When well-liked George becomes the first guy to be promoted from the assembly line to plant manager at a Los Angeles airplane parts factory, his life becomes a little more complicated. His pal Ernie and former compadres on the plant floor tease him about joining management. George's first test in the new position is to terminate one employee. He must choose either his acerbic line-inspector mother, Benny, or Ernie. George's hardworking and patient wife, Angie, copes with Benny's constant wisecracks and cares for the couple's kids, precocious 9-year-old Max and 13-year-old Carmen, who is dealing with the traumas of being a teenager.

Much to George's unpleasant surprise, Angie and his family throw him a very belated surprise birthday party, while a new worker, accident-prone Amy, threatens the pride George takes in his workplace's safety record.

Benny and George find themselves holding open auditions for workers to replace Jim's position at the factory due to a bar fight, while George decides to prove something to Max when Max insists on George letting him walk to school on his own.