After 7 hours of boxing, I am pooped beyond measure

[OBIO]

Not boxing as in Joe Frasier and Ali...but as in taking precut cardboard and folding in into boxes ready to be used to pack veggies in.

Got to work, clocked in at 4, and the 2nd shift supervisor sent me to line 4 to cut corn. I was on the line for maybe 10 minutes when the 1st shift production leader came and called me off the line. He motioned me to follow him...so I did...into the back part of the plant. We get to where we were going and there stood Gerardo, a guy on my shift. Adolpho, the 1st shift production leader, tells me that he needed two trustworthy and reliable workers to fold boxes....he picked Gerardo since Gerardo is one heck of a worker.....and Gerardo told Adolpho to get me as I was the best worker on 2nd shift (Gerardo is on loan from first shift for a while). Adolpho told us that the department needed 1200 boxes for the next three days worth of broccoli production and asked us to get as many boxes done as we could...he said that if we could get 5 to 6 hundred boxes folded and ready he would be happy with our day's work.

Well....Gerardo and I tore into the task of preparing boxes. The two of us...in 7 1/2 hours....produced between 1500 and 1600 boxes. That consisted of folding the precut box forms into completed boxes, stacking the boxes on pallets (4 per layer, 17 layers high), taping the pallets so the boxes don't fall off when the tow motors moved them out onto the production floor, and sliding the finished pallets of boxes into nice tidy lines.

At 8 the second shift supervisor came back to see how we were doing....and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw how many we had done at that point. When he came back at 10 and saw what we had done, he was nearly speechless. At midnight when we were cleaning up to end our shift, the supervisor and one of the repair techs came back to see our final production.....the supervisor was totally blown away. Gerardo and I had produced enough boxes for the next three day's worth of broccoli production and a very good start on (if not all of ) the 4th day's production. The supervisor told us that it normally took a crew of 4 or 5 workers to produce that many boxes in a single shift.

My finger tips are numb...have been for hours. My shoulders a burning line a MO FO. I am tired like I have not been for quite some time....but I know that when I lay my head on my pillow here in a few minutes, I will be doing so with a sense of accomplishment and pride that are both well earned.

And I can't wait to see Adolpho tomorrow and see what he has to say.

OBIO

[glh]

OBIO:

It will be interesting to see if you still feel the same way about doing this accomplishment in a year from now.

[norab]

Gerardo told Adolpho to get me as I was the best worker on 2nd shift

makes you feel good doesn't it Tim, cream always rises to the top

[brad kaste]

OBIO,....you da' man!

[PeteHam]

Here's a song for ya .........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_2lGkEU4Xs

Pete.

[cheezyflier]

it's great to have a good work ethic. especially these days when some people seem to have none at all.
just remember -
moderation in all things

[OBIO]

There is a down side to being a good worker....tonight, Gerardo and I were put back in the same spot, doing the same job. In 5 hours and 15 minutes, we did just over 1200 boxes. At 10, the supervisor pulled us off of boxes because three of our workers are still in high school and have to clock out at 10....so we were needed up in the main production area. The supervisor put the two of us on really cushy jobs....boxing packages of corn and stacking the boxes on skids. Very slow position.

Gerardo and I will most likely be back in the boxing room again tomorrow as well.

And you guys are right about the lack of work ethic.....most of the workers on 2nd shift are young (20s mostly, a few in their 30s) and a work ethic is not part of their make up. The two best workers on 2nd....those hired onto 2nd shift...are myself and Jerry.....I'm 43 and he's 59....we both came from the generation where we were taught that when you are on the clock, you give your job 100% effort 100% of the time. We have been asked many times why we work so hard, or told to slow down as we are making everyone else look bad.

OBIO

[Willy]

Tim, years ago I worked civil service at an Army Depot in vehicle disassembly, a real greasy and nasty job. I was also told many times by my co-workers to slow as I was making them look bad. I'd just tell them that they were making themselves look bad by being so slow. I got promoted out of there to a better position and never looked back.

