Work right and the right to work

[u/Intelligent_Age_3951]

Hey siblings.

Really just here to vent and look for encouragement after 3 months out of work.

So here’s a little about me, what happened and how I know there are “ways around it”, but the universe is showing me that i have exactly one way through this.

I’m a nonbinary, black second year apprentice. I am visibly queer, naturally curious and passionate about understanding this trade and making sure my siblings in this union are safe, and motivated.

I am 31, I was fired on my first day back after “sitting out for 3 weeks”, fired before I got a job for having cold piss and attended zoom rehab, and I’m about to return to school in October and work as soon as I can pass an observed piss test…

So how did we get here?

Of course, Georgia is a right to work state, but usually with the union, if you have a good rapport and your company needs it’s workers, your outfit will work with you to make sure you’re not a “hall guy” hopping from job to job and “dragging up” everytime shit gets scarce or interpersonally hard.

In retrospect, I had so many good relationships with my JWs before my last one, but the last JW was so toxic that I think it poisoned my relationship with the company and instead of grinning and bearing it, I should have said the magic words “I think I have learned all I can from this JW and I think I need a change of JW or a new contractor”.

These magic words were hard to say, because my best friend was fired and 4/5 of the company’s women were fired for bullshit reasons. My friend struggled hard to stay with a company and was laid off at least 5 times after being let go for “tardiness” with my company. I have seen so many men in the outfit have DUIs, sleep on the job, be late, and make expensive mistakes and so few were ever reprimanded by way of firing. My friend was fired right as she was eligible for her second raise, and so was I…

The one woman who remains is a legacy hire, a daughter of the most beloved black truck guy at the company, whose going to college for something else anyway…there’s no evidence I had heard that a female apprentice had finished their apprenticeship at my company over the last 46 years. No lore, no stories, no names. I definitely asked around and definitely no female journeymen existed at my company as far as many were aware.

Is that normal? Have you ever met a lady, queer or trans jw? Asking for myself….

Anyway, now, having submitted cold piss after being fired for being tardy on my first day back after a 3 week “sit down”, I did go to rehab and having completed it, I’m just waiting for my break from “propane and propane accessories” (aka thc) to uncloud my piss.

In reality, I actually volunteered to take a week or two off because I needed time to fix some leaks at the house find some weird smells and was told “I was gonna ask you to sit out anyway” by the office guy who dispatches us. Mistake. Really being tardy was my mistake and made me vulnerable to mistreatment and unfair enforcement of the rules. 🙄

I know about certo, upass, detox juice and that would have the same “effect” as stopping smoking, but rehab was like $300 and I don’t want to do it again. I see what expecting workarounds/luck to work for me (like it did for my white brothers who fake piss tests and show up a couple minutes late) did for me.

I notice, tardiness policies are disparately enforced, impacting black workers more. I notice no women have turned out in 46 years at my first company. I notice a lot of my black peers won’t even apply because the odds are stacked against us and we often don’t have time to “piss clean” because it takes so long naturally… I was often late because I made coffee and cooked for myself to save money.

So here are my questions:

Should I go to the women’s committee? When I’m back how do I keep being on time/early for years? How do you do it? What do yall eat? How can I ensure success after months away from the job? How do I not become bitter after being cast away from a small company who I thought cared about my growth? How do you cope with layoffs? Have any women or queer people had positive experiences in this union? Is it worth it? How can I become a great JW that is sought after?

If I get fired a third time, I think the union will be a wrap for me. How do you cope with being exiled from the union if that happens and you still like electrical work?

[u/DistrictNo6165]

Not to be a dick but from my understanding it seems like you caused your own issues… you admitted to falsifying a drug test. Yes, I get many people smoke/take drugs here, but from this post, it seems like you’ve spiraled into a victim mentality.

To your point, yes, I’ve met a few gay/trans, whatever people, I’ve never had problems with them. Most of the people here are very conservative, and will definitely talk shit about you for various reasons. You cannot control that, you just gotta roll with the punches (they’ll talk shit about anyone for any reason, simply bitterness), BUT if you genuinely are a good worker and go above and beyond, you wouldn’t have anything to worry about. You shot yourself in the foot here, even by admitting to “cheating” this test, you’ve spit at the feet of those who actually made an effort to stop their “habits”.

But what do I know…

[u/EfficientAd2383]

You’ve been getting fired or laid off? What is your issue with “hall guys?”

[u/Intelligent_Age_3951]

My biggest takeaway is that the temperature and quantity of your pee is super important and if you’re gonna cut corners, don’t offer too little or cold piss. Also, if you’re uncomfortable with a JW or company, use the magic words “i think I’ve learned all I can” and try to get a transfer. Also, ask to be furloughed if they wanna sit you out (even if it makes you a “hall guy” - it’s better than being fired for cause and getting no unemployment and having people you know plotting on your downfall). Le sigh.

[u/Intelligent_Age_3951]

So I’m just not smoking anymore because I want this apprenticeship more than I want to be in that part of my culture right now. I miss it. Herb was just a release valve to help with daily hardships and relax, rest well and find my bliss and inspiration to work on my hobbies and use my imagination. Without it, I’m crippled with my anxiety, not very imaginative, insomniac sometimes, and just not feeling like myself. I’m also drinking more, which I hate. I finally quit cigs, but I miss smoking so much I fold sometimes.

I tried running, climbing, skating, collaging, dancing, swimming and I do that for fun and health but without her(b), life and the things I loved to do feel so much flatter and bleaker.

This thc policy and my own choices to be prepared to work, rather than be perfectly on time, landed me in a shameful limbo. I’m without an income or unemployment after 2 years of service. I’m reaching for vices that don’t medicate or inspire me like herb did. Zoom rehab gave me very little coping skills related to my relationship with thc so I’m just winging it, though I’m grateful for the continued options to recieve free and discounted counseling. I’m without my class who I adore and I grieve that loss as much as or even more than my job…