Activity

Then we looked at the contract. It was a stapled collection of pages whose cover read, “Last, Best and Final Offer.” “Final Offer” is a legal term used by negotiators to signal that, should the offer – the contract – be rejected, that rejection would qualify as an automatic strike vote. But this fi…

Paul came to my aid at the end of the winter, when the company decided to institute a new drug-testing program. Instead of a foreman hauling us off to be drug-tested, we were to do this to ourselves. If we suspected that our fellow worker was under the influence of some safety-compromising substanc…

“I live right over there. There’s a guy works at the carpentry shop at the shipyard. My nextdoor neighbor. Hung himself last month. Whatever was eating him, they wouldn’t even shove a handful of antidepressants down his throat to give him a break.”

“Damn,” I said, “that’s hideous.”

“Yeah, his…

“I was flatwelding on top of a barge,” he said, “when somebody tapped me on the shoulder to let me know it was time for lunch. I started to walk down the ladder but all I could see was that glowing spot and I ended up falling. Broke my hip in five places when I hit the ladder and bounced off the co…

“Ok, employees, we’re concerned about quality out there. We want to make sure we get the best work out of you and deliver the best product to our customers.”

He turned to the easel and picked up some charts.

“What we’re gonna be doing is cross-checking. We’re gonna help each other be the best…