icarus | (no subject)

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wildernessguru is on his third straight week of work, 21 days without a day off.

You heard that right. He's had no weekends, no Saturdays, no Sundays off for three weeks while the yard is slammed.

They think they might get Memorial Day off.

I've taken over all the household stuff except the shopping. I'm getting really worried. He's so tired. When he gets home he barely has energy to eat. I'm going to shove a bowl of spagetti into his hands as soon as he's home so he can eat it on the way to the bed. He's just... a walking zombie. And they're putting in nine-hour days, too.

I mean, it's all at union wages and the overtime is a lot. This summer he'll probably have months off. But it doesn't matter. It's not worth it.

Can you believe that before unions life used to like this for everyone? Only with less money and 12-hour days?

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Poor WG! And how sweet that you're so concerned. It's a great feeling to care for and be cared after, esp. after a stressful day (or weeks). When the hubby and I have similar bad spells at work, we alternate between lamenting and encouraging each other on "why exactly did we take these jobs again?!" Here's to the slower summer months. Cheers, lis

Thanks, lis. I'm trying but there's nothing I can do beyond take care of the dishes and him when he comes home. But in the summer they get a lot of time off.

The overtimes is so not worth it.

Icarus

Can you believe that before unions life used to like this for everyone? Only with less money and 12-hour days?

God, I know; the thought is stunning. People should recall this more often, and hereabouts be more grateful, in your country: further unions.

I remember watching Lang's Metropolis and hearing about a standard 12-hour day and thinking, holy shit. Standard?

Icarus

Can you believe that before unions life used to like this for everyone? Only with less money and 12-hour days?

Oh, baby. We're doing History of Economic Thought this week and next, and it's all "the teeming masses of the unwashed public will not work unless they have the incentives! They are by nature nasty and lazy! Keep the wages lower so that they'll be forced to work 12 hour days just to survive!" and "Humanity sucks! We'll increase our numbers until there is no more food to be had! Fortunately, there's FAMINE and DEATH and PLAGUES..."

I can't help it, I'm going all "oh, come on, I don't like humanity either, most of the time, but give us some credit!"

Ugh. Is that Malthusian theory or someone else?

Can you believe that before unions life used to like this for everyone? Only with less money and 12-hour days?

Yes. Definitely.

That's why I want to hit people with a big stick, when they are employed and say that the neo-liberal-conservative right is correct, unions have too much power and just hinder people. Rrgh

I can't hit them. I'm married to one :-(

Oh. Guilt-trip, maybe? Work on that neo-con antipathy towards China and how it's sinking the US?

wildernessguru's dad is one of those. The family fights are... spectacular.

Icarus

Heck, they're doing that now, with unions. My father works 12 hour days, 6 days a week and they have a union. He gets tons of money, but I don't think it's worth the exhaustion.

WG's union, too, and this is what they're doing. It's just more money, but when the work comes in like this...

He doesn't think it's worth the exhaustion either. But he's looking forward to June/July, when they usually get time off. Some time in the mountains, hiking... he deserves it.

Icarus

Yikes! I hope he gets a break soon. I basically ruined my health in 2004 with a 3-month crunch schedule like that (much longer daily hours, but it didn't involve much physical labor as I gather Wildernessguru's job does) and it's taken me all this time to dig back out of the hole. I trust you're making sure he gets as much sleep as possible?

Three months? That's nuts. Are you okay now? What were the effects? Just worn out, or anything in particular?

He's not getting enough sleep. He's pretty disciplined about going to bed but sometimes he wants more of a life and stays up to watch the Sopranos. It (hopefully) will be over soon, and (hopefully) they'll at least get Memorial Day off. It's stupid to pay the wages to have all these exhausted men work Memorial Day. The company will have to lay out 60 grand for work that just won't be worth it, when everyone will do a better job if they can get some time off.

Icarus

Three months? That's nuts. Are you okay now? What were the effects? Just worn out, or anything in particular?
I gained 40 pounds in 8 weeks, and had some sort of blood pressure incident that made me swell up like the Michelin Man and get so physically feeble for a week that I could barely function. (And it was qualitatively weird weakness—flus and exhaustion make you too tired to expend much effort, but I found that lifting a 50 lb. weight made my muscles strain and hurt like I was picking up something four times the size.)

I'm OK now, though on blood pressure meds and likely will be for the forseeable future. But I've gotten myself back into shape similar to what I was before all the overtime (still somewhat overweight, but active and healthy feeling).

I don't know how much of a part mental stress played in the whole ordeal, but exhaustion and lack of sleep were definitely major causes on the physical side. And I got less sleep than I could have even given the crazy schedule because I still wanted to read, or watch TV, or socialize with friends in my off hours. If WG is open to unsolicited advice I'd recommend making 8 hours sleep a night minimum (and 9 or 10 would be better) his first priority before doing recreational things that are mentally relaxing, at least until the weekends come back.

I'm OK now, though on blood pressure meds and likely will be for the forseeable future.

Jesus.

If WG is open to unsolicited advice I'd recommend making 8 hours sleep a night minimum (and 9 or 10 would be better) his first priority before doing recreational things that are mentally relaxing, at least until the weekends come back.

I'll pass that along, because he hasn't been getting enough sleep. I think that it helps that it's physical labor (in a sense) because he's so worn out that even when he tries to make himself stay up, he can't. He nods off.

It's 7pm and he's out like a light at the moment. :(

The good news is -- they all got Memorial Day off. And not only that, they were given the option to take tomorrow off, too.

Thank god.

Icarus

Unions saved my life. Seriously. I'm a "blue collar" (it is the same thing in the U.S?) and doing those crazy shifts, and if I didn't have the union to back me I'd die!

You don't feel it's worth it? I don't either. I'm planning on finding another job.

Union is definitely better than non-union, but the work is backbreaking all the same. Apparently this sudden high gear with no days off happens every year.

wildernessguru was looking forward to the overtime, but now? No. We shouldn't put our bodies through that.

Icarus

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