As The Toilet Turns
Tahoma School District Custodial Staff Newsletter
April 1, 2005—Volume 3, Issue 10
Years ago, the collar became a symbol of
designation indicating to which class or group
a working person might belong. The terms
white-collar or blue-collar conjure up images
of individuals working either in office jobs or
those working manual labor. For example, a
white-collar worker is defined as “belonging
or pertaining to the ranks of office and professional workers whose jobs generally do not
involve manual labor or the wearing of a uniform or work clothes.” On the other hand, a
blue-collar worker pertains to “wage-earning
workers who wear work clothes or other specialized clothing on the job, as mechanics,
longshoremen, and miners.”
Historically, the “blue” in blue-collar goes
clear back to colonial England when countrymen were forced to work on indigo planta-
tions. Two or three people would get inside
vats filled with indigo plants and paddle the
water continuously for two or three days until
the “blue” rose to the top. The water was then
drained and the “blue” was made into cakes.
According to the website chennaioline.com,
“It is believed that the term "blue collar"
worker is derived from the indigo workers,
who used to wear the cheap blue cloth.”
However, these collar designations go far
beyond just white and blue.
Take, for instance, pink-collar workers.
These are women who work in such occupations as clerical, sales and service jobs. One
reference work stated that “pink collar workers have, on average, more years of education
than their male counter-parts in blue collar
jobs but make considerably less money.” Or
Science Corner
Foam Go Home!
There’s nothing more frustrating than being right in the
middle of a cleaning job when suddenly the extractor or wetvac motor begins to run at a higher RPM because the tank is full. Upon opening
the lid, you find not a full tank of waste water, but a tank full of foam. You forgot to put defoamer into your waste tank.
Technically, there are two terms used to describe minimizing or eliminating
foam byproducts. One is an anti-foam agent which prevents foam and the other is
a defoamer which kills foam. These tasks can be accomplished by mechanical or
chemical means. Most often, the chemical means is more cost effective and the
simplest to use.
Defoamers are typically constructed using chemicals such as silicone, modified siloxane, ester, poly alkylene glycols (PAG’s), mineral oils, alcohols or a
combination of these. According to the Paint and Coatings Industry website, “the
efficiency of anti-foaming agents depends on their ability to spread themselves
throughout the media and the ability to penetrate into the foam.” By breaking
down surface tension and penetrating the foam producing chemical, foam can be
prevented or eliminated. Foam is simply “a stable dispersion of a gas in a liquid
or solid phase.” Noteworthy too is the fact that “pure liquids don't form foam.
The entrapped air will be released spontaneously as a result of differences in
specific gravity (Stokes Law). In the presence of surface active agents, air dispersions will be stabilized.” Thus, anti-foam agents and defoamers are formulated to
keep foam at bay.
So, the next time you find yourself facing a tank full of foam, take a few minutes to add some defoaming agent to make your job easier.
For a fascinating discussion of defoamers see the following website:
http://www.pcimag.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/BNP__Features__Item/0,1846,60599,00.html
See also: http://www.alfa-chemicals.co.uk/speciality_chemicals/defoamers.htm
how about grey-collar workers. These refer to
those “who master high technologies and can
apply their skills in a work environment.”
Then there are rainbow-collar workers. This
designation refers to two possible meanings.
One, “being or of an employee who combines
work or experience on the assembly line with
more technical or administrative duties; having both blue-collar and white-collar duties or
experience” or two, “being, of, or for a factory
worker supplanted by automated equipment
and retrained for technical or administrative
duties.” But the designations don’t end there.
Consider new-collar workers. These pertain
to or designate middle-class wage earners who
hold jobs in the service industry. And then
there are steel-collar workers, robots who are
(Continued on page two)
Page Two Morsels
Extra: continued
Collar: continued
A Test for Dementia
Scrambled Tools
Clever Business Signs—Installment
Two
Hey Look!
Move clocks ahead April 3.
Spring Break—April
11-15
Paid Holiday—April 15
Something Extra!
Where Did the Eight -Hour Work Day Come
From?
“Eight hours for work, eight hours for rest and eight hours for what
you will.” This was a slogan of the Eight-Hour Day Movement in the
late 1800’s. May 1, 1886 was the deadline that unions and other
worker organizations had set for a general strike for eight-hour work
days. Today, most of the world celebrates May 1st, or May Day as a
day relieved of labor. In the United States and Canada, that day is the
first Monday of September known as Labor Day.