[Lateral-G]

You have to learn to pace yourself....

[cheezyflier]

to an extent, i would agree. some jobs reward ambition more than others. but as with anything, there is a tipping point. work too hard and you not only devalue others, but also yourself.

[OBIO]

Just finished up the 4th day of boxing.....we were off our usual pace tonight a bit. Only got out 16 skids of boxes....just shy of 1100 boxes. I'm an old man and don't recuperate as fast as I did 20 years ago....I'm tired and sore. Gerardo got 2 hours of sleep last night and had to be have his cousin to the hospital for a fairly major surgery today.

Will be boxing again tomorrow. Then off Friday. Then most likely back on boxing starting Saturday and be there most of next week. We have a few LARGE LARGE orders for broccoli to fill next week...something to the tune of 16 thousand boxes worth of packaged broccoli. Each box holds 8 1-pound packages of fresh broccoli.....8 times 16 thousand is a lot of pounds of broccoli.....which means over time for sure. Not to mention the increase in orders for packaged corn on the cob, bell peppers, brussell sprouts, potatoes and tomatoes, melons, zucchini, and on and on. The company is one busy company....and it is growing. Off to the side were Gerardo and I have been doing the boxes, they are working to set up a production area just to handle the orders from the Aldi chain of super markets. 4 production lines will be built in the area...along with a new break room and new restrooms.

My plans for Friday: Drive my 1994 Plymouth Grand Voyager LE mini-van (with right at 210 thousand miles, a leaky transmission, a rusted out freeze plug, bad ball joints and tie rod ends) to the junk yard and get $500 for it as scrap. Then take that money, this week's paycheck and the money I have in the bank and slap $1000 down on a better set of wheels....a 1996 Chrysler Sebring LXi with 120 thousand miles on the odometer, in great mechanical shape (just had a complete tune up, 4 wheel brake job, new rear struts, new starter put on less than a year ago, new exhaust system put on less than 2 years ago) and clean as a whistle inside and out (no dents, no rust, interior is super nice). Will be making weekly payments on the car....will owe $1500 on it after the grand down (uses car prices are insanely high around here.....I saw a 1992 Plymouth mini-van that was in worse shape than my current one listed for $2600!!!!!

OBIO

[cheezyflier]

I'm an old man and don't recuperate as fast as I did 20 years ago....I'm tired and sore.

you know, it might sound funny, but that's the part i respect most. there are homeless and beggars everywhere in this city. when they ask me for money, i tell them if i can drag my broken down old *$$ to work every day, so can they.

[stansdds]

Used car prices are insanely high just about everywhere these days. Much of that is due to the government's old car buy back program a couple of years ago. Instead of keeping used cars in the supply chain, the government paid cash for them and crushed or shipped them out of the country. For people looking for another car, it means buying new or paying too much for a used car.

As for your hard work, there is a limit. Work too hard and bosses will expect it every day. You can also wear out your body, then when you can't keep up the pace you set for yourself the bosses get angry.

[Cazzie]

Productivity of that order should be rewarded with a raise. Kudoes to you and Gerardo, if all American workers did their work that diligently, there would be no work sent offshore. Having working at a textile mill, I can tell you, 3/4 of the production line were slackers, one reason their jobs got sent offshore.

Caz

[glh]

Productivity of that order should be rewarded with a raise. Kudoes to you and Gerardo, if all American workers did their work that diligently, there would be no work sent offshore. Having working at a textile mill, I can tell you, 3/4 of the production line were slackers, one reason their jobs got sent offshore.

Caz

Sorry but I would have to disagree with you. If a job can be done for 1/4 to 1/2 the cost (and with no medical and/or benefits to be paid)overseas , it's gong to be shipped out. Significant raises will go to management for their successful efforts at cost-cutting for the company.

Employees are no longer treated as assets but costs to be reduced in order to realize increased profits. There is one guy running for President who could write a book on this subject.