2012 Seven contractors, Four States

2012 was another one of those years in which I was doing a lot of traveling. I worked for 7 contractors in 4 different states. I started the year in Monroe, MI at Fermi Nuclear Plant. For some reason they had us in training for almost 3 weeks before the outage. It was actually pretty nice because it was like a refresher course for my valve technician certifications. I also was able to explore the area. I found a room in a B&B that had a private bath and a refrigerator/microwave. The weird part of that living situation was that the owner was a retired lawyer/crazy cat lady. To get to my room, I had to navigate an obstacle course of a dozen cats, plus all the counters were covered with mouse traps to keep the cats off them. But my room was off limits and there was a washer dryer in the basement, so I was happy. However there was no WIFI so I would have to go to the library every day to check my emails. While there I found a euchre tournament advertised for the following Saturday. Well, I am a bit of a euchre addict and was so excited! The tournament was great and I met a bunch of really nice people who invited me to more tournaments. In all, I played 7 tourneys and won or came in second in 6 of them. I was definitely money ahead. There were also wineries in the area that I visited along with some other females on the job. The job was not all that exciting. We did some valve repair and re-piped some filtration systems. After six weeks I was ready to move on—back to Nine Mile Point in Oswego, NY. Laid off Friday, drove home 8 hours, unpack, laundry, repack, drive to Oswego. For the first time ever I failed a test! Luckily I passed it the second time. My college friend who works doing in-processing actually came into the room and yelled at me. Sometimes it’s hard to focus when there is so much going on. First I was assigned to ISI, (In Service Inspection), in which you put grid patterns on pipe. But the LLRT (Local Leak Rate Testing) crew needed help so I was switch to that. Then an operator on nights wanted to be on days, so I was switched to nights. Luckily, I can sleep anytime and actually prefer nights. By May the job was over and I was back home. Just in time to set the pool up and get the house ready for summer. Summer is traditionally a pipefitter’s busy time. Once again I was sent to Cornell to do a renovations on a dorm, Clara Dickson Hall. The fun part about renovations is the demolition. It is so great to just rip and tear pipes and walls down. You do have to be careful not to get hurt. One secret is to always keep your mouth closed while pulling down things over head. I had to explain that to the apprentice after he got a mouthful of dirty water from a tub drain. I was laid off at the end of July just in time for me to take my daughter Megan to France for 3 weeks. When I came back it was time for the nuclear fall outages. Once again I headed out to Byron, IL where I had been twice before. I was assigned to the ISI crew. My foreman had never done it before and began to rely on me to make sure it was being done correctly by all crew. That is always awkward because I have no authority to tell anyone what to do. So while the ones I did were right, he wanted me to go check on others as well. Towards the end of the job the superintendent asked me if I would go to the next outage and run the ISI crew. But he wasn’t willing to pay me during the 3 weeks between outages. At the same time my friend Gwen, who was working at St Lucie in FL, asked me send a resume to her supervisor who was looking for foreman. I was hired!! I had a week to get there. So I drove home, did the laundry quick step and headed to FL. By this time I had bought my mother’s house in Sarasota, about 3 hours from St. Lucie. I was at St Lucie for 6 weeks before a local person bumped me from my job. During that time I was staying with Gwen in house she was renting. The landlady, Renee A., became a very good friend. She was fun and smart and so accomplished. The last day we had a party and invited all the guys we liked on the job. I had become very close with the Electrical GF, Tom B. I called him Asshole Electrician (AE) and he called me QB. I still see him every chance I get. After the party, Gwen, Holly (another fitter from home that I had gotten a job), and I went to relax in Sarasota. Beach and booze has a very calming effect on me. Unfortunately Brad was calling and I had work in NY. So back to NY I drove to a 3 week shut down at a manufacturing company in Cortland, then a 1 week quick lab renovation at Cornell. The best part about the Cornell job was that an apprentice I had worked with 10 years before was now the GF. It just goes to show that you have to treat people with respect because someday they may be your boss.

