Alyeska’s Pride in Prejudice - Maggie’s Farm Revisited; My
back pages, bringing it all back home.
Sidebar: As
an ex-Alyeskan, today I find myself enjoying “retiree” status and being actively
proud in recent participation the “Black Lives Matter” marches in solidarity
sea to shining sea our brothers and sisters in “Union” for the “Union”. That
calling came about by placing “Pandemic Patriotism” above “Pandemic Protectionism”
thus allowing freedom away from the “Home Alone” social curtailment that the Covid-19
“pandemic” was promoting. Yes, braving the elements to be heard and seen, at
the same time maintaining social distancing in efforts to show my respect and support
to right a wrong. Get used to it, get on with your life especially if in “retirement”
as “social distancing” with proper PPE is working. Amazing, that the family First
Aid Kit I put together when employed by Alyeska, after a class in Valdez about “preparedness”,
low and behold it contained some of those hard to get N95-masks. Alyeska was
very good at sharing things like this! So “Be Prepared”, the good ol’ Boy Scout
motto worked again and I was ready and willing to “march” in protest. Wrong or
right my abandonment of “Home Alone”, I find it rather disingenuous that many
have taken the “Do Nothing” approach with “time” on their side. Remember, you
can’t take it with you! Ok that’s OK your concern due age restrictions to get
involved, just don’t brag about it while sitting at home in couch potato mode eating
retirement funded Haggis. See, I’d rather have my kid’s children remember this “grumpy
old man” as an advocate in Braveheart instead of a “Cowitt”. And if retirement
means going to the town dump the only excitement dumpster diving - I beg your pardon maybe it’s distemper or
constipation ailing that freedom away from the 8 to 5! Get freak’n HELP! Hey,
what do I know as maybe the “dump” still finds fascination to help get rid of
the “skeletons” once confined to a Bragaw Street closet. But with this “racial
profiling pandemic”, something that should have been abolished many years ago,
it reminds me just how that “profiling” is a systemic problem - we gain some we
loose some on that “front” and the following read is a show and tell of what I
experienced as an employee of the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company this subject
matter when “Black Lives DIDN’T Matter” or upon that “bias” confronting a person
of Eskimo heritage or an Athabaskan lifestyle not to forget the “whistleblowers”
that faced punishment for standing their ground in correctness…the list goes on
a corruption in decency.
Uncle Al’s Pride in PREJUDICE - The True
Story!
Maybe it was a “One-Off”
situation, but my first introduction into “racial profiling” within the Alyeska
Pipeline Service Company organization came about on my first day on the job -
in 79. Shocking, what an introduction! OK, I wasn’t really on-the-job yet, the
incident I remember still haunting and reawakened by the recent sidewalk torture
of George Floyd, it occurred up at Pump Station 5 wherein I was a “New Hire”
attending the “Pipeline Basic Training” academy. Yes, many years ago we know
that history repeats itself. Back then “My Back Pages”, it all started when the
crew change plane touched down at Prospect and delivered a new class of
pipeline tenderfoots to the “Boot Camp”. Soon enough, with over-filled duffle
bags filled with “company issued” coveralls and other survival stuff, instructor
Will had us lined up in efforts to assign a room-mate and training partner - in
a hip-hip-hoorah “team work counts” kind of camaraderie that was designed to last
the duration of this training opportunity in the remote wilderness of Alaska. And I guess as a carry-over when assigned a
job on the “line”. Being away from family, partnership was paramount success,
it was still the wilderness don’t need no Revenant moments. For sure, it was
somewhat intimidating at first, the entire pipeline and logistics behind the
operation of the 800-mile Trans-Alaska-Pipeline-System, so it was a very quiet
scene as it was understood that the next few weeks would be very demanding in
undivided attention commitment towards success. The “Basic Training” was a treasure
trove of everything “pipeline”, mechanical to electrical to hydraulic to
control theory and a little “Custody Transfer” in between here and there. It
was like cramming an entire semester of study into a week’s time - study then test,
study then test some more. This was indeed a chance of a lifetime, wherein
success meant the beginning of gainful employment hopefully towards retirement,
so best give it extra loving care. It was almost a “military” like atmosphere -
at attention speak only when spoken to. Like it seemed, the demeanor many
waiting for that assignment the sentiment in silence was enraged within by a
calling out, please Mr. Will give us the room key so we can hit the books in excitement
we had become a “Pipeliner” - at least that was the mission before us for the
next 7-days. What I remember so well, I was 3rd in line and a guy
named Frank in 2nd place and at the head of the line a Mr. C, that seemed
to know Will and all the other Alyeska training staff on a first name basis. And
somewhat annoying, the only one challenging the respect most of the other “new
hires” maintained these unfamiliar surroundings, like minding one’s own business.
