Roger & Me Page #3

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He has as much concern

about these people as you or I 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. I have...

A warm man?

Did I have Roger Smith judged all wrong...

simply because he was eliminating

30,000 jobs from my hometown?

I decided to find out.

I wrote. I phoned. I faxed. I tried

every means of communication available...

but nothing got me any closer to Roger.

I was left with no choice.

I got in the car and drove

about an hour south of Flint to Detroit...

to the world headquarters

of General Motors.

My mission was a simple one:

To convince Roger Smith

to spend a day with me in Flint...

and meet some of the people

who were losing their jobs.

Everybody in?

- Can I help you gentlemen and ladies?

- Yes, we're going to the 14th floor.

- Do you have an appointment?

- No, we don't.

- 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. It's a security area.

- This is? All right.

Listen, who did you want to talk to?

- want to talk to Roger Smith.

- 'll get a PR man and we'll see.

- What kind of movie are you making?

- t'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, I'd appreciate it.

- Have you got some kind of credentials?

- Where they can contact you?

- What's your name?

Herb Slaughter.

I'll give you a business card.

Let's see, I'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. Slaughter my discount pass

to Chuck E. Cheese...

but he said that wouldn't get me in

to see Mr. Smith.

So I headed back to Flint for further

guidance from GM lobbyist Tom Kay.

General Motors wouldn't be doing

anybody any service if it goes bankrupt.

It 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?

It could feasibly happen.

Good evening, I'm Sue Zelenko.

Bill Harris has the night off.

It was where the UAW was born.

Tonight 3,000 people are trying to decide

what to do with their lives.

Nobody was ready for the announced

plant shutdowns today...

least of all, the 1,350 workers.

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