In what I consider to be one of our best visits so far, today the group made the trip about an hour outside of Prague to the town of Mladá Boleslav, the home of the Śkoda Auto Factory. Škoda is the premier automobile manufacturer in the Czech Republic and is responsible for selling hundreds of thousands of cars all over the world every year. With such high demand and brand recognition, the factory in the Czech Republic is responsible for the majority of the company’s cars made in central and eastern Europe.
To facilitate the production for such a high demand of cars, Škoda’s created a factory that is a marvel of innovation and of the production power of the Czech Republic. We had the fantastic opportunity to be taken around the facility by a very knowledgeable tour guide where she thoroughly explained the different parts of the line. What stuck out to me the most on the tour was how different parts of the line were sometimes heavily automated while others utilized a lot of man power. I learned that due to the labor unions in the Czech Republic, the factory workers receive increasing wages, benefits, and job protection every year from Škoda as these workers continue to produce at a steady and unyielding rate. I think this was a fantastic lesson of what a functional government / corporation / labor union relationship should look like. It has been a fascinating experience in this country to experience how their smaller population allows them to have more successful legislative and union movements while satisfying larger amounts of people. These are important lessons that I will take with me when I go back to the United States and begin to do my small part to make our country better.
Swanson School of Engineering 