# Drinking on the job,do you allow it?



## avalancher (Apr 5, 2010)

I happened to lend a hand last week to a tree company, they give me a shout when they are shorthanded and I have some time.
With the warm weather here already, I was surprised at how much suds these guys put away at lunch time.By 3pm these guys were pretty slogged.

I counted no less than 20 bottles in the chip truck when I went to dump the thing.And there were only 4 guys there including me!

Now, I dont mean to step on any toes,if you allow drinking on the job then that is your business,but I know with my luck if I did tip back a few on my jobs OSHA would show up sure as shootin.Im not against slamming a few down after the day is over,but do any of you allow any beer on the job during working hours?

The thing that really puzzled me,these guys are pretty proffesional in everything else.owner mandates clean clothes,no tears or rips in your clothes if working in a residental setting.Trucks are washed and kept up,equipement is pretty new stuff and in good repair.Am I just to anal about the "no beer" until the day is over?


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## tree md (Apr 5, 2010)

Absolutely not. If you work with me, no beer and no chemicals on my jobs. I don't know of any profession where drinking is acceptable on the job. Nor do I know of any "professional" that would do so. To much personal risk and liability in what we do to allow it.

I don't care what someone does on their own time. There's a time to work and a time to play.


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## yooper (Apr 5, 2010)

The only time I might have a beer is when I get on my dirt 2track road heading out to my hunting property to dump a load of chips at the very end of the day. I have my wife or dog (as long as she isnt drinking) drive then. Other than that hell no. 
What do the customers think or do they do it pretty secretively?


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## wigglesworth (Apr 5, 2010)

No way would I be around that. That sounds like bad chipper accident waiting to happen.


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## tree MDS (Apr 5, 2010)

This reminds me of my first experiences with treework (partime) in the late 80's. I didn't partake... but them boys weren't right. Coolers full of bud, and doobers were the norm. Bunch of crazy bastards. Its no surprise to me that they are long gone really.


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## tree MDS (Apr 5, 2010)

The 80's were over the last time I checked though.


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## rarefish383 (Apr 5, 2010)

First reply NO NO NO. The only exception might be the end of the last job of the day. If the customer brought out 1 beer each then I'd let it, that is 30 years ago. Today being a bit wiser I'd probably tell the customer not to offer, Joe.


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## BuddhaKat (Apr 5, 2010)

No way, no how. It just wouldn't happen on my crew. I always make it a point during a new employee's indoctrination to tell them that if they do drugs on the job, they'll find out they're fired by the cop that's walking through the door to arrest them.


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## Nailsbeats (Apr 5, 2010)

Nope, not on my job.


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## Ljute (Apr 5, 2010)

tree md said:


> I don't know of any profession where drinking is acceptable on the job.



Journalism. Those writers and editors pound down their martinis at lunch!

I was a staff artist so I stuck to beer.


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## avalancher (Apr 5, 2010)

yooper said:


> The only time I might have a beer is when I get on my dirt 2track road heading out to my hunting property to dump a load of chips at the very end of the day. I have my wife or dog (as long as she isnt drinking) drive then. Other than that hell no.
> What do the customers think or do they do it pretty secretively?



We were working on a small 3 acre tract of land, no houses around.How they handle it around homeowners,I have no idea.I have worked around them several times in the past and they were pretty open about drinking at lunchtime,but nothing like the other day.


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## BlueRidgeMark (Apr 5, 2010)

yooper said:


> . I have my wife or dog (*as long as she isnt drinking*) drive then.



Which one, yoop? The wife or the dog?


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## Ljute (Apr 5, 2010)

BlueRidgeMark said:


> Which one, yoop? The wife or the dog?



 The dog's probably a decent driver.


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## yooper (Apr 5, 2010)

the dog, as long as she is sober:greenchainsaw:....when she gets to drunk she ends up holding one paw over her eye when driving and I find it very unsafe.


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## DJ4wd (Apr 5, 2010)

Thats funny lol
Or you pass out ,wake up to find the shock collar on you:jawdrop:


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## lone wolf (Apr 5, 2010)

sure in fact I insist on it .i let them drink water and soda all day long.


