For 5 years I worked on the Gravure presses, a lot of blood, mostly sweat and tears. When I left I was pressman, the coveted twenty dollar an hour job. Only making 15.50 an hour, still all of the headaches and responsibilities. Took all of the "classes" that I was suppose to, all of the "specialized" training, to no avail. Mgmt, is nothing but a hassle. Not matter how good you did, or do, it will never be good enough. Some of the people hired off of the street were completely incompetent, and you constantly either had to retrain, or explain something. Most of the time it was easier just to do it yourself. Not to mention you had to watch your back because they had a tendency to do things to get themselves hurt, or more importantly hurt you. Working conditions were unbearable, hot and humid press rooms often led to what probably could be considered jungle rot. The purposeful bypassing of safety interlocks on moving machinery was incredible, how they were never fined by OSHA is beyond me. No lunch breaks for press crews, had to fight tooth and nail to even get a chair to sit on to check emails. Pay raises were beyond pathetic, especially for the amount of knowledge and skill needed to run a press. Dusty, dirty, loud surroundings, on top of the heat and sweat usually meant you were covered in paper dust and grease. Finally, toluene. Toluene flows like water, and you are given chemical gloves for everyone to share, yes PPE (personal protective equipment) to share with other employees. Put your hand in a glove filled with some other humans sweat. What's not to like?
