UNIONS

I belonged to the Operating Engineers Union when I ran a concrete pump. I had just finished pouring a parking garage floor at the hospital in Huntsville Alabama. The pump was cleaned by five PM and I drove it to Metropolis Illinois. I was meet at the gate, and told a Teamster would park my pump truck. I could wait in the office while they attempted to find someone local that could run the pump. This baffled me, I thought we were one big happy family. Finding no one local qualified to run the pump I was allowed to operate the concrete pump. The Teamster had parked it wrong so I moved the pump. The Teamster Stewart ask me, what I thought I was doing? I apologized, I was not aware it took multiple attempts for a Teamster to park a rig. I started putting the pipes together and the Pipe Fitters Stewart said his men would do that. I put the snap clamps away and gave them the bolt on clamps, and a Crescent wrench. The first concrete trucks arrived, and I directed one back to the pump. The Labor Stewart came over and asked me what I thought I was doing? He told me we had laborers for that. In a few minutes a beer can from the concrete truck was on the screen, so I took a shovel and racked it off. The Labor Stewart came back with another laborer for that, and told me to keep my hands on the levers. Stafford was running another pump on the other side of the silo, and was having similar problems with Union Stewart's. It was hot and he blew a hydraulic hose under his pump, knowing he had only a few minutes before the concrete set up, he crawled under the pump in the sand and hot oil to replace the hose. The Operation Engineer Stewart drove up in a cherry picker crane, and asked Stafford what he thought he was doing? Stafford replied changing the hose before the concrete sets up. The Stewart said, we have mechanics for that, and ran over Stafford's tool box with the crane. Stafford being from Jackson County Tennessee, promptly went to his car and got his sawed off shotgun. Stafford stuck the shotgun in the Stewart's face and told him he was buying him a new tool box. The job superintendent rushed over and said he would buy everyone a tool box if he would put the gun away. After that Stafford got a new tool box, and we had know more problems with the Unions in Illinois.

HEAD NUT