I'm hoping to retire by 60 (55 now). My area was hit hard hard by the recession. It hasn't sprang back much. Company's are taking full advantage of the fact that jobs are scarce. Every year our benefits get a little more watered down. My plant now works a 3-2-2-3 schedule. Two 12 hr. shifts, 7 days a week. So you basically work a couple days, have a couple days off. Sounds good. In reality sucks. I have nearly an hour drive each way so when I'm "on", I have NO time to do anything but run home, eat, shower and jump in bed, if I want to get 7 hrs. of sleep. I also get no overtime anymore, even for the weekends. Because we have been split into (4) "crews", we only have half the number of maintenance people in the plant at one time. You pretty much have to wear roller skates to keep up. I've never been a big fan of unions, having worked as a supervisor in a couple of UAW represented plants, but am starting to see why they were conceived in the first place. Industry has enough people in government under their thumb now to make sure the unions never get a foot hold again. My state recently became a "right-to-work" state thanks to our "one tough nerd" governor. That means if you work in a unionized plant, you are not required to pay union dues if you choose not to. That will probably be the final nail in the unions coffin. Just hoping I can tough it out these last five years. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I just hope the tunnel isn't longer than I think it is