2015 Traveling Fitter

I have frequently done the short turn around between jobs. You basically empty the suitcase, wash the clothes, and fill it back up again. If you’re lucky, you get a night or two in your own bed. 2015 was exceptionally chaotic. I was such a vagabond. It started out quietly as I had decided to treat myself to January in the warmth of Florida. After 6 weeks of sunshine, beach, and booze, I had to get back to work. Not just because I needed the money, but because I had agreed to rent out my house in February and March, which meant I was essentially homeless. I decided to visit my niece in Alabama and my brother in NC. Three days into my trip, my BA Brad let me know I could start at Vogtle Nuclear in Waynesboro, GA. There I was enjoying the company of my brother Dan and his darling wife Ann, suddenly I am packing my stuff and searching for a place to stay. A woman I met through a FB Tradeswoman’s chat page offered me a bed for the night. It was about an hour from the training center which was 30 minutes from the job. I arrived bearing wine and BBQ and discovered a wonderful home and new friend. She is a retired pipefitter and antique collector. I slept on a bed that had been in Dr. Samuel Mudd’s home (of John Wilkes Booth fame). I swear I am the luckiest around meeting such generous people in this world. So first day of training, 100 or more people in the room, and a young laborer attaches herself to me. It was her first nuke plant and she needed the help with the tests and paperwork. During our lunch, we took a drive to the plant to see how far away it was and get the lay of the land. Spotting a sign with cabins for rent, I stopped and called the number. Ten minutes later, I had a 2 bedroom trailer, ten minutes from the job, for a decent price. I stopped and picked up some sheets and other essentials and had a place to lay my head. Back at training I met JJ, Pete, and Bill, pipefitter brothers from another mother. I have never figured out what makes people become friends, but these three guys and I bonded instantly. Initially we were all put on the rigging crew, but then Bill and I were sent to separate piping crews. Rigging is what I love and do well. Working in a ditch, in the hot GA sun and rain, with 24” pipe—not so much! I was sent to a couple of training classes, for pipe prep and for rigging, but I kept being sent back to the piping crew. Due to rain outages and other scheduling issues, I was having a hard time getting in a full week of work. Meanwhile JJ and Pete were getting in 72 hours a week. On weekends we would meet for bonfires or road trips to Tybee Island. A week didn’t pass that we didn’t get together for dinner or drinks. By the end of April I was ready to move on and started bugging Brad for another job that paid better. On Thursday morning at 9 am I received a text from him asking if I could start Monday in NY. I replied yes, then turned around and started shaking everyone’s hands and saying goodbye. It takes at least 2 hours to process out of a nuclear plant. It was noon before I had returned to my cabin. Luckily I had been able to find the boys and get some hugs before I left. I packed my things and drove eight hours home to FL. I had to check on the place after my renters. I also had to register my car which I had been procrastinating about doing for a while. This living in my van gets complicated. I left FL on Saturday afternoon. I had arranged to stay in a place I had stayed at the year before in NY. I arrived late Sunday afternoon, unpacked, and started work the next morning at 6 am. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was back at the same place I worked last year, but for a different contractor. It was an expanding facility that manufactures computer chips. We were also doing totally a different type of piping. Instead of large bore “dirty” pipe we were doing tool install with all “clean” plastic and stainless steel piping. For some installations, we had to dress from head to toe in Tyvek suits with face masks and for the guys, beard covers. We looked like giant bunnies! Think Harvey, but not as cute. I was immediately put on night shift, first ten hour, and then twelve hour shifts. I took the first weekend off to go see my daughter Megan. I had not seen her in six months. After that, it was six, then seven days a week. While the pipe was lightweight, I was having a lot of trouble climbing the pipe racks. You had to climb the racks because most of the piping was inaccessible by ladder. I seemed to be in constant pain and was gobbling the Aleve like candy. After three months, this all came to a screeching halt. A large customer pulled their business. If you don’t need product, you don’t need machines that make them installed. In another hurried leave-taking, I was laid off Friday at 2 pm, packed and left at 6 am the next morning. Luckily before I left, I was able to catch up with a college roommate who lived there. On the way to Elmira, I stopped for mimosas and breakfast with my newly married friends, Catherine and Kathaleen. I really appreciate all my friends that make an effort to see me in my hurried and limited time frame. I had booked a nice hotel which I checked into before getting my BBQ fix at Callear’s. I picked up my daughter and drove her to work. Then I picked up Jackie, my dear friend who works too hard and took her back to the hotel. We relaxed in the room until another set of friends joined us. Jennifer, the mother of the bride, Liz and Carlos, the soon to be married couple, also all needed a break from life. A couple of bottle of champagne, hot tub, and wings from Alliger’s, and we were all much more relaxed and happy. After driving Jackie home, I picked up Megan, fed her some wings and went to sleep. We spent Sunday indulging in hair appointments and an overload of TV. I was prepping for a colonoscopy and didn’t want to be far from the bathroom. Monday morning bright and early, Megan (my CNA and DD) took me to the hospital. After a clean checkup, I went to see the orthopedic doctor. X-rays showed all the pain wasn’t in my head, I had some arthritis and bone spurs. A conservative course of cortisone shots, diet and exercise was decided on, before we do surgery. With all the medical stuff behind me, we could have some fun. So we had lunch, then Megan got her eyebrow pierced. Nothing like Mother-daughter bonding over body modifications. After a nap, we headed up to Ithaca to do some pre-school shopping and oyster slurping before my union meeting. I love how careful my officers are about saying men and women or workers or people when referring to the union members. It really does make a difference. Something about attending a union meeting makes me happy. I feel proud and accomplished to be part of such a good group of people. We slept in the next morning, but got in a little more hot tub time before breakfast. After dropping Megan at her dad’s house, I drove to FL which is a 20 hour drive. I kept thinking I should stop, but I wasn’t tired. I wanted to get home! I knew I had a job starting in ten days in NH, but I really needed to sleep in my own bed even if for a short time. Also, I need to check everything out and clean the place once in a while. Many people had used the house over the summer and some repairs were needed. So I sit here; trying to find a place to stay in NH, arrange for someone to watch the dog, and coordinate visiting friends and family as I head north again. Willie Nelson’s “On the road again” is playing in my head.