While waiting patiently, in conversation I had found out that Frank was an Athabaskan
Native Alaskan and was also hired to work down at the Valdez Marine Terminal,
in the same department I was assigned. As instructor Will started to assign
room-mate training partners, when that Mr. C was assigned to room and partner
with Frank as the first partner pair on the roster, this Mr. C character verbally
contested that assignment with words to the effect many others out and about
could hear; “I ain’t room’n with no native”. The camp office area
went dumbfoundedly quiet in a silence that was bothersome, but Will was quick
to pour cold water on this “racial profiling” event and I was assigned to be Mr.
C’s partner. So things were starting off in the “rough”. Now when the room assignments
were complete but the “wind out of the sail” somewhat what many of us had just
witnessed through this verbal abuse from a “white raced person” upon a Native Alaskan,
we were in the “canteen” getting lunch and the rumors floating about seemed to
be more then just scuttlebutt hearsay. More in the realm of a justified action
by the Alyeska management would soon commence, that guy Mr. C was history - as
this kind of thing was not tolerated in modern-day society and Alyeska seemed
to “pride” itself that this kind of abuse was not to be tolerated. And the
Alaskan Natives fort very hard for the “Native Claims Settlement Act” which
allowed the pipeline to be built and that “Act” by Congress supposedly addressed
such “discrimination”. But I was now Mr. C’s roommate, and as far as I understood,
there came no adverse action, as of yet - he was still my roommate but what was
rather odd also, nowhere to be seen. So when class started the next morning,
when I had to inform those in concern that Mr. C was still here and still listed
on the training roster, it challenged our thoughts on what we had witnessed and
dumfounded even more what would be the outcome. So far, nothing changed! I
mean, no investigation was required there were more then enough witnesses
present to have heard and seen what went on - said again poor Frank such an
introduction first day on the job! It was a blatant disregard for an Alaskan
Native, and Frank still seemed to be having difficulties with it - in his demeanor
to be accepted as he was the only Alaskan Native or minority in this group of
new hires. If nothing else, a very embarrassing situation. The only thing we
could think of was the fact the crew change plane was a week away, so maybe the
management was letting Mr. C hang out
and he would be justifiably “terminated” come the end of the training when back
on the ground in Anchorage. What else would be taking precedence over
addressing what went on! And for the most part, that Mr. C character never
showed up for the classes or when he did was late, like an attitude of who
gives a rat’s ass. Maybe he did not want to become a bonafide “Pipeliner” and
was just wasting everybody’s time. Also troubling and somewhat suspicious, it
appeared Will was coddling this Mr. C guy. The other thing, when at the camp’s
mess hall, Mr. C was always seen sitting with Alyeska “Townies” instead of
associating with the “new hires”, so he was something special to someone. But
it was too early to gain any sense of “nepotism” within Alyeska. OK, it is
called “brown-nosing”. I stayed away from my room, nauseated being a roommate
with a “bigot” and spent most of my time in the training facility in efforts to
get all the tasks completed. So I had an excuse for no sleep, likewise many of
the other “new hires” burning that midnight oil to get ahead. And with all the
mid-night sunshine, sleep? For real, I didn’t have two-cents to waste for this
guy Mr. C, please don’t try to be my friend.
