DOING THE RIGHT THING

 

Considering my congressional representative's (I never voted for him) eagerness to sign on to the Texas lawsuit against our own State, at first I thought well he's been a do-nothing drone for his party for years. Nothing new here. But then again maybe just once he could have considered doing the right thing rather than following along in his beloved "cool kids" path. I would have even accepted "no comment"; not admitting his hero lost but not adding to the fantasy. Cowardly but understandable. No. He had to sign on to what he had to know was a totally bogus and dare I say, seditious action against his own State! This election re-elected himself. Maybe the genius did not realize that by disenfranchising millions of Michigan voters he made his own win a fraud as well. Laughable if not so dangerous. But that would have taken courage which is sorely lacking in many.

Though I have had an interesting career I have often been challenged to do the "easy" thing rather than the "right" one. (Why is the right road always harder?) Perhaps that is the bane of following a career in safety and health. Though we work on the side of angels, much of what we advocate for is unpopular, hard to sell and even harder to implement. We have to stay committed to what is right or we all lose has been my mindset as I tilted at my personal windmills (credit to Senor Cervantes). It always seemed so obvious to me, not so much to those in charge or even the employees I was trying to protect. 

Explains why I often was called on the carpet for decisions made, prohibitions inflicted and budget increases:

-- "One does not question an influential supporter's company on work practices;" just hire a top overseer to monitor the work.

-- "One does not tell another department how to perform their oversight work;" just line up the company attorney to sell your case.

-- "One does not withhold an award from a major corporation;" just stretch out the timeframe and perform multiple inspections. 

-- "One does not shut down an operation;" well actually that particular trump card is held as a final solution when there is no other way.

Of course being popular or admired for holding the line is definitely not in the cards. Also I will not be so arrogant as to say I always won or did not have to fold my tent in defeat more than once. For example in one position my direct supervisor was older with health issues. I took on more and more of the work, apparently unbeknownst to management. After a major inspection with a couple hundred citations to be addressed, I literally took all the paperwork, solutions, actions, responses to my supervisor in the hospital to review and sign. This strategy successfully brought the project in on time and avoided further sanctions. Not to mention the inspector was a total nightmare who found explanation and cooperation to be four-letter words.

When my supervisor was disabled for a long period of time, I took over the entire Safety and Health activity. A lot of meetings, a lot training and willingness to make decisions got me through. Then when the position was officially posted I of course was rewarded by receiving the promotion. Nope! Instead it went to the union counterpart with whom I worked and explained standards to on a regular basis. The reason? I was too "passionate" about everything. Read: you don't "go along and hey you're a woman". 

However none of my duties changed. With no change in pay or status a few extras were added such as coordinating the company suggestion program, organizing the first employee recognition event, conducting labor relations research and supervising another employee. After that wonderful vote of confidence I believed I was free to pursue other interests. It led directly to my being named a Safety Director at another entity. Upon informing management I was leaving I was labeled "disloyal". Perhaps they thought I would be shamed into staying. Ummm no.

Note:  Have to admit however, that all the new duties made me a great candidate for the Deputy Personnel Director position to which I was promoted from Safety Director at the next company. Everything happens for a reason and extra education is usually a good thing.

The Union held a heck of a party for me when I left and some of the top management sneaked over to say goodby so I was glad to know that I made some difference anyway. To be fair many of the issues I highlighted were put into practice by managment with minimal yet expected pushback. I remained on their "Do Call" list for issues which proved beneficial for both sides.

Digress: As a firm believer that things occur as they are supposed to, after I lost out on the promotion I ended up becaming pregnant with my wonderful daughter a few months later. Funny story. Well they all are. I was about 8 months pregnant and forgot a notebook a couple of floors up in the plant that I really needed. I, of course, ran up the several flights of metal stairs and arrived gasping for air and bent over. When I explained this scary episode to my doctor he wryly noted "most 8 months'pregnant women aren't racing up and down stairs". Oh. 

Revenge is sweet. Though I wished no ill will on those who did not realize my contributions it was rather humorous to hear from my replacement after I left.  She told me she quit after three months because of all they expected her to do. She said  I really spoiled them. They now have an entire department. But to be truthful it was necessary even in my day. One or two people could not handle all the health, safety and environmental issues for a multi-department, 1,000 employee entity. The more I learned, the more I realized how much was required; not only to maintain compliance but also safely perform tasks unique to our workplace. I was doomed to fail to be honest.  

In case anyone asks, I tend to choose the harder road-go figure....