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## banshee67 (Apr 5, 2010)

how in the WORLD could you work while drinking alcohol?

i bet these are the types of guys that are totally against smoking pot too.

its usually the hardcore drunks that hate pot smokers and think pot is ruining the world, meanwhile they are too drunk to realize they are... well.. drunk

tree company drinking beer at lunch... that is pathetic, ANYONE who drinks during the day has issues, especially at work. thats too funny about the no ripped clothes, etc. be a stickler about all the #### that doesnt matter, meanwhile get drunk on the job everyday.. sounds like a real winner there.


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## banshee67 (Apr 5, 2010)

BuddhaKat said:


> No way, no how. It just wouldn't happen on my crew. I always make it a point during a new employee's indoctrination to tell them that if they do drugs on the job, they'll find out they're fired by the cop that's walking through the door to arrest them.



nice to see SOMEONE actually considers ALCOHOL a DRUG !!!
tell that to all "against drugs" retards that preach while they are drunk.


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## banshee67 (Apr 5, 2010)

and i think you guys are forgetting one profession where its ok to drink on the clock, and even pay for it out of the project fund. UNION BOYS !

my friend is a pipefitter, he says their little crew of buddies easily raacks up $500 bills down the road at the local bar every lunch break, their hour lunch break regularly turns into 2-3 hours, and the foreman usually pays for it with the company project credit card. he didnt realize untill we explained to him, that tax payers money pays for most of the jobs hes worked on in the last 4 years.


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## avalancher (Apr 5, 2010)

Well,I guess its nice to know I aint the only one who frowns on alcohol on the job.I was starting to feel like an ass about it.


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## treemandan (Apr 5, 2010)

tree MDS said:


> The 80's were over the last time I checked though.



yeah but not for you. I know you tune into that " I love the 80's" on VH1


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## treemandan (Apr 5, 2010)

avalancher said:


> Well,I guess its nice to know I aint the only one who frowns on alcohol on the job.I was starting to feel like an ass about it.



Really? You feel like an ass for being the only sober guy on a crew that is supposedly doing life endangering work? Get the hell out of there and don't worry about it. When you drink a few beers how do you feel? Well those guys feel the same way; DRUNK!


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## Walt41 (Apr 5, 2010)

One accident and the whole thing is in the crapper, I personally think the foreman/owner needs his head examined. Wonder what his insurance carrier would think of it...


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## treemandan (Apr 5, 2010)

avalancher said:


> I happened to lend a hand last week to a tree company, they give me a shout when they are shorthanded and I have some time.
> With the warm weather here already, I was surprised at how much suds these guys put away at lunch time.By 3pm these guys were pretty slogged.
> 
> I counted no less than 20 bottles in the chip truck when I went to dump the thing.And there were only 4 guys there including me!
> ...



Man those guys sound like they have worked up quite a tolerance for beer. It amazing. What if one of those cans falls out in the drive of a client?


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## tree md (Apr 5, 2010)

We will stop and throw some beer in the cooler before we get out of town. We will usually pop a top once we have made our dump but from that point it is a 2 mile ride home on the back road. I guess they could get me for open container but I live in the backwoods of Oklahoma... Not many Johnny Laws out this way. 

I used to take a beer if a customer offered but turn it down now. Wouldn't want to get pulled over hauling a load with beer on my breath. Just not worth the risk...

That was back in the good old days though, haven't had a beer in three weeks now... And it SUCKS!!!


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## IcePick (Apr 5, 2010)

When I was younger, I use to do side work with some buddies who would tell me to meet them at the shop at 6:00 am SHARP!

I'd show up and sure enough, like I thought, they already had the beer cracked open. 

Most days we would spend the day driving around in the chip truck, going to jobs and then making excuses not to do the job! "oh, that car is parked way too close to the tree, we can't do this, lets go to the bar and wait for that person to move the car." 

Man, working with those guys was absurd. I can recall one week where I was in the negative. I showed up for work every morning, didn't make more than $100, but ended up spending around $500 at the bar that week. (yeah, I was no better than they were)


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## NCTREE (Apr 5, 2010)

Never been one to drink on the job. I did spend most of my free time and money in the bars at one time. Lots of times I was to hung over to work so I drank more. It's a sorry way to live your life.


