When I came to life and thus my coworkers did the same, I would say it was like someone flipped a light switch. But truly, the change was more gradual. A more accurate analogy would be to say it is like the time between 5 and 5:30 when the sun rises above the building next door to the time that it is eclipsed by the roof of the warehouse and I know my first half hour of work has passed. It is about this point that I begin work mentally and start going about my day.
A hat, safety glasses and earplugs in a loud warehouse where I spend most of my time with my head down grinding away allowed me to zone out an avoid recognizing the fact that I was working with or at least around other people. That is probably part of the reason I took the job initially and stayed with it. I couldn’t avoid however making contact with the two other guys that worked directly with me cutting off the fresh dipped steel and working it over. Chris, a 57 year-old Australian and a good man, who refuses the gum I offer him “because it will get stuck in his dentures” and illustrates the idiom “dead end job.”
Chris gave me my 3 minute job tutorial in the beginning and we spoke few other times in the first couple weeks other than to say hello or the occasional “head,” which means move your head before it gets knocked off. He operates the crane at our end of the ware house and is damn good at it too. He also decides which headers we process or get sent to the next crew. However that is where his ambition ends. For 18 years he’s worked for the same wage at this plant. I don’t think I would make it 18 weeks if I didn’t have to. He accepts that he will be here until he retires. He is not much of a communicator which makes it often very frustrating to work with him. As the weeks wore on I learned I would have to accept this. If I was looking for a great steel galvanizing quarterback I would have to look elsewhere. I stopped gritting my teeth around him after we finally got into a conversation about him stemming from wages. I learned that he and his wife are foster parents to several kids at a time. He grinds away to help his wife aid in the young lives of kids who have little else. After that it was easier to accept when he would return short flippant answers to my questions of ignore them. His redemption is impressive but almost common place in this warehouse.
The other guy in our section is named James and although he is Philippino, has a Spanish surname. It couldn’t be any more appropriate for him; a biblical name that carries with it those who brought the bible to the Philippines. He gets mad when I swear. He gets mad when I wear my Dragon shirt (pictured) or my El Paso Diablos shirt. (I get mad too though. These were the last jerkoffs to release me. But here I am.) The dragon of course symbolizes the devil and well, Diablos, you get it. He gets mad when I use his grinder, but that is slightly more forgivable in his eyes.
He is righteous to the core; the only man I’ve ever seen bow his head before eating his lunch in the breakroom. He lives by the Word in sincerity and does his best to softly preach it. The language is a slight barrier but I try to stay with him. His attitude toward the work is akin to sacrifice. In this case he sacrifices himself most of all for his family. He grinds away to see that his wife is cared for and his daughters continue their education in a safe and opportunity laden place. He never questions the work, or the time and energy that he surrenders. He, like the other Philippinos that make up the majority of the plant’s workforce is on a four year contract sponsored by the company to live and work in Australia. To give you an idea about how lame this job is. This plant would not run if it weren’t for this soft form of indentured servitude.
I have tremendous respect for these men. Nearly everyone is here in an effort to bring their family here or support them abroad. The job atrophies the mind, weakens the body and redeems the soul. I want to launch into political argument about immigration but I will keep it at this. This is one job among many others that affluent Australians and for that matter Americans will not do given the choice. In fact, some would choose to sit on the couch and receive a dole/welfare instead of doing this work So many of us want to mitigate or deny immigration when the reality is the people are just humans, opportunistic and righteous, sacrificing nearly everything in hopes of a better life for themselves and the ones they love.
The two other young blokes besides me will have to wait for their introduction and this post will wait for its conclusion as I have to finish the next post before I head out for NEW YEARS EVE!
For another take on the immigration issues. Enjoy a good read out of the Atlantic:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/12/the-no-brainer-issue-of-the-year-let-high-skill-immigrants-stay/250219/
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