Note the OCC in this quote. Obviously this is a tie that doesn't know what is going on here. The techs are having to spend 10 to 12 hours in the RCA covering his work that he can't schedule right because otherwise there would be enough techs in the plant to at least get the Federally mandated amount of breaks, but have to spend most of that break travelling to a break trailer that is at the extreme end of the plant just to have a supervisor tell them that they are needed in the plant and their break or lunch will have to wait, and then have supervisors (one in particular) try to switch around techs without consulting the lead techs about what work is going on, but yelling at them for having techs standing around IN THEIR WORK AREA waiting on jobs that have been scheduled, briefed, and are just waiting for the craft to come back from their union mandated break, but can't go on break themselves because there are a dozen or more work groups that might need help in that space of time.
It is also obvious that this person has never been a tech covering real work, because he would have a little more understanding about what a tech with tape and a frisker can do to get a shoe out, and that the tech is taking his time that he could be on break to try and get a worker's shoe out so they don't have to go home in flipflops and can get back to work. Yes, the shoe is still in the RCA not because the tech is inexperienced, but that the shoe just isn't coming out without major surgery to cut the tread off, in which case the shoe is trash anyway. I challenge this tie to try and do the work of a tech under the conditions that we are facing. I'll switch my jumps in the drywell any day for his coffee and doughnuts in the OCC. I probably push more paper than he does anyway, so it will be a nice break, and I won't even have to deal with a tenth of the work crews that I have to deal with now.
I have started typing a reply to this thread a couple of times only to quit when I couldn't find a way to do it without sounding condescending enough to get dismissed as another 'tie' as roadhp so eloquently put it (I don't wear ties to work.) Unfortunately I also have to repeat myself once again to make a point. But here I go again...
If technicians are "having to spend 10 to 12 hours in the RCA" there is a problem. but the root cause is the technicians, not management. There is no way that I would work as a technician without getting breaks on 12 hour days and you shouldn't either. Management is going to ask (and when they ask it often sounds like 'require') you to do whatever they think they need done. They don't care if it is reasonable or not, they are going to ask for it. YOU get to decide if it is reasonable or not. As long as they find someone willing to kill themselves for the good of the company, they are going to continue to ask. Don't do it. For yourself and those that come behind you, don't do it. If you ever want to get treated as a professional and get paid what you are worth, you can't be a doormat. Unfortunately, if you let yourself get treated like a doormat that hurts the rest of us, too. It is OK to say "No, I can't do that right now, I need a break" particularly if the job is trying to decon somebody else's shoe. Naturally, if you abuse that statement you will have a problem.
I am not saying it is OK to be lazy or to refuse to do a legitimate amount of work. I am not saying to pick and choose which jobs are acceptable to you based on what you like or don't like to do (although there should be limits on what a professional HP does.) I am saying that if you let yourself get treated badly it will get worse. I walked away from a good job because I refused to be treated exactly the way you are describing. It was not easy, but it was the right thing to do and no one will ever convince me otherwise. I had to leave a place I liked working and pass on my first teaching opportunity to make my point, but I did it. I was working a week later.
I don't know who you are or what your background is, so I don't know how you have been treated in the past, but I can tell you this with no hesitation: If you are not getting breaks it is your own fault. If you work in a place that abuses you, that is your fault, too. You are in the process of making it worse for yourself and the rest of us. Management will usually treat you as badly as you let them... in a way it is their job. It is your job not to let them. Give them an honest day's work. Be a professional and demand to be treated as one. Be willing to walk away from situations you find intolerable. And keep your standards high enough to keep yourself satisfied and happy with your job. Everyone will benefit if we all do it.
I know who Melrose is and I know that he has plenty of experience as a technician. If he hasn't done the same work under the same conditions, perhaps that is because he would not allow himself to be caught working under those conditions. While I am sure your intentions are noble, you are not doing anyone any favors by working or acting like you are... well, you are certainly doing management a favor, but they really don't appreciate it.
