Factory Work

Factory Work

Factory work? Sure, I did some of that in the

late 60s after a 3-year stint in the Army. Ben-

son Manufacturing in Kansas City. They made

everything from beer barrels to backpack shells

for the Mercury astronauts.

I was a Boothhead, moved parts from one

operation to another. Did a decent job too.

My boss decided to move me to the machine

shop to replace a guy who had recently been

promoted to the front office.

After a few weeks, I approached my boss and

asked him for a raise since I had moved to a

new job with more responsibilities. He then

asked me to write down all the activities I

was now assigned at my new job. A day or so

later, I handed him the list of things the ma-

chine shop foreman had me doing. He went

through it item by item crossing things out

which he didn’t expect me to do.

One key activity in particular was driving the

fork lift. I helped the machinists change heavy

jigs on the larger machines. Some of those

weighed in excess of three-hundred pounds

or so. I would lift and drive those steel jigs

to the machine, and the operator would guide

and lock them into place.

Don’t do that anymore, my boss directed me

along with several other duties which he sum-

marily scratched off my list. It was his way of

telling me, no raise.

So, that day the shop foreman told me to get

the fork lift and help change the jig on one of

the large lathes. My boss told me not to operate

the fork lift anymore, I said respectfully. The fore-

man turned red in the face and was steaming mad.

He went and got on the forklift himself, and strug-

gled for over a half an hour with the operator to

eventually get the job done.

The foreman wouldn’t even look at me the rest of

the day. And the next day when I showed up for

work, my boss called me into his office and fired me

for insubordination. But, you told me I shouldn’t

operate the forklift, I reminded him. Gather up your

belongings and leave, he told me. We’ll mail you

your pay.

Now, some of the machinists and others had worked

at Benson Manufacturing for more than twenty-years.

I never saw any of them driving a fork lift. And besides

being and butt-ugly son of a bitch, the shop foreman

wasn’t any damn good at operating a fork lift either.

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Chris Hanch 3-3-2020