Matt raised an interesting question yesterday in his piece on GM’s worker woes.
Specifically, should drug testing even be a thing for plant work when many states are legalizing or at least decriminalizing marijuana?
Matt pointed out that weed is becoming normalized, as normal a vice as booze. But plant work is dangerous. It’s one thing to say workers shouldn’t be tested because society is now more permissive of marijuana use. It’s another to be concerned that a worker may choose to toke up on his/her lunch break and not be in full control of their faculties as they finish their shift. Resulting in possible injury or manufacturing defects.
Don’t forget, I saw a wheel fall off a car and while I don’t know if the tech was high at the time, he was fired in part because he failed the drug test that any dealership worker is forced to go through after such an incident (I had to do it after clipping a bollard once, but I passed as I was not high. Just klutzy).
On the other hand, if most workers can be trusted to not show up drunk, can’t most be trusted to show up not high? Aren’t most adults capable of refraining from indulging in their vices until after work?
So, does GM continue to drug test because of outdated attitudes towards marijuana, or is safety at issue? Or both? Should GM loosen up and party down, or are safety and quality too important to risk, even if few employees would likely be impaired on the job?
[Image: GM]
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