Posted on 05/03/2006 10:56:25 PM PDT by Lurker
— Explosion report backfires for tired refinery worker. Instead of calling off of work, a tired, apparently overworked ExxonMobil worker called the police and claimed the plant at which he worked had blown up, police said. Lacey Richards, 33, was arrested on a felony charge of making a false fire alarm call. Richards, a forklift driver, was working a 12 hour shift and was "getting tired," and decided to call 911 on his cellular telephone and tell them there was an explosion at the plant.
Dispatchers traced his cell phone number, called the plant, and discovered he was scheduled to be working at the plant that supposedly had blown up.
Richards admitted he called in the phony explosion in hopes of going home early.
Somebody that dumb should probably find other work anyway...
Exxon profits skyrocket amid high gas prices. Model employees like this must be responsible for this.
No exit interview for you!
Amazing that he could even figure out the intricacies of cellular technology
Oh well. I'll bet he makes lots of new friends while he waits for someone to bail him out on the felony charge. It's a darn shame he may lose his membership in MENSA for this.
L
My brother has been working nonstop Seven 12's for months now. He actually moved my mom's camper close to the jobsite so he wouldn't have to waste time commuting. He is a pipefitter. Although he is making money hand over fist with overtime, he wanted to take a vacation in Feb, and they wouldn't let him, because he had just taken a week off the previous September.
For those of you who don't know, these guys are working 7 12's. That is 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. I would like to know how well you would hold up after just 2 weeks, let alone months like that. They are working their butts off trying to get the refineries back on line so we can all have cheap gas. I appreciate them. I have a lot of family that are 'oilfield trash'. Helping keep the Sportute Girl driving.
I don't ask and I don't request. I tell them when I'm going and then I go.
If I'm entitled to 2 weeks a year, then by God I'm taking two weeks and I don't really care who has a problem with it. I'd tell your brother that he's ceding entirely too much power over his life to other people.
It sounds like he's a very valuable employee. If they want him to stay, they'll let him take his time. At least where I work they can't really say no as our vacation time can't be carried over until the next year. It's a 'use it or lose it' policy.
Sick days can be banked pretty much forever, but vacation time has to be taken in the year it's earned.
I hope your bro gets a break. It sounds like he could use one.
L
Tell that slug he just had a vacation. My Durango needs gas that's less than 2.75 a gallon.
Geez, some people. Give 'em a week and they want the other one...
L
"I would like to know how well you would hold up after just 2 weeks, let alone months like that."
Fine...and I would be laughing all the way....
I work more than 12 hours a day 7 days a week.
I've been doing so for more than 2 years now with few breaks.
It is incredibly stupid (or simple insanity?) to call 911 and say the local oil refiner blew up - to avoid going to work. Even the dimmest of thinking can conclude what is going to happen as a result.
But he did succeed at not going to work...
He's going to have long vacation at club fed now...
If they got him working 7/12, that means they don't have enough pipefitters in the area. Which means he could call up another refinery, ask to start with them in a month, hand in 2 weeks notice where he is, then take 2 weeks off between jobs.
Alternately, as another poster suggested, just tell them "I've had enough. I'm going to be missing for two weeks in a week. Deal with it".
OTOH, all the overtime pay has got to be good money, especially since he's too busy to spend it. Years ago, I was working similar hours on a hot project for months. All the extra pay turned into a hefty down payment on my first house
" call 911 on his cellular telephone"
He is that dumb and drives a forklift at a refinery?
Lucky that he hadn't caused a real explosion earlier.
"Hey doood, they can trace your cell number when you call. No waaaaay."
Remember this guy the next time you are working around a forklift and you want to assume the driver is smart enough to check and see if there is somebody in his way...
7/12s! Gimme gimme! Money in the bank with no time to spend it! We'll all be rich by Memorial Day!
I agree this was a stupid act, but he may have been a bit loopy from lack of sleep.
Hey, SUVs don't grow on trees, you know!
It also sounds like he's just a tad more responsible than the guy who phoned in the fake explosion. He knows he's needed, and he thinks beyond himself when it comes to his job. That's a rarity these days. God bless him and the others who are putting in the long, hard hours.
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