09:43 - 04.10.08
Strike
Well dear diary, I didn't get back to daily entries as I promised, but there was a good reason. The employees of the client I often work for voted 94% to go on strike. That meant our assignments were doubled up so that at least some of our contracts were covered before the scheduled strike date of October 6. It also meant 'teens of hours working every day, plus the travel time required going to and fro. On a couple of evenings after work, A+ and I went out for dinner just so we could have some time together.
Some of the work days I supervised, while on others I trained and inventoried. Wednesday was probably the most demanding. It was supposed to be my day off, but I ended up supervising for nearly 14 hours. Crew size ranged from one at the beginning of the morning to about 25 by late afternoon. High levels of stress, fatigue and frustration for the manager for the company I work for as well as the manager of the client's business meant that at one point I was worried I was going to have to break up a fist fight. Mediating is something I've done a lot over the years, as you know, so that part of my persona just stepped up to the plate. Didn't need the torrent of verbal put downs from the client's manager, but I didn't want my manager to have a stroke nor did I take it personally. Similar circumstances occurred at the second of the client's worksites, but some of that was triggered by staff work to rule actions that obstructed our ability to do our jobs. We can't inventory what we can't have access to. This time the manager just snapped because of all the other issues she was trying to deal with. She came back to apologize later when she was calmer. We all have our days.
One of the new people on one of my crews tried to cause some problems as well stirring up friction and trying to cause dissent. I'm uncertain why - maybe a stake in the strike issues - but it meant a rather strained few hours for me while I sorted her out and tried to reduce her negative effects on the rest of the crew. Other crew members having troublesome life issues meant trying to smooth the work day for them enough so that they could focus on their jobs while still dealing with their pain. Not in the job description for me but even as a volunteer, I found that people performed their tasks best when they felt secure their personal life issues were at least acknowledged. That's one of the reasons I worked toward bringing in more family support resources in our communities. I didn't have the resources, time or energy to supply all the support some of my co-volunteers needed, but I also felt they deserved that care. Enlightened self interest it was for me to be involved.
Last night my oldest son arrived with his two children in tow for a weekend visit. I won't see them much since I'm working, but even a little time is better than none. He arrived just as my dryer cratered with my work clothes in it. He and my youngest son managed to bring it back to life so that was all good. I was slightly hysterical already because of an incident on the bus ride home from work. A male coming up and taking my hand in his - gently - but not letting go then sitting beside me pushing up as close as he could. Oi. I couldn't figure out why he was so certain he had permission to do that and I was very concerned about him following me off the bus. As it turned out he finally released my hand then went to talk with the two bus drivers on board (training going on). He got off that bus about two stops before mine thankfully. It took me a while to destress just because of the workday added in to the bus incident. The that dryer thang.
Anyway I have to get ready for today's adventures. Hopefully I' do better at keeping you posted dear diary. Depends a bit on how this strike thing unfolds in the next couple of days.
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