Low and behold, on the going
home day when Will called order the time for those in training to be awarded
that “Pipeline Technician Training Certificate”, sure enough Mr. C was there to
receive his meritless certificate - which was concerning as he was somewhat of
a no-show for the entire week during the “Training Classes”, yet still showing
up at night to sleep and getting his diploma? How in hell did this guy deserve
what the rest of us had labored over in dedication the past week? Instead of investing time in the “Training”, he
was hanging out with the roads and pads crew, driving up and down the line and
for the most part, a no-show. He contributed “zero” as a class member. And he
was the only guy that had permission to leave the site, through the “Security
Check-point” so something stunk! See, he was my assigned partner, and that supposedly
meant investing time with effort and talent from both sides of the equation to
get through all of the “Basic Training” modules - that team effort. So rather perplexing,
that this guy Mr. C was still part of the organization and soon to be out on
the pipeline. I went it alone through that rigorous training program, not
bragging just stating a fact there appeared to be some preferential treatment
going on within the Alyeska management rank and file for this one individual -
who you know ring a bell? For real, after learning all about “Pipeline Basics 101”,
I left that “Training” in realization that “nepotism” may be alive and well within
the Alyeska organization. It happens, but when that “it’s a family affair”
reflects negatively and enhances racial cruelty, that is unacceptable in my
sojourn of life.
And I would one day in 91 -
some 12-years after the fact when a file box of Alyeska’s President Hermiller’s
“Spy” operation documents were found at the dump - find out that my “Basic Training”
records were mysteriously confiscated back in 79, my tests and all required
paper-work proving that “Basic Training” had been completed, well it all
disappeared and management was requiring me to once again attend that “training”
- some 12-years after the fact it was pure bull-crap. So I quit! Come to find
out after Hermiller’s files were “breached”, my training files testifying that
I had attended that “Basic Training” were found, as all my records went associated
to another technician! Hey, we shared the same room in 79, why not share jock
straps! Yes indeed, my files were being used by another pipeline technician. Said
again, there was preferential treatment as there was another rumor that there
was “a van down by the river” outside the Pump Station 5 “Security Gate” that
was a hardy party site, frequented by my AWOL roommate. But by the time those new hires were ordained
as “Pipeline Technicians”, we had come to learn that Mr. C was the son of a
pipeline “bigwig”. It gave the “Nepotism” definition life in a somewhat new
company and that was surely to have an affect on other “equal opportunity” transactions.
Regardless, soon Frank and I
were off to Valdez and we would bind as work associates and family friends while
engaged helping out the I&E Department under Lynn McArthur to maintain the
control systems at the End-of-the-Line. My sentiment following that episode at
Pump Station 5, hope that racial attack on Frank was a “One-Off” experience.
And the more I got to know Frank over the years, he was a gentleman and one
hell of a nice human being and as a technician dependable, same with his wife
and family just good righteous people!
And for years following
while I remained gainfully employed by Alyeska, every time I came in contact
with that Mr. C - who was moving up the ladder due daddy dearest - it nauseated
the hell out of me and I am sure the same sense of regret with others that
deserved a promotion for dedicated service. Many “good people” were side-stepped
for those not deserving, a “nowhere man” mistreatment wherein the actual loosers
became Bragaw Street schmoozers, the now “winners” joining the ranks of a surround
yourself with incompetency mandate. When ass-kissing ladder-climbers felt
threatened, so made damn sure there was no one allowed within their surrounding
domain to ruffle feathers by calling out their inferiority complex. Or if a
troublemaker, just arrange a helicopter ride with Whirlybird Bill! Let me take
this opportunity NOW to clarify something of utmost importance. Alyeska had a
valued workforce, a dedication to the mission. But at the same time, there
existed a “mental mindset” that swallowed away the righteousness of a culture,
wherein “kiss anything that looks like an ass” was the survival instinct. That “ass
kissing” thing, I had an Alyeska supervisor tell me that was how he survived
the Bragaw Street shuffle, wherein “Owner Company” agents would temporarily
fill the 5th Floor Executive rank and file positions, in like an
away from the “real” office vacation. I also had a 5th Floor Bragaw Executive
“Loanee” tell me the Alyeska organization was a joke! So all in all, a
reputable workforce and a dozen bad apples that wined and dined away decency -
culminated by Joe Hazelwood crashing his tanker into Bligh Reef because of “preferential
treatment”! Look, had Alyeska’s management “heeded the warning” a dysfunctional
organization on the rise, that wreck never would have occurred. And a trickle
down in “dysfunction” can only have negative repercussion like side-effects on all
things considered, especially in “diversity”.
