All of the coal is in huge piles on the plant property and needs to be moved year-round. This, of course, means that there are people who work on the coal piles--the coal handlers. Needless to say, they get pretty dirty while doing their jobs, so they are in no way concerned about what their clothing looks like when they go to work. These guys would wear the crummiest things they could find and then throw the clothing away when it got too dirty to wash. And they were fine with that. But several years ago, the company decided that the clothing that the guys were wearing was little more than rags--which it was--and they were ordered to start wearing something a bit more 'appropriate.' As you can imagine, this didn't sit well with the coal handlers, but they decided to comply with the company's wishes. All of the guys went to the local Goodwell and bought themselves new work clothes:
Yup, the guys bought leisure suits in every pastel color they could find--and wore them while working on the coal piles. The powers-that-be weren't very amused, but all of the other guys working at the plant definitely found it hilarious. :D
I don't believe there ever was anything said about what the coal handlers wore, again.
wow! hope someone thought to take photos of the fashion parade!
ReplyDeleteI'd think that they'd get coveralls and that a laundry service would take care of the washing.
I really don't know if anyone took pictures. And, of course, this all happened several years ago, so no one was thinking about it as much as people do today with Facebook, etc, out there to accept all pictures.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason or another--probably cost--the company doesn't provide laundry service. I guess letting the guys do their own laundry on company time is cheaper for them in the long run. Also, if they provided coveralls, the coveralls would probably find their way off the property in lunch boxes and back packs--company items seem to 'go missing' a lot at the plant.
Right before I moved to Florida, I worked at a coal mine loading coal cars for the railroad there. Unfortunately, We didn't have the luxury of a wash facility at work... I'd have to get home and strip before I even entered the house and put my clothes in a plastic bag before I could take them to the Laudromat...
ReplyDeleteI love Your blog !^_^
ReplyDeletethat is the funniest thing I have seen in a while. I bet those boys looked snap. wonder where you can get steel toed white bucks? hott.
ReplyDeleteTom: I have been SO grateful that the washers/dryers have been at the plant. The local iron mine workers don't have the same benefit and they ALL have to have separate washers for their work clothes. Really don't need THAT added expense!
ReplyDeleteEmanoVa: Why, thank you! Glad you stopped by and I hope you continue to enjoy. :)
kristi: Dang, but no one said a thing about the white bucks--now THAT would have been a fashion statement!
Ahahahhaha! Ahahahahah! OMFG, that is hilarious!!
ReplyDeleteI can just imagine a bunch of burly guys, on the coal pile or driving a bulldozer, wearing pink, green, yellow leisure suits. And I can understand why it pissed off the powers-that-be so much. :D
ReplyDelete