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## banshee67 (Apr 5, 2010)

tree md said:


> We will usually pop a top once we have made our dump but from that point it is a 2 mile ride home on the back road.



first i must say i live in new jersey, so compared to you, my outlook on most things are TOTALLY different, especially matters involving police ( we have one every mile , hiding)

i have to ask.. why cant you just wait till you drive those 2 miles back to your lot/house or wherever u you park and THEN pop some open?
its none of my business but it seems like that 2 miles is a short distance to wait for what could be a load of tickets and/or arrest over something like a bottle of beer? just wait the 2 miles then drink the first beer twice as fast when you get home, no?


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## logging22 (Apr 5, 2010)

Logging and drinking? Just dont work. Most days im lucky not to get killed not drinking. Couldnt imagine trying to log while drunk. Guess those fellas are just special. And really dumb.


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## tree md (Apr 5, 2010)

banshee67 said:


> first i must say i live in new jersey, so compared to you, my outlook on most things are TOTALLY different.
> 
> i have to ask.. why cant you just wait till you drive those 2 miles back to your lot/house or wherever u you park and THEN pop some open?
> its none of my business but it seems like that 2 miles is a short distance to wait for what could be a load of tickets and/or arrest , if you lived out here at least



Old habits. I am actually old enough to remember when you could legally ride around with a beer between your legs as long as you were not drunk driving. No justification for doing it now. I suppose I could have never mentioned it. I imagine I could tell you that I never speed either but that would be a lie. Fact is, I am not a perfect person and don't always follow the letter of the law. I doubt many on here do. At least I am honest about it. I don't drive drunk. And if the cops wanted to they could pull over all the working Joes around here and most would have a beer between their legs on the way home... But like I said, not many cops around here.

And to be perfectly honest, the road is the same road that I take into my hunting area. I fish there as well. Our town's chief of police runs cattle on the land we hunt. I see him often at the gate and say hello...with a beer between my legs...I had a local cop stop by the dam where me and my dad was fishing right on the low water dam that the gravel road crosses last year. We had a cooler with some beer in it and had about 4 empties in a plastic bag I was using for garbage. Me and my dad also had one between our legs. The cop asked if the fish were biting and if we had caught anything. We told him no and he said good luck and good bye. That's how it goes in the backwoods of OK. It's also why I prefer to live here and not Jersey.


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## fishercat (Apr 5, 2010)

*no way!*

not on the job.

I rarely drink off the job so it don't matter much to me.

If I saw or smelled it on the job,I'd be packed up and gone!


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## tree md (Apr 5, 2010)

Banshee67,

Just so you know, this is the road and area we are talking about. My dump location is maybe 200 yards from this spot:







Bottom line, drinking on the job is a stupid idea. I don't think anyone in their right mind would say drinking and running a chainsaw is a good idea. Let alone climbing or driving with a heavy load.


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## rarefish383 (Apr 6, 2010)

All this talk about drinking and I just remembered I left my beer on the counter and it's getting warm. I work the night shift and when I got off this morning I went and dug out 4 pine stumps for my friends HOA. I couldn't get my stump grinder to them. When I got home, I pulled one of the last two Fat Dogs out of the frig. Whenever I take my daughter back to school, in Reading Pa, I stop at a steak house micro brewery and get a couple six packs of their special brews. The name of the steak house is Stoudts. I really like their Octoberfest and the one I have now is an Imperial Oatmeal Stout, called Fat Dog. It has a picture of a big old Black Lab on the bottle. I took her back to school before the big snow storm and brought home 2 six packs and I have 1 left now, Joe.


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## treeclimber101 (Apr 6, 2010)

Absolutely , daily suds and sawdust, that makes me a better climber , and the ground guys like to smoke crack in the prisoner cabs when were on our way home , then when we get into the yard we like to taze each other completely naked....It this not occupationally sound behavior???


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## tomtrees58 (Apr 6, 2010)

Ljute said:


> The dog's probably a decent driver.



:hmm3grin2orange:


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## Taxmantoo (Apr 6, 2010)

tree md said:


> I don't know of any profession where drinking is acceptable on the job.



Maybe things have changed since then, but back in 1992 my sheriff got seriously drunk at a Michigan Sheriffs' Association meeting. I'm sure he wasn't the only one either. Why do you need booze at law enforcement leadership meetings?

Then he proceeded to drive home with my undersheriff riding with him. State troopers caught them for DUI on M-50, so naturally they tried to blame it on the troopers who caught them. If it weren't for 'professional courtesy', the Jackson County sheriff wouldn't have let them (or any other drunks from that meeting) out of the parking lot without handcuffs.