Alyeska’s “Equal Opportunity”
romance, at least so in the early days circa 79 through 91! It sounded so good
from the outside, respectful on paper and thus so swell accepted when the Filth
Floor Bragaw’s Town Crier entertained the Peanut Gallery at the Anchorage Rotary
Club luncheons in Anchorage. Wherein without challenge the Alyeska executive cast
could easily advertise the company’s “inner city” program for the less
fortunate. Ok, the company was proud of its minority hire statistics, so found success
with that part of the equation. But that “romance” numbers aren’t everything, well
within the organization there existed systemic “segregation of despair,
prejudice in bias and recognized white man discrimination”. Yes, the same “mindset”
that was boasting that “Best of the Best”
found a convenient ways and means to silence away the existence of a “Jim Crow”
like racial attitude, out-of-sight and out-of-mind through dereliction and no
action taken to stymie this abomination against the righteous standing “people of
different color” or ethnicity. Even when a majority of the “Pipeline People” in
workforce was not victimized by such attacks, but witness to this horror in
dishonor upon our similarly situated fellow workers, which warranted complaints
to the management ranks. Speakeasy? One was quick to learn best remain quiet! Like
Bob Dylan once sang out so loud and clear; “If you're black you might as
well not show up on the street 'less you want to draw the heat”. Now
some ex-Alyeskans busy in retirement with “dumpster diving duty” still burying
the “skeletons” may disagree, I was there and witness to this resurrection
against my fellow black man and already uneasy how the Alaskan Natives would be
treated. At the Alyeska VMT in the early 80s, it was a blatant disregard for
anything that the Martin Luther King Jr. movement marched upon or worthwhile the
advances made during the late 60s to eliminate such disgrace upon our Afro-American
brothers and sisters or any walks of life. In Valdez, no matter how pristine the
surrounding environment looked before the EXXON Valdez wreck, I witnessed this “discrimination”
abuse firsthand and was affiliated with the handful of workers that tried to
terminate this abuse. Yes, to come front and center the stage of attention and stand
up for what was right in efforts to make a difference. With that, some of us
found our careers “Terminated” as Alyeska did engage in that “Shoot the
Messenger” obligation to show who was the “Boss”. The Filth Floor of Bragaw ruled!
Sure there was an “Open Door” policy, but if you complained and there was no
action, best mind your own business as that meant silence was golden don’t
bother pursuing it any further else you will “draw that heat”. “Trust Us” we
will take care of it NOT! The breakdown with Alyeska was not entirely the fault
of the executive branch, it was the “middle management mindset” those trying to
get that feather in that cap with the “Owner Company” boys.
In Valdez, there was Mr. S, a
CRO that would come on shift and accomplish two things of priority. First off
and by 6:05am like clockwork, day-in day-out for 7-consecutive days on shift,
this cantankerous individual would make sure that the “can’t be missed” 4-ft x
3-ft Control Room “Lock-Out/Tag-Out/Out-of-Service” chalk board held promise of
only one all important warning: “No NIGGERS Allowed”, in big bold
white chalk letters he would issue this daily bread “Warning” so anybody
entering the control building could not miss it. And it was the same chalk board
wherein the “LOTO” warnings were supposed to be listed, so you had to see the “N”
warning if involved in any work around the Vapor Recovery facility! It was a
very busy control room area, so on any given day dozens of workers would be
silenced by that “Warning”. I felt so sad and nauseated for a new hire
technician, a black kid that was quickly re-positioned to the powerhouse gang instead
- as this bigotry was understood by Alyeska’s local management. So it was that
quick out-of-sight out-of-mind mentality, wherein “fixing” the root problem
just a suggestion like an Anchorage traffic signal. Gee officer, I tried
to stop but the ice…Then on to killing two-birds with one stoning, as then
Mr. S Bigot would tend to his other priority in duty, purposely readjusting the
controls for the “Thermal Oxidizers” so that bluish-black smoke would be seen
existing the stacks, sometimes accompanied by leaping flames escaping the
confines of the oxidation chambers, indicating improper combustion and
polluting the air with unburned hydrocarbons. Yes, purposely taking the
controls out of the “Automatic Mode” to incite a violation of the “Air Quality
Permit to Operate”. The complication of the controls along with the process did
not allow such human intervention, so it was a blatant disregard of how things were
supposed to work through the Zink design. And the local management was well
aware of this also, as one could not help see there was something wrong with
that cancer causing choke “smoke” out and about the air we were breathing. You
could smell the “inferno’s” afterbirth when in upset mode. The sentiment that
followed around a do-nothing management style with a smile? It was only for
12-hours each day for 7-days and only every-other 5-weeks based on the week-on
week-off shift schedules and alternating night-shift day-shift rotations. See,
at night nobody gave a damn if the “Incinerators” designed to annihilate out-gassing
from the crude-oil storage tanks polluted the air and who cared what Mr. Bigot S
posted on the chalk board when most of us were home with our families. So Mr.
