The issue of automation is one that politicians have a tendency to avoid . It ’ s easy to tell people that factories making outdated equipment like typewriters and rotary phones are no longer needed , but it ’ s far more difficult to let people know that most jobs can be replaced by automation . Automotive plants were among the first to have employees work side by side with robotic technology , and the evolution of the technology and the changes it has meant to the industry is the focus of Skeleton Crew by Dominique Morisseau . Set in Detroit in 2008 , the play is a portrait of American workers struggling to hold on to their jobs against the tide of technology . In the play , ambitions , secrets , and conflicted loyalties threaten to destroy an automotive plant ’ s status as a sanctuary in a rough city . Faye , the matriarch of a small family of line workers , gives her all to keep her team employed .