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## tree md (Apr 6, 2010)

When I was 21 I worked part time nights at a liquor store in my small hometown. I did it more to get hooked up with a girl that worked there than the small amount of money I made. We had a small city police force, I think we had 6 officers. LOL, the Sargent was an older guy who liked to drink. He would call ahead of time to the manager at the liquor store where I worked and I'd meet him out in the back alley with a pint of liquor. He'd pull up in his cruiser and pay me cash for it right in the alley. He was the same officer that would breakup fights in the Food Lion parking lot where the teenagers would congregate when I was a kid. He'd break up the big fight of the night, go car to car and make everyone pour their beer out then send everyone home. It was a whole different world back then. It is surely a new day today. But then again we didn't have teenagers carrying guns and killing each other either.

Also, when I was a kid I worked at the Elks Club setting up chairs and tables, helping prepare banquets for weddings and functions, working as a bar runner during parties and functions and cleaning up afterward. Every one of the old guys that I worked for there were alcoholics I would say. They were also all ww2 vets. We had one great big old guy who would buff the floors every Saturday morning. He was in his 60's or 70's and was still a brute with muscles coming out of his head. We would take a break every Saturday morning, the chef (old Army cook) would fix a big old breakfast and we'd all sit down and eat together. The old guy who buffed the floors would drink 2 Hienikens every morning with his breakfast. Most of them that worked there would drink all day long from the manager on down. I figured that if they had fought and survived ww2 they had earned the right to drink everyday, as much as they wanted til the cows came home if they wanted.

There are alcoholics in every profession. I've had to deal with it on my jobs before. I had to fight one guy to make him leave my job site when he showed back up from lunch drunk. If someone wants to drink I could care less. But find a job where you can get away with it. It's not going to happen in my operation. I used to like to drink more than my share too but I never brought it to my job and I won't tolerate it out of anyone who works for me.


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## banshee67 (Apr 6, 2010)

tree md said:


> Banshee67,
> 
> Just so you know, this is the road and area we are talking about. My dump location is maybe 200 yards from this spot:
> 
> ...




thats a road!?! yea.. little different than jersey! lol


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## stevohut (Apr 7, 2010)

*What does it sound like?*

That is one bigass boom tube on that saw. How does it sound and most of all does the saw just have more bark then bite with that mod. 

steve


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## squad143 (Apr 7, 2010)

If I have a beer with the guys, it is at the end of the day, back at the shop (my house) while cleaning the saws. And then only one if they're driving home.

A company I know of lost a good government contract because his workers got caught drinking on the job. They were working on a military base and the residents reported them. He wasn't even there at the time.


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## Treecutr (Apr 7, 2010)

Is this really even a question???


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## RVALUE (Apr 7, 2010)

Ljute said:


> Journalism. Those writers and editors pound down their martinis at lunch!
> 
> I was a staff artist so I stuck to beer.



I'm having a hard time picturing this.


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## Job Corps Tree (Apr 7, 2010)

*Drinking on the job , you allow it*

NO Never. I used to be a real Drunk 80's . but not on the Job after work wahoo
Never would I work with people that were


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## tree MDS (Apr 7, 2010)

I'm not really proud of this, but I think I first learned to tie a mid line clove by tying on a budweiser.


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## PFirebird (Apr 7, 2010)

*Is this a serious question?*

I'm a newbie to the site and like it a lot. But I've got to wonder, Is the guy wondering about drinking on the job (a job rated as one of the more dangerous ones), also complaining about not making enough money? A wide awake business man, committed to running a successful business would never even consider it. Questions and practices like that keep our industry in the dark ages, and some working for dirt cheap.


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## tree md (Apr 7, 2010)

I guess I was pretty lucky when I started out. I lived with the first guy I started out doing tree work for. I was 21 and moved in with the guy. I think he wanted to keep me around so he would be sure that I would show up for work .

He was the first one to put me in a tree, teach me knots and basic climbing. He was definitely a drunk but he had enough sense to not drink on the job or allow any pot smoking. His favorite saying was there's a time to work and a time to play. I kind of adopted the same philosophy. I have worked with crews since who would smoke dope on the job but I never did. I like to bring my A game when I work. I think most professionals do.


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## avalancher (Apr 7, 2010