Bigot S would soon have his duties for the day complete, by 6:10am and then go
around the other control rooms and get in everybody else’s business in a loud
mouth disgraceful fashion. For real, every other word out of his mouth like in trying
to prove a point was the “N” word followed by the “F” word, even when
he held the stage in front of the local management. His use of the “N” word was
for a reason, out of the closet was his bigotry out loud and polluting our
wherewithal against such racial abuse. It was allowed, out loud so inaction to
curtail just added fuel to his “racial inferno”. Now many that worked at the Marine
Terminal were from the south, transplants, so maybe this was an accepted habit.
Hear it, see it, but maybe just a big talk no action bigot don’t get excited we
are used to the “N” word. I used that “N” word once when in my New England youth,
I can still remember the taste of soap and how that ruler across the knuckles
by Sister Eileen felt - it hurt! Pain is pain! And what was witnessed in
Valdez, it was a painful experience for most of us. But even though most of the
workers had no time or patience with Mr. Bigot S, he got away with it. And when
some outside workers were on site to perform contract maintenance work, Mr. Bigot
would refuse to issue a permit to a “black” for the area under his control. If
a black guy came in for a permit, Mr. S would direct the worker to that LOTO
chalk board - with the “No Niggers Allowed” warning. The guy was a sicko, yet he continued to
raise havoc and invite and incite a dereliction upon the conviction of a racial
abuse “free” environment - because he knew he could get away with it. It went
on for months!
As the “Lead Instrument
& Electrical Technician”, it was my duty to make sure that the VMT
operations did not harm the environment - with respect to the controls working
properly to abate. So when “black smoke” was seen emanating from the “Oxidizer”
stacks, we understood it was Mr. S back on day-shift and at the helm, yet we
would respond only to be confronted by the Bigot and he would yell to the top
of his lungs that we were all a bunch of “nigger lovers”. I say it again, this
man was sick! Big Jim, a technician with the I&E that grew-up in Alaska, he
wanted so much to take the Bigot out, we all wanted to take the bastard out. But
he held an audience of a few that seemed to condone this behavior in
entertainment at the expense of others, that was the sad side of this abuse. Like
another CRO who went along with Mr. Bigot and would not give out a work permit
until he was finished telling you how he “anal raped” and abused his wife the
night before - who was a “black” woman. This goddamn goof-head once had the
audacity to ask me out loud in earshot of many co-workers if I “anal raped” my
wife, while I was waiting for him to sign over a work permit. Here I was
minding my own business tasked to work and had to put up with this abuse, first
thing in the morning the sun still rising? I asked him to step outside and the
only thing he could do is “yella belly coward” and reach out to Mad Mac “we
have a virgin”, as Mad Mac the “rover operator” went about busily hanging up
pictures of his hemorrhoids - on the same damn utility board we placed pictures
of our kids! Alyeska culture in crisis? We finally got rid of that goof-head sick
cookie, he became an OCC controller - pipeline pigging right up his ally! And
when these monsters got together, the powerhouse lights could be going out but the
priority remained their “racist” mentality intent to get a few words in, which fueled
more hatred - and the local management was right there listening to it, seeing it
and hearing it all! And once and only once when I tried to educate Mr. Bigot
that the reason the “Incinerator” brick work was prematurely failing due to “flame
impingement” based on the way he operated the controls, a very costly mistake, he
would go off on a tangent that the “flames” in the combustion chambers were akin
to burning out the “Niggers”, so the bigger balls of fire the better - the
reason the pollution was violating the permit, it was a racial thing! How do
you explain that to the environmental cops? But what was worse off then that
pollution, the bigotry! Yes indeed, our very own KKK rally flames and all! But
the local management time and time again refused to budge, as they understood Mr.