2010 Close to home

2010 was a busy year for me, but it was also one in which I mostly stayed close to home. In April, I once again made the trip to Oswego to do a shutdown at Nine Mile 2. Due to my previous experience, I was assigned to the Leak Rate test crew. This time I was able to stay for the whole job! I really like doing testing. It uses your brain to figure out the system while still being enough physical work to keep you going and awake. The Superintendent, Steve N., was an operator there. He made sure we all knew what was going on and was always willing to share his knowledge and experience with us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It took 7 weeks before my BA, Bryan A., assigned me to another job. Amazingly it was to work on a school district about 15 minutes north of me in Spencer-VanEtten, close enough to get home at lunch if I had to for some reason. One day I even raced home to jump in the pool it was so hot! We had 3 different schools that were getting new heating systems and cabinet units. My foreman John was from Binghamton as was the contractor. He was one of those great bosses that cared about his people. He made sure we had the Tools and Information and Material to do the job. All we had to do was provide the Effort. TIME makes all jobs run smoother. He also cared about our wellbeing; bringing around water or telling us to take a break on really hot days. The job was supposed to last all summer, but by the end of July we were so far ahead he was laying off everyone but the two apprentices. When I called Bryan he told me there were no local jobs, so I called Brad hoping for something close, if there was nothing local. He called me back in 20 minutes with a job 10 minutes south of me. Another series of schools getting new heating systems in the Waverly-Chemung-Horseheads school systems. What a great summer I was having! So close to the house and only 40 hour work week. Tom W, the foreman/owner of the company really liked me, although he was very frustrated with the other workers being sent from the hall. Most people were already working at other jobs by that late in the summer. One morning he walked up to me shaking his head. “What am I going to do with these two guys?” Apparently they hadn’t shown up for work. When I asked if they had at least called in, he said not really, but the police left him a message saying one was going to be staying with them for a few days. The other eventually showed up, but smelt so strongly of alcohol Tom sent him home. Trying to plan my life I asked how much longer we had. Tom swore I would be there until late October, so I didn’t go on the outage circuit as I wanted to do. To accommodate the students, we went on nights working 4 until midnight. When I was laid off the second week of September, I was quite miffed. I had given up thousands of dollars to help this guy out. Never again I would I bend over backwards for a contractor. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Luckily Brad was able to get me a job with my old contractor P&J at SUNY Binghamton where they were building some new dorms. It was only about 40 minutes from the house, but in the opposite direction of where my daughter lived. I was still able to see her every weekend though, so that was good. I had a really cool foreman Vince C, and then my old foreman, John showed up. It was a good job with nice co-workers, but no indoor plumbing…UGH! One day I was working when I heard an anguished scream. I ran in that direction and found a man writhing on the floor with blood gushing from his wrist and his shoulder at an odd angle. A sheet metal worker who was also volunteer fireman joined me. Between us we put a compression bandage on his wrist, got his tool belt and hard hat off as we calmed him down. I told my foreman to call 911 and to send someone to the gate to guide the EMTs to where we were. This guy was a carpenter working on a bakers scaffold only 36” off the floor. He had simply walked off it and landed on some rebar that was sticking up off the concrete floor. Imagine if he had been any higher. Construction is a dangerous job and distraction can seriously hurt you. While the president of the company did search me out to thank me for my actions, they still laid me off when I took the ten day vacation I had planned months before to London. Never again would I change my plans for a contractor. My life is my own. I work to provide for my family. I travel to enrich my soul.

