The Forger's Fire

The union and the company have negotiated an agreement. We aren’t out of the woods yet, but it’s nice, at least for me, to see both sides talking and agreeing on something.

The company wanted a fifteen day extension to the contract really bad. We weren’t going to give it to them. The company is not ready for a strike. They don’t have what they call a contingency force ready yet to take over in the event of a strike. You have to understand that this is national security. If we strike, the plant still must be protected. So, what the company does is send out an “all call” to other DOE sites across the country hoping they will send extra security officers they can spare, to make up part of the contingency. Well, I guess they haven’t gotten much of a response this time. Probably because everyone is already taxed trying to meet post 9/11 standards.

So you can see that we had pretty good leverage. Giving them fifteen days was basically almost giving them everything. But, we gave it to them. In exchange we got, what I would call a pretty decent pay raise. Also, they agreed to change the wording of our official job category. I wasn’t aware of this, but for ever we have been officially described as “unskilled labor”! This is unbelievable to me. It’s not like they hand me a shovel and ask me to dig a ditch! I have more qualifications to keep up than most people out there. Everything from pistol, rifle, hand to hand combat, first aid, CPR, to working in radiological environments, and wearing a gas mask. That isn’t even the half of it. So, I am glad to see that we are now described as “skilled workers” which will justify more pay down the road.

A lot of security guys - guys who’ve been there for twenty years - are ticked off at our union for giving in. I think these guys don’t realize that this is how things are done. Both sides must give a little. That’s why it’s a negotiation instead of a gang rape. Who wants to see a strike? Anyway, I hope this is the end of all the talk of striking. Who knows though. A lot can still happen by the 30th.

Thought of the day:

I was just thinking the other day about that old commercial for the USMC. (Marines) It starts out showing a black smith hammering away on a red hot lump of metal. Huge molten sparks fly through the air as the hammer smashes away. A voice comes over, saying something like; “ You begin with raw steel. You shape it. You form it “. At this point you can see the steel taking on the shape of a sword. The voice continues on about the pounding required to form this sword. The transition from fire to water over and over, and the constant smashing of the hammer. At the end you see a Marine Corps officer holding the sword, and the voice tells us how it’s now polished to a fine perfection, and razor sharp.

I have always loved this analogy. I like to think that we are “raw lumps of steel”. If we are to realize our true potential, and become what we were meant to be, we have to endure a certain amount of time in the forger’s fire, and put up with his constant pounding. It is life’s trials and difficulties that shapes us and makes us stronger. Personally I take it further, and like to imagine God as the forger. We don’t often see the reasoning or purpose for our hardships or difficulties in life. Perhaps, we are being forged. Perhaps we are being polished and prepared for greater things to come. Perhaps, this particular moment in our life that we find so hard, is just exactly what we need. The difference between real steel and us, is we have a choice on how we will react and respond to the forger’s attempts at shaping us. I like to hope that some day I will be that razor sharp, finely polished sword. But, I am kind of afraid of the process.