Bigot was a fire-cracker and was trying to cause hate and discontent so that he
would be terminated, and was already talking about an “age-discrimination”
lawsuit should Alyeska make a move to terminate his employment - so they approached
this problem with kid-glove “kindness”. He was well versed in using the age discrimination
card and demoralizing the race card. It sucked, there was no excuse for the
inaction and just a lame excuse at that, from of trumped up scare of litigation
if they fired the bastard. And besides that, we had the sabotage of the
pollution controls to deal with. We could not control the “bigotry” but were
damn sure that we would not stand for the pollution - as it was the air we
breathed and most of us were raising families in and around Valdez and this was
an abuse we had to stop dead in its tracks. And once again to reiterate, the
local management didn’t seem to care, or cared but went helpless on how to
handle it. This was not a single event, it was NOT another One-Off, it was an
on-going dilemma lasting months on end. And we tried time and time again to
convince the local management about our concerns, with the bigotry and the
pollution. Matter of fact, we boycotted the Bigot and started refusing to
perform maintenance work when he was assigned as the CRO of the “Vapor Recovery
Oxidizers”. Our sentiment, let it pollute, let it burn out the refractory,
maybe it will get someone’s attention. A “refractory job” cost $thousands$, all
because of the way he operated the system, almost routine this re-work. When we
investigated the reason for the premature failure and brought that to the
attention of the Operations management, they balked on trying to accomplish a
fix. Like they had become sympathetic to this Bigot! And when that failed us,
we caught the attention of Bragaw and many hours behind closed doors from
Westerheid to Boling to Nelson to Henman to Witten - yes the Filth Floor Bragaw
executives. But for some reason, even though they listened to our concerns it
was the same old song and dance, nothing ever came down the “pipe” to fix this
systemic atrocity. Look, maybe it was one bad apple, maybe two bad apples, but real
“bad apples”! And try to get HR
involved, what a joke as they were afraid to confront this problem head-on! And
the local HR person could not do a damn thing without permission from Bragaw. And
one thing I would come to learn with Alyeska’s HR, it was a department that
consisted of the “token” minorities, it looked good but had no teeth when it
came to issues that needed intervention and relief. Yes, that “ass kissing”
mentality leave well enough alone pass the blame around.
But we didn’t give up, as
this was not anything close to the “Best of the Best” and after we exhausted the
wherewithal of that “Open Door”, we were ready to go to war over it. See, with
the pollution thing we had devised a ways and means to not allow the control
systems to be placed in “manual”, not without a “LOTO” which would require a
supervisor’s key. And if things broke while the Bigot was the on-shift CRO, we
refused to work on the control systems until he was gone for the day. We would
have rather worked past-the-clock on overtime then put up with his racial
slurs. But when my boss McArthur suggested this option for a “LOTO” key to
place the controls in “Manual”, we were turned down! Just when we thought we
were making headway on all fronts, in realization the Alyeska management was neutered
over such concerns, a new supervisor had been transferred from the pipeline.
The guy was a reject from the pipeline and was quick to realize that the way
the “Bigot” operated the “Ox”, it saved fuel - as when you pollute it takes
less energy to annihilate the “vapors” and this new kid on the block saw it as
a feather in his cap for the Bragaw Street mentality - the same mentality that
was allowing Mr. Bigot S to disgrace others of race by the blatant disregard his
racist’s attitude part of the job and use of the “N” word more bountiful then a
Valdez snowfall. So here we were trying to be the “Best of the Best” and beat-up.
