Two cultures, two communities at BP plant

[NoPasaran]

TEXAS CITY - Sonny Sanders wouldn't be goaded into an evaluation of contract workers late last week — not with the dead not yet buried, not with the families of the dead too grief-stricken to begin asking what happened.

Whatever happened at the BP oil refinery last week happened mostly to contract workers.

A handful of the 100 people injured were employees of BP and members in good standing of the union Sanders has led for more than a dozen years. All 15 of the dead — three of whom were buried Monday — were working for BP under contract.

And for all the sympathy expressed by company officials from British head Lord John Browne down, the BP employee on the line sees contract workers as somehow something less than full partners in the success of the refinery, objects of suspicion and derision.

-more-

http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/stories/03/29texascity.html

[suziedemocrat]

1. I'm a contract computer programmer.

For some reason employees treat me like scum until I prove myself - and then it's like - "Oh well - you're one of the few good ones." Pisses me off. I also work with foreign workers with temporary work permits - and the employees are usually much more respectful to the foreign workers without even a green card than they are to domestic contractors. They go on and on about how we make more $ an hour - but we pay our own benefits and retirement and usually have long periods of unemployment - so it evens out in the end. They also act like we have no desire to do a good job because we won't be there very long - but IMO contracts usually have a very good work ethic. We depend on our references to stay employed. Contractors get the worst seating arrangements, the worst assignments, etc. Contractors are very under-rated IMO.