TIME looks at the Detroit auto industry's role in creating a melting pot of workers and a diverse metro Detroit.
Excerpt:
"Detroit is truly a huge melting pot," says Alee Darwish, 53, a retired
assembly line worker employed by Ford Motor Company for 32 years. "The
car companies were no doubt responsible for that." Like other Lebanese
who flocked to the area in the early 1900's, Darwish's father
immigrated to the U.S. seeking a job at Henry Ford's Model T plant, as
the pioneering automobile entrepreneur was offering a large $5 a day.
Following in his footsteps, both his sons ended up as career hourly
employees at Ford, applying sealer to the seams of metal on the
assembly line. "I worked hard, saved my money, and eventually opened a
Coney Island diner and a pizzeria on the side while I worked full-time
at the plant," says a proud Darwish, now married with two children.
"Ford was good to us."
Read the entire article
here.
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