And at the same time enough on our plate, we were dealing with the fact that
somebody in the Valdez organization - maybe it was from town - in their “inferior
wisdom” thought the I&E technicians were also cab drivers, as with pickup
trucks at our disposal we were being called all too often to haul drunk tanker crewmen
back and forth up and down the berth “gang-ways”. See, the Town Crier “taxi”
was not allowed on the “gangway”, so we would get the call from the Alyeska
Marine head and the bed of the PU would soon be filled with “drunks” returning back
to the Marine Terminal from the Pipeline Club in town, un-able bodied seamen hauled
to the dockside tanker and carried back onboard for a sober-up trip home. After
a while, as it was interfering with my job duties, I refused to abide by the
calls to assist I wasn’t your damn chauffeur, which pissed Larry off. They were freak’n drunks, pissing here to there
and everywhere and sometimes leaving puke trails along the causeways. And one
day down at Berth 5, due my refusal, I was in a verbal confrontation with a bunch
of returning inebriated sailors that were having a hard time navigate that
bridge to their tanker, but I had my Rigid and drove the bastards away! At this
point in time, maybe it was time to break some knuckles as it was getting
dangerous and a plot to get rid of the Bigot was still fresh in our minds - I
am talking a growing call for a physical assault. Some thought it best we find
a way to trip the Bigot on the ice, and he never wore a hardhat as was
required, maybe let him freeze to death underneath a burner deck of the “Incinerators”
- no great loss! Yes, we were getting angry and more and more talk of taking it
onto our own hands - you don’t mess with a rigid! We were getting desperate and
the “Management” was not listening to the sounds of a disaster on the horizon! From
“bigotry” to premeditated pollution to drunks getting behind the helm of those
fully laden tankers - it all adds up to one thing “destruction”.
So one day we devised a plan
of attack, as we were not about to give up - and looking for a way to get
outside help involved - as that appeared to be the only thing that would give
Uncle Al a “blackeye” and then the shat would hit the fan and then maybe action
taken upon our concerns. We thought, with respect to the Mr. Bigot purposely
polluting the air and the new PV supervisor going along with it because it
saved “Topping Unit” fuel deliveries, why not call the local DEC environment
cop and have him get involved. What puzzled us, from the town of Valdez and
against the snow-covered backdrop, it was very easy to see the pollution with a
trained eye but never once did Alyeska fall under any investigative suspicion
with a proposed “fine” - like nobody from the local oversight dispatch was
watching. So we waited for Mr. Bigot to come on shift and when the “Thermal Oxidizers”
had been configured into “manual” and disgusting unburned hydrocarbons were
once again making my kids sick, we called the cops and filed a complaint. And
received a quick response. Now the “John Zink Thermal Oxidizers” were referred
to as the “Incinerators”. So I get a call from McArthur that the local DEC cop
is schedule to show up and I was to meet him down at the Dayville Road Security
Gate and provide him an escort. Now Dan the cop shows up and it appeared he was
being bothered having to go out of his way away from his cushion job in town,
not by what we had complained about but the fact he had to show up with his
badge and maybe do some work for a change. Like already mentioned, he was a
no-show around the “Terminal” and this place was operated by “permits” in his preview.
Look, it was another episode in “don’t draw he heat”. So we started up the hill
to the “Ox” and one could easily see that Mr. Bigot was having a great day
raising havoc with the controls and really polluting the environment. But before
we could get to the control room, before we had arrived at the parking lot, the
DEC cop says he thought we were talking about the “Incinerator” used to burn
oily rags, not the “Oxidizers”. And before you know it, we are retreating back
to the Security Gate as this “permitted device” was out of this DEC cop’s jurisdiction
and that he would turn it over to someone in Anchorage. That said, we never
once heard any follow-up of the complaint. So the bigotry continued, the pollution
continued because it was saving Alyeska in fuel costs and with increased throughout
and tanker traffic, we were spending a whole lot of time as taxi drivers for
crews heading to town and coming back cock-eyed drunk. See, when we started to
refuse to be “taxi” drivers, we were told that it was an issue of safety, that
the tanker crews could not walk the “gangways” and thus the reason the I&E
was called to assist. OK, they were stumbling drunks and could fall overboard while
walking that gangway, especially if needing to take a piss - not my problem! That
is when we realized that the Alyeska local management along with the Filth
Floor Bragaw executive management did not give a rat’s ass upon our concerns.
