Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line

Wonderful book, very entertaining 👍👍👍. I emailed the author with my thoughts and he thanked me, a few years back.

Subtitled "Tales From the Assembly Line" this 1991 book is the autobiography of a worker in a General Motors plant during the late 1970s and early 1980s. There's an authenticity to the author's blue collar voice and he sometimes sounds like a stand-up comedian with the intent of keeping me laughing all the way. I loved his sharp tongued way of expressing himself, the words lightning bullets full of irony and wisdom. Ben Hamper is a likeable guy in spite of his alcohol consumption and contempt for authority. The book took me right into the heart of the factory and a world as foreign to me as that of any exotic country. I learned a lot and laughed out loud, especially when he described the hi-jinks and scams and silly games they all played. There was one part where he described management's idea of increasing production by creating a mascot. I just couldn't stop laughing during that part of the book and I'm still smiling now when I think about it. Mostly though, I identified with the author in spite of the fact that I've been gently raised and have lived in New York City all my life. Ben Hamper has a gift for writing and this book is testament to that. Flint, Michigan was going through some changes during those days, as was the entire American auto industry and this book let me feel this through the eyes of someone who worked daily 9-hour shifts at a dirty sweaty job and who was also paid top dollar for his efforts. In this author's case the money went right into an outrageous consumption of alcohol. Eventually though, it did catch up with him. The automotive industry has changed now. And Ben Hamper is obviously out of a job. But I did discover that he had a website and was still writing columns so his fans can keep up with his clever mind and his unique way of looking at the world.

I read this book the first time when I was a clerk at the Postal Service on the night shift. Apparently GM and the Post Office have a lot in common. I laughed out loud almost through the whole book, often identifying with the subject matter.

As a former line worker at a Japanese assembly plant, I can honestly say that this is a very accurate description of life on the line. Although the working conditions at the plant I worked at were not as bad as at GM, the mentality of the workers and how they deal with management is the same in a non unionized Japanese Plant. In fact even though it is thought that there is more cooperation between management and worker at Japanese Plants, I found that there was still a deep division between the two. The description of the pranks are hilarious. In summary, if anyone thinks that workers in Japanese plants are any better off than the North American plants, think again. An auto plant is an auto plant.

Ben Hamper shaped this darkly humorous account of his years working on a General Motors truck assembly line with considerable skill. While his engaging prose firmly establishes the mind-numbing, repetitive nature of factory work, he also reveals how he and those around him on the line maintained some level of humanity by using humor and other diversions in their never-ending battle with the clock. Hamper's take on GM's outmoded management techniques and bumbling efforts to maintain market share in the face of global competition during the 1980s (for example, assigning an employee to dress in a cat costume and patrol the factory as a mascot for quality) is especially amusing.

I was forced to read this book...against my better wishes, my hellish American History professor assigned this book to our class. As I read the title I remembered thinking: "how in the world is an assembly line job interesting enough to read about?" About the only thing I thought the book had going for it was the foreward by Michael Moore. It looked like I was going have to spend another weekend plodding though a boring book when I could have been spending it at the movies or out with my friends. It turned out to be one of the best weekends of my life. The books was hilarious -- It was real, gritty, sharp and wonderfully written. After reading the introduction, I was hooked: I locked myself in my room, unplugged the telephone and didn't put down the book until I was finished. That was ten minutes ago -- now I am online looking to see if he has written any other books...I was disapointed to see that he hasn't. Ben Hamper -- wherever you are -- I have joined the ranks as your loyal fan. Even though you no longer work for GM, I hope you will find another story out there and tell the world about it.