining plant owner now retired, "It is a sobering fact to all industry that no matter how far we go with automatic production, tools and dies cannot be built by a pushbutton; the creative abilities of the tool and die maker will always be needed."
Machinists are employed mostly in the metal manufacturing industry-making machine tools, special machinery, automatic production machines, and transportation vehicles of all types including automobiles-and wherever metal and other materials were bent, shaped, cut, formed, and otherwise fabricated. Many thousands were employed in nonmetal working industries such as the repair and maintenance shops or factories producing textiles, paper, glass, and chemicals. Many others were employed as maintenance workers in a variety of factories and plants. A small number worked in research laboratories, model making shops, and the like.
How The Machinist Is Paid
All work over an agreed minimum of usually forty hours per week is paid on a time-and-one-half basis. Almost all machinists enjoy pensions, paid vacations, paid holidays, and paid sick leave.
Although most employers pay machinists on an hourly basis, some plants, especially those engaged in mass production, may have supplemental piece-rate incentives. This method guarantees a worker is given an incentive to produce more by being paid additional money for anything produced over a preset minimum.
It would be interesting and informative at this point to indicate just what fringe benefits a machine shop worker can expect nowadays. A check of want ads in various newspapers discloses the following fringe benefits advertised: paid vacations, a certain number of paid days off (holidays, personal leaves, birthdays, and others), family dental and medical insurance, pensions, sick leave with pay, free eyeglasses, bereavement leave with pay, cost of living adjustment every six months, profit-sharing plan, and other benefits unique to individual shops. Of course, while many of these items are specified in union contracts, most will be offered by the predominant proportion of companies in order to attract and keep adequately skilled help.
Things were quite different when the author obtained his first job as a shaper hand in a large machine shop. Hours of work were fifty-four per week-ten hours a day Monday through Friday, and four on Saturday. Beginning wages were twenty cents per hour. There were no fringe benefits of any kind. One got paid for hours worked-and that was all. There was no worker's compensation-if one got hurt it was just too bad. Conditions for the worker have certainly improved dramatically!
In figuring wages, always keep in mind the difference between the indicated rates and take-home pay. Do not forget that wage deductions are usually made for unemployment insurance, social security (old-age benefits), sickness and accident benefits, federal income tax payments, as well as for other purposes designated by local laws.
The more highly skilled the worker, the better her or his chances of avoiding unemployment. Some industries have seasonal layoffs. Usually, the most skilled people are kept on. As far as the present and immediate future are concerned, however, skilled machinists need not worry about finding jobs.