Eventually, eight-hour work days became a reality. In 1898, the
Union of Mine Workers succeeded in having an 8-hour workday
established for the US mining sector. In the early 1900’s around the
end of WWI, other countries began to adopt the 8-hour workday.
Germany and Sweden in 1918, Norway, Austria and Belgium in 1919
and the Netherlands in 1921. On June 19, 1912, “Congress granted
federal employees the eight-hour day. Under the New Deal, in 1938,
this right was extended to all American workers, and the normal work
week became five eight-hour days, with extra pay-“time-and-a-half”-(Continued on page two)
As The Toilet Turns
April 1, 2005—Page Two
(Collar Colors Continued)
used in place of human workers to perform various jobs or
tasks.
Interestingly, in an August 31, 1995 article on workers, U.S.
Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich referred to both blue-collar
workers and white-collar workers as “frayed-collar” workers
because of their economic situations in a time when the economy may be booming but the actual take home pay of most
people is slowly dwindling.
Although most of our staff in the Tahoma School District
are categorized as blue-collar, it’s still interesting to note the
wide variation in collar color designations. Whether blue,
pink, white, grey or otherwise, the collar color label will probably be around for a long time to come.
References
http://english.people.com.cn/200412/21/eng20041221_168119.html
http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/women/html/
wm_028700_pinkcollargh.htm
http://www.dol.gov/asp/programs/history/reich/speeches/sp950831.htm
Awake! 1982 1/22 pp. 3-4 - Freedom from Drudgery
http://www.infoplease.com/search?fr=iptn&query=steel+collar&in=all
Following are four questions and a bonus question. You must
answer them instantly. DO NOT TAKE YOUR TIME! DO
NOT CHEAT. Look at the answer only as soon as you have one
in your head. Ready? Go!
1.
A. If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely
wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his
place, you are second.
2.
Although this goal was finally reached, many today work more than
40 hours. Some are compensated for their time, others are not. Thankfully, the contract that the Tahoma School District has in place compensates hourly employees for anything over 40 hours. They are also
provided paid vacations, although the mandatory four to six weeks of
vacation throughout Europe does make them envious.
3.
Having difficulties? Try this. It’s a tricky math question. Do
this only in your head. No calculator. Take 1000 and add 40 to
it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000.
Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10. What is the
total?
A. Did you get 5000? The correct answer is 4100. Don’t believe
it? Try it with a calculator. It seems this is not your day.
Maybe you’ll get the last question right.
4.
Mary’s father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4.
Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?
A. Nunu? NO! Of course not. Her name is Mary. Read the question again.
5.
Overall, the eight-hour work day is much appreciated. Those who
fought for changes in the past were the forerunners of our work weeks
today. On occasions, when more than 40 hours in a week must be
worked, think back to the time when 100 or more hours a week was
common, and you’ll appreciate even more the monetary compensation
provided today that makes the extra time spent working worth it!
Okay. Try not to mess this one up. If you overtake the last person, then you are…?
A. If you answered that you are second to the last, the you are
wrong again! How can you overtake the LAST person?
(Extra continued)
when the employer required more than 40 hours.” Today, two countries, France and Germany, have both instituted a 35 hour work week.
You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?
Now the bonus round. There is a mute person who wants to
buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing one’s
teeth he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and
the purchase is done. Now if there is a blind man who wishes to
buy a pair of sunglasses, how should he express himself?
A. He just has to open his mouth and ask. So simple.
References:
http://www.zum.de/whkmla/period/betwwar/8hourday.html
http://www.pbs.org/livelyhood/workday/weekend/8hourday.html
http://www.labornotes.org/archives/2002/08/f.html
Scrambled Tools
Can you unscramble these commonly used maintenance tools?
Look for the answers in the May issue.
So, how do you feel? Demented?
Clever Business Signs—Installment Two
Pizza Shop Slogan— “ 7 days without pizza makes
mahrem
wrcvsedrri
lpeisr
hwenrc
ldlir
llvee
asw
mtpeeeausr (2 words)
lnia
kcoets
ttchaer
shlcei
ptea
nntccuheerp (2 words)
one weak. ”
On a Plastic Surgeon ’ s Office Door— “ Hello-Can we
pick your nose?”
On a Maternity Door— “ Push. Push. Push. ”
On an Electrician ’ s truck— “ L et us remove your shorts. ”
At an Optometrist ’ s Office— “ I f you don ’ t see what you ’ r e looking
for, you ’ ve come to the right place. ”