Second
shift had its advantages. There was the
ten percent pay differential and things were quieter at night. Gone were the production and office hordes
that made the plant a bee hive during the day.
Once in a while you could see a machine operator finishing off a
production run under the soft glow of fluorescent lights. The rest of the massive concrete and pillared
areas would be in total blackout. The
only visitor was a watchman named Gates who, in those days, carried one
of those big round clocks encased in leather.
In
front of the swinging doors that formed the boundary between manufacturing and
the office areas were the long darkened corridors that led to the massive
modular furniture expanses that formed the corporate departments. I’m glad I didn’t have to work in them; so
many people during the day. Once in a while
someone would stay late like the lady in Purchasing who used to tell me
management would never promote her because she was a woman. Incidentally, several years later they did
promote her to the head of Purchasing.
I
always looked at my predicament as a bitter pill. So what if I was just out of college and all
I could find was a job pushing a broom?
I did what it took to make a living and always took advantage of any
opportunity including overtime and that’s what I was doing after midnight. Our crew of volunteers was usually called up
for emergency clean ups, shoveling late night snow or moving furniture.What
drew me to volunteering was the princely sum of $13.00 per hour even though I’d
usually get home at O Dark Thirty (3 AM.)
Plus, in the early 1970s you could buy more for your dollar. My studio apartment on the Plaza was only $85 a month and gas was 23 cents a gallon at the Hudson station at 38th
and Main in Kansas City.
What’s
there for young people now? Inflation
has severely eroded the dollar. Overtime is
mostly a thing of the past. They’re now
lucky to get 40 hours a week in order to qualify for benefits – healthcare
mainly. Profit sharing is so antiquated
that I believe most college graduates entering the work force don’t know what
it is, but I hope they know what “A penny saved is a penny earned.” means. In a difficult situation you adapt,
persevere, and overcome. You look for a
way out and earn money by saving money and not going into debt. You lower your expectations and limit your
vices. Above all, you invest in the
things that count like a house. My
overtime allowed me to have one built. When the maintenance men who threw
away their money on turkey hunts, Jack Daniels, boats, and snow mobiles learned about it, they became visibly
upset.
