We will get an auto strike tomorrow. 

How do I know? Do I have a plant at the negotiating table? Have I bugged Shawn Fain’s phone (head of UAW)? 

No, no, no.

But my gut tells me that the Union is aching to punch their company bosses in the gut. It’s just been too long to live under the guise of harmony as the truckers, pilots, and dockworkers have shown the world their power.

The money differences while, they seem big on paper, will be compromised because labor costs for Union and non-Union auto workers will ultimately be within reach of each other.

Josh Hacko is a fourth generation watchmaker. He says he was born into his vocation, but in reality his work is truly his own. 

Josh is Technical Director of two sister companies, NH Micro and Nicholas Hacko Watchmaker, which manufactures high-end wrist watches in Sydney, Australia, that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. 

Editor’s Note: This podcast was recorded in Spring of 2022. Tyler has now been retired for over 2 years, and Noah is the proud father of a 1 year old.

In early 2022, Tyler Jarosz sent me an email to ask if Graff-Pinkert would be interested in a used little parts washer he no longer needed in his machine shop. He found out about Graff-Pinkert from listening to Swarfcast, which I’m proud to say is the only podcast he has ever listened to.

Last week, I heard a story about an old customer of Graff-Pinkert who lost three key machinists because a shop down the street was paying more. It led me to make a post on Linkedin, asking if machinists and setup people were paid enough to attract young people to the machining field. On the whole, commenters vented that they were not compensated what they felt they deserved working in the machining industry.  The post has 53 comments so far (I’m usually lucky to get one).