What to do next? That is
when our only hope to rid the VMT of a “mindset” behavior destructive in both
bigotry, pollution and drunk tanker crews, it meant we had to “Unionize”. All
else had failed and we realized what it meant to “Go Union”. Look, the job paid
well with great benefits and the time off allowed for family time and outside activities
away from the maddening crowds - so why ruin a good thing? That was the
problem, it was a good gig - so it was challenging to say the least in respect
our own wellbeing was it best to remain on the quiet side, let bygones be bygones?
Not this guy and I was soon labeled by Alyeska’s HR “SPY” network as a “Vocal
Union Supporter”. And when we decided to get help with organized labor, we also
realized that Alyeska with backup from the “Big Oil” players would attack our
desires head-on. And that is when we became victims of our own dedication upon demonstrable
concerns, as the “Shoot the Messenger” was and remained the George Nelson way
of life. A carry-over that would kill our efforts to right a wrong. Regardless,
it was the right thing to do, the “Union”! Yes, it was the Danny Greene coming
out in me, as I was an “Irishman”, the “Fighting Irish” my heritage.
With that, instead of
addressing the problems at hand that promoted an interest in “organized labor
representation”, the Alyeska management spent time and effort breaking up the
so-called troublemakers and many “snitches” made a comfortable living with this
“mindset” and guess what? Joe Hazelwood became famous because when you have a “Shoot
the Messenger” approval from the Filth Floor of Bragaw, the bigotry and
prejudice and pollution is what their “Best of the Best” is all about, in an “Image”
fake the reality of underlying problems - big problems. Like the Bigotry, the binge
drinking by the tanker crews was so well known! For myself, I could no longer
stand working for a “Bigot” company, a polluting company a company that thought
it cute that a tanker captain could get away with drinking on the job and a DEC
patrol that was grounded. And if you ever visited the Control Room of the “Oxidizers”
when Mr. Bigot was the CRO and turned the corner to see that “NO NIGGERS
ALLOWED” a Warning of a “mental mindset” sick, in the 80s, because it was
allowed we were all guilty of this even though we tried to eliminate it - this
is what the Filth Floor of Bragaw was all about. And here is one for the comic
books. How about the kid of a Valdez manager wearing a KKK costume at the
Alyeska sanctioned Halloween Party in Valdez? Oh, it was cute and harmless kids
will be kids?
In the end, our only hope
was to have a “Union” represent us wherein our complaints, our concerns would
have teeth in some semblance of a resolution. See, had we been successful in
that “Union”, it would have easily consumed the operations also - and that Mr.
Bigot S would have been immediately “terminated”. Gone would be his Bigotry and
his pollution - how Simple Simon a solution. With a “Union”, within 24-hours of signing
over our right to be “represented”, that Mr. Bigot and his cohorts in crime “terminated”
and “drunk tanker” crews thrown in jail. It meant WAR and Alyeska responded
with everything in its legal arsenal - including spying on the rebel rousers - to
STOP the Union drive. The plan of attack was to STOP the drive dead in
its tracks in Valdez, as if this “Union” went successful for a small faction -
the Instrument & Electrical technicians - it would be but a matter of time
that “concerted activity to be represented” would spread like “wildfire”, up
the pipeline and even taking over the Prudhoe Bay oil fields. The battle was on!
And for the “Bigotry” that won…because fighting the “Union” was above all other
matters including Alyeska’s “Homegrown” version of “segregation of despair,
prejudice in bias and recognized white man discrimination”…Alyeska;
Here
comes the story of the Hurricane
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game
That's
the story of the Hurricane(B. Dylan the Hurricane)
~ To Be Continued ~
