executive
does not make him inhuman.
l've talked to enough of them.
l know what their concerns are.
He has as much concern
about these people as you or l do...
and nobody likes to see anybody laid off
or put in a hardship situation.
-Have you ever talked to Roger Smith?
-Sure.
What kind of man do you find him to be?
A very warm man. l have....
A warm man?
Did I have Roger Smith judged aII wrong...
simpIy because he was eIiminating
30,000 jobs from my hometown?
I decided to find out.
I wrote. I phoned. I faxed. I tried
every means of communication avaiIabIe...
but nothing got me any cIoser to Roger.
I was Ieft with no choice.
I got in the car and drove
about an hour south of FIint to Detroit...
to the worId headquarters
of GeneraI Motors.
My mission was a simpIe one.'
to convince Roger Smith
to spend a day with me in FIint...
and meet some of the peopIe
who were Iosing their jobs.
Everybody in?
-Can l help you gentlemen and ladies?
-Yes, we're going to the 14th floor.
-Do you have an appointment?
-No, we don't.
-l think you need an appointment.
-To go up there?
-How can we make one?
-You want to step out....
-First of all, anything above--
-We came down from Flint.
Anything above the first level here
is private property. That's off-limits.
-This is all off-limits. lt's a security area.
-This is? All right.
Listen, who did you want to talk to?
-l want to talk to Roger Smith.
-l'll get a PR man and we'll see.
-What kind of movie are you making?
-lt's a documentary on Flint.
On the labor problems?
The whole situation,
the plant shutdowns, the layoffs.
We'll try to have someone contact you
as soon as someone's available.
-All right, l'd appreciate it.
-Have you got some kind of credentials?
-Where they can contact you?
-What's your name?
Herb Slaughter.
l'll give you a business card.
Let's see, l've got a frequent-flier card...
Visa....
I was having a hard time finding my
business card, because I don't have any.
So I gave Mr. SIaughter my discount pass
to Chuck E. Cheese...
but he said that wouIdn't get me in
to see Mr. Smith.
So I headed back to FIint for further
guidance from GM Iobbyist Tom Kay.
General Motors wouldn't be doing
anybody any service if it goes bankrupt.
lt has to do what it has to do...
in order to stay competitive
in today's economic climate.
Even if it means eliminating 18,000 jobs?
Even if it means eliminating 20,000 jobs.
-Or 30,000?
-Whatever.
How about all the jobs here in Flint?
lt could feasibly happen.
Good evening, l'm Sue Zelenko.
Bill Harris has the night off.
lt was where the UAW was born.
Tonight 3,000 peopIe are trying to decide
what to do with their Iives.
Nobody was ready for the announced
pIant shutdowns today...
Ieast of aII, the 1,350 workers.
The Iast truck chassis headed
down the Iine this morning.
VirtuaIIy aII the 3,400 peopIe are on Iayoff.
Larry Elliot was at the plant today...
as that last car was making its way
down the assembly line.
WiII this pIant buiId engines again
if the rush back to smaII cars occurs?
The answer is no.
ln Flint, Joe Weaver,
ChanneI 2 Eyewitness News.
More factories had cIosed...
and I began to see the effect
this was having on my friends.
Ben was the worker I'd put on the cover
of that magazine in San Francisco.
He'd been Iaid off
five times in five years from GM.
Expecting to be Iaid off again, he cracked
one night working on the assembIy Iine.
He was now shooting hoop
at the IocaI mentaI heaIth center.
l couldn't take it. l told the guy next to me:
''Tell the foreman l'm sick.
l don't give a shit what you tell him.''
l grabbed my coat, flew out the door,
passed the guards...
jumped into my car,
got onto Bristol Road...
and was flying toward my apartment.
l turned on the radio,
hoping that might cheer me up...
l had tears coming out of my eyes...
and l strike right into the middle
of WouIdn't It Be Nice by The Beach Boys.
And l'm