They said it wouldn't work, you did it anyway. How did that work out for you?

Back in the 80’s I was happy and content with my job, until my brother in law at the time talked me into going to work with his company, a union rough crew building condos and townhouses. My boss, also my high school buddy, said…”you won’t like it, I give you a week there”. So I go, work all week, nobody talks to each other for fear of the yelling and screaming foreman, lunch time was silent too. So many things I do were questioned, like calling number back before you make a cut to make sure you have the piece correct, lest it be thrown back at you in disgust. No time to do anything right, but plenty of time to mail my speed square down to the floor with about 40 nails. Thursday was truss day, a big day, and a dangerous job if you’re a rookie, which I was not. After trying to knock me off the rack with a crane full of piggyback trusses, I quietly decided I’d had enough. So after work that day the Forman comes up to me and says…..

Foreman….”what do you expect to be making here?”

Me….. “well to tell you the truth, tomorrow is my last day”!

Forman….”why is that?”

Me….”well, I’m used to having to fix this ****, not **** it up in the first place”!

Friday comes, and he couldn’t have been nicer to me. Friday is also the day that checks come, so as soon as the boss’s son brings the checks (10am), cords get rolled up and they all head over to the scab job they’re doing on the weekend. They ask if I’m coming and I say “yes, and I’m buying the beer”. They all look at me in wide wonder, as apparently no “newbie” has ever bought the beer before, let alone lasted past first break on Monday.

Had they just been human instead of assholes, they would’ve had a much better crew, and I might’ve stayed. I drank a beer with them , bid my farewell and headed home. A couple weeks later I got a check in the mail for full union wages! As I stood back on the roof at my old job, I pondered why I ever left, but I still laugh about it to this day!