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Machinists pull up chairs next to their managers at the table.
Charlie Tichy, an hourly employee with a tattoo left over from his service days, takes a seat at the head of the table. Mr. Tichy, who holds the title of employee- involvement administrator, begins reading aloud from the slips he has pulled during the last week from the plant's suggestion boxes. Mr. Tichy does not read the names on the sheets of paper, but there are clues to the authors' identities. One slip offers a remedy for a machine that tends to spray oil on the floor. Whenever the group voices its support for a proposal, its slip is passed down the table to the appropriate supervisor, who has 10 days to put the change in place.