2009 Physical Science Building

In June 2009, my BA sent me to a job at Cornell University. I think he figured I knew the campus so well I didn’t need directions to the job, or the name of the foreman. The trouble with that plan is that there are always multiple construction sites; some with the same contractor. Naturally I went to two wrong ones before stumbling onto the correct one, so that instead of being 30 minutes early, I was 15 minutes late. After parking my car illegally, I walked into the office trailer, and asked for someone who didn’t exist. Luckily Steve S, the GF who was from Rochester was a nice guy and welcomed me, despite the fact he didn’t know I was coming. After establishing the fact that I was in the right place, we drove my car to the parking area which is all the way across campus. I hadn’t been told we were being bussed to the site which is common at Cornell due to the limited parking available there. This was a very interesting building site. They had managed to tuck a building into a space between two other buildings. They managed to meld the two different architectural styles so that when we were done it looked as though this building had been here forever. Being a science building meant there was a lot of process piping in addition to the usual climate control and plumbing systems. Much of the piping was pre-fabbed in the company shop then shipped to us to install. Sometimes that works well, but frequently you have to re-work the piping due to onsite changes. Mostly this job was going well until in October, I was doing a lot of work up on ladders and a bone in my foot dislocated when I came down off a ladder and step on some debris. At first I just asked my foreman to let me work off the ladder to see if the pain would go away but he insisted I see the safety rep. This then led to a trip to urgent care and x-rays which they misread. I was told it was just a sprain and to stay off it for a week. Steve S. let me work light duty building hangers, but after a week every time I went up a ladder I was crying in pain. I finally insisted on going to a chiropractor, took more x-rays and correctly diagnosed the problem. Unfortunately the foot was so inflamed, I had to get cortisone shots so that he could manipulate the foot enough to get the bone back in place. After weeks I was given custom inserts for my boots and my bone seemed to stay in place even while on ladders. To this day, if I am on ladders for too long, my feet ache and I feel very insecure in my footing. The other rotten thing that happened during this time was that a fellow co-worker, a Sister, decided that I was a terrible person for working light duty. She would leave nasty notes, move my tools, and disparage my work. After confirming that my foreman had no issues with me, I confronted her about it, but she basically just denied any wrong doing and walked away. It could have developed into a very hostile work environment, but a family situation took me off the job. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After being on this job for 8 months, but had to leave to help my sister. Her husband had three kinds of cancer and was dying. She had been trying to do it on her own and was totally exhausted. Even though she is a nurse, 24/7 of patient care is too much for anyone. So I flew out to California and spent the next month doing what I could to ease her troubles. Russell and I had always seen eye to eye on most things. He was a warm, caring, passionate man who left us too early. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. But now when something is difficult, I just think, if I could handle Russell’s death I can handle this. When I returned home I hugged my daughters a little tighter. I also found that I wasn’t willing to put up with things that don’t make me happy. Life is too short for bullshit.

