I don't know how current auto work compares to that of 1955, but I worked at Detroit Transmission Division of GM for two months then, and anyone would have deserved a fairly high pay just for sitting around doing nothing in that place. My employment was delayed a week or two by the skilled workers wildcat strike of that year -- which I fully understood when I discovered that from January through June the machine repair people had had one day off (Easter); otherwise they were working 7 day weeks, alternating weekly between 7 10 and 7 7.5 hour days. Besides their contract grievances, they just needed a few days rest.
Carrol