NOT MR ROGER'S NEIGHBORHOOD IN OUR JOBS ANYMORE!!!
 This week's blog is so easy for me, as it is so fresh in my mind, in fact it happened so suddenly,I could spit venom! Yes my faithful bloggers, I am talking about "Workplace Harassement" which occurs more often than not in today's job market,where we try and scrape out a paycheck every week! So you may have guessed it by now, I was the victim "once again" of "Workplace Harassement." This is quite odd, due to the fact that I am truckdriver that hauls live chickens for a poultry plant here in Calgary. Needless to say, I am also 6:3 and about 260lbs, no slouch that's for sure. So how then did a big dude like me, become the victim of such a creul and mean undertaking. Well hold that thought for a moment, okay, first we need to define what exactly is "Workplace Harassement" in that place we become slaves for a 2 week financial reward. So just what is it then?
        Now to start off with, it is definitely a form of discrimation which usually involves unwanted physical or verbal behaviour that offend or humiliates any person. This of course occurs over a period of time, regardless whether its 1 week, 1 month, 6 months or a year or more! Harassement is and always has been a form of bullying in making fun of you or me? The bullier usually is making fun of you, or picking on that person because of age, disability, your sexual preference, and even your skin color. Even threatening someone with physical violence or oppression is "Workplace Harassement" Nevertheless so is physical toucking,patting, derogatory comments, pinching and punching as well.Needless to say, a one-time incident can also sometimes be construed as harassement! Last but certainly not least, how bout discrediting a person by spreading malicious gossip or rumors,and ridiculling him or her.Don't ever ignore it because I guarantee you, it won't stop, unless you do something to cease this behaviour from another person intent on destroying you in many different ways possible.So I could go on, but let's focus on how this happened to me okay.
        Actually sorry to say, this is not the first time, I experienced this either. In fact, I can think of one particular example, where I was more than harassed in the workplace. Maybe its my nice, playful, laid back nature that make certain people out there, think they can screw with me. I am really not sure, why it has happened to me at least half a dozen times in my life! What happened Brian? you ask me, so let me tell you a short story now.
        A couple of days ago, I was at a farm, having modules(steel crates) of live chickens being loaded onto the b-train trailer, I was hauling. Now I admit, I am not the sharpest tool in the shed at times, when it comes to fixing things on my bosses truck.But I do try, I am certainly reliable, trustworthy and responsible, so I ask that sometime all I guy can ask for, is that you give the man your best right. It so happened somehow, as that black cloud that follows me quite often, decided I wasn't worthy anymore for this job. To make a long story short, I was fixing a sidestep, by advice given to me by what were supposed to be mature young Managers for the "chicken hauling company" out of Olds Ab. Little did I know of their very devious and cruel intentions to actually videotape me on their cellphone, as I was performing this less than good advice.People whom I thought were my friends, decided to stick a knife in my back, the very next morning by distributing this said video tape, via the wonderful world of the email, through the internet. Thus this was not only embarassing for me, but I also had to do damage control in explaining to my boss, why I did, what I had done, to fix the sidestep. Unfortunately the advice prescibed was completely in-accurate and quite damaging to the side step, that was already bent in.My only saving grace, is once I quickly realized, the step was bent the wrong way, I immediately halted the in-nane procedure. Now to add further salt upon my wound, people I didn't even like, were sending me texts, asking me about my assinine decision in this fix-job of the side-step. So where did the "workplace harassement" occur in this scenerio and am I completely at fault in this mess? Your answer is, by these ill-advised morons, distributing the video to all other truck drivers whom I work with and thought they had respect for me, well I became the fricken laughing stock of all the truck drivers now. However the joke was really on these 2 so-called managers of the chicken crew company, because they just committed "Workplace Harassement!" I could go into all the sordid other details, but I won't. Let's just say my boss, has my back,my job is safe, and in the end, maybe they will get what they deserve, but who knows right? So in conclusion I encouraged all you bloggers to comment on similar experiences of "Workplace Harassement" This should not and will not be tolerated by hard working people such as us right?Afterall I am just there to make a paycheck, not make new friends. Besides with friends like them, who needs enemies. Have a great week, and as a special bonus, another page excerpt from my upcoming second book "Sidewinder" from an incident similar to this....Enjoy 
    

They reminded me of small army barrack type rooms with either one bed and a small dresser or two beds side by side. Now the people working here were a mixed bag of ages ranging from 18 to 60, if you can believe it.

