Who is Rudy Hertz from Player Piano and what is their importance?

In Rudy's younger days, he was a master machinist. Paul, Finnerty, and Shepherd recorded his movements and used them to automate the machine that eventually put him, and all other machines, out of work. Rudy, now an old man who spends his days drinking in a bar, doesn't see the bigger picture but is proud of his status as the master machinist who was chosen for the recording.