2008-2009 Nine Mile and Labor

At the end of 2008 I had one of those times that while I was laid off, I was still incredibly busy. I finished a shutdown just in time to work at Democratic headquarters for Election Day. Finally we had a winning season and had a lot to celebrate. My daughter brought all her politically minded friends down to the Election Night party to await results. What a treat to see their enthusiasm; knowing my daughter was seeing the importance of what I had been consumed by for so many months. I was so busy doing unpaid work and attending conferences, I barely realized I wasn’t being paid for four months. By staying home I was able to really experience my daughter’s final year at home in high school. We visited colleges as she made decisions about her future. I took a step back while she chose between Syracuse University and Emerson College. Both had great stage management programs, but ultimately she opted for the bright lights of Boston. That made me ecstatic knowing I was going to get to visit that fabulous city for at least four years.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In March 2009, I went back up to Nine Mile Point Nuclear Plant in Oswego, NY. As always it is old home week for me returning there. Not only did I go to college there, but I stayed after graduation to work as a veterinary technician at an animal hospital for almost six years. I will always treasure my time with the doctors, but I do like being paid decently, plus the challenge of pipefitting gets in your blood. This Oswego trip my friends had found me a great housing option—a furnished 5 bedroom house that usually held college students. A converted restaurant, it had a huge industrial kitchen, a bar room with a long oak bar complete with bar mirror and glass fronted refrigerator, plus the dining room had been divided into a living area with 4 couches. The dining area boasted a table that could sit 12 with ease. I filled it with my 267 brothers plus one guy out of Buffalo local. We all chipped in money to buy groceries, cable, and phone. After a few days of general nuclear training, I was put on nights doing LLRT (local leak rate testing). This is a procedure in which air pressure is added to one side of a valve. Then the pressure change is recorded on the far side to see if the valve is leaking by in a significant amount. A digital recorder, or black box, is used since the amount allowed is so small. That is the simplified explanation. It can become very complex depending on the system being tested. Because this is such a specialty, I had to undergo more training. We trained for two weeks before the shutdown, but on the day of the shutdown they laid me off! Apparently they had over-hired and laid off 30 people that day. While I had never been so angry, there wasn’t anything to do but pack my bags and go home. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All hell had broken loose at the Labor Assembly. I had gone to a Blue Alliance conference in Washington, DC that was a great networking opportunity. It was designed to bring business, environmentalists, labor and government together to discuss green initiatives for the future. As president of the Labor Assembly, I felt this was really an important conference. I also was able to visit our new Congressman whose campaign I had worked on. That was exciting on a personal level. When I returned home, I started up a local committee in Ithaca to continue what I had learned in DC on a local level. At the same time, I was having problems with the AFLCIO organizer who was assigned to assist the Labor Assembly as well as the neighboring labor council. The president of that council and I felt she could use some additional training and some better direction as to her work duties. When push came to shove, she had more support from the delegates and I was asked to resign since I couldn’t work with her cooperatively. At first I was really hurt, but in the long run it was good for me. I was still involved politically, and I had so much more free time. I had been spending over 20 hours a week on Labor Assembly duties. It was time for me to step back and enjoy life with my kids more.