        The guys running the crusher were fairly young compared to me, about 18 and 20 or so. There was one guy whose job was solely to be outside mostly cleaning up the gravel that had fallen to the ground around the crusher. He also had to do light maintenance such as greasing the moving parts of the large machine as well as making sure everything was running properly. There was also a Tower Operator whose job it was to be well versed in the operation of crushing equipment as well as supervising and assisting with crusher maintenance. At first everything in the beginning seemed all well and good; I worked 12 hour shifts from 6am to 6pm, with 4 days off in between as well. Those shifts alternated to 6pm to 6am the following 10 days so it was not only a good variety but it was really nice having those 4 days off as well. I enjoyed the camaraderie at first; in fact we were all enjoying watching the playoffs at that time. The “sad sack” Calgary Flames had actually made it to the finals against the more skilled Tampa Bay Lightning. I can recall talking “hockey talk” with our Gravel Pit Manager Jay there many a nights when they were playing. In fact if it wasn’t for that stupid bumbled call the Ref made on a Calgary player’s goal the Flames would have won the cup that year.

        Now I also had to do other more intensive laborious jobs there such as greasing my truck, changing the screens on the crusher as well as learning to run the loader too. I even managed to get my 17yr old stepson Jack a job as a Grounds Worker there, so it was definitely becoming a bit of a family affair. Everything seemed to be working out fine, when 60 year old Sye of all strange things started picking on me, even calling me names! Not only that he was constantly taunting me, furthermore advising me I should be wearing pink spandex with the way I was working there. I mean he thought it was great fun at first with all the other guys laughing at me, but that it started to affect our relationship working together .The whole thing actually managed to manifest itself so bad that the Gravel Pit Manager Jay actually had to get involved. My new boss was none too impressed either when he actually had to physically separate us one day from trying to kill one another.

       The other issue was the Tower Operator Mick and his friend Bowie had been pressuring me to smoke pot after work was done. In the dying months of the season it was very apparent that things were getting difficult for me working there, as my stepson Jack had picked up on that too. However in the last month of the season Jack wasn't there as he had broken his right foot while on the job. Thus he was forced to end his employment with Hopscotch Construction, so now I was left alone to fend for myself. Needless to say things at that point kind of spun out of control for me at camp one day, and to say the least it was not a good situation for me either. I was working the 6pm to 6am shift one particular day. I literally had enough of that peer pressure bullcrap from Mick and Bodie about smoking a joint with them. It actually had gotten to the point of physical violence that I was threatened with, if I did not partake in smoking up with them. Ultimately my fear of being ganged up on won me over and I decided to give in to my reservations about smoking pot with these two young men.

        The situation escalated however, when I was not used to this new skunk weed I was smoking, furthermore I was totally blitzed! Now of coarse when you are stoned, what happens is you get the munchies, as a consequence I made a complete fool of myself. Where did I do this and with whom you may ask? Well as my bad luck would have it, the camp cook Rona, was my presumed romantic target. It was completely embarrassing by what I did, as I professed my extreme gratitude towards her cooking and kindness. I guess I was kind of draped all over her, and at one point I even offered to kiss her good-bye as the job was ending soon anyways.The woman was not by any means attractive, but quite hideous in fact.

        Things that week went from bad to worse in the gravel pit, when I had to drive a brand new tandem dump truck. Apparently my unit was getting a new box put on so I was forced to drive this new “Sewing Machine” on 10 wheels.

        From the very first moment I sat in that “Piece of Crap”truck I really didn’t feel comfortable as the steering seemed to be extremely tighter to what I was previously used to. The traction was definitely off, as well the side mirrors were smaller, because my visibility when backing was a lot harder too. As it turned out, where this particular crusher was situated; I could not pull forward from the scales. Instead I had to back out, and proceed backward for about a quarter of a mile, and around a large stockpile. After I reached just past that stockpile, I could turn around and proceed to the other stockpile a few yards away. All I know is the Cat Operator should not have parked that dam bull dozer so close to the stockpile, that was around that blind corner. Nonetheless, my hours were numbered in this job now, as you guessed it, I backed up into something I shouldn’t have. In fact I drove the back of the box of the dump truck right square into the side of the blade of the bulldozer which was primarily aimed at the diesel fuel tank that was situated just beside the side step. I dented that tank so bad that even I was surprised that it didn’t even explode! Well thank the “truck gods” that the fuel tank was nearly empty that day. The Gravel Pit Manager Jay had finally had enough of me, and told me to go pack my things as I was permanently out of here for good this time! So about 2 weeks short of the season I was now looking for work as a truck driver again, it was nobody’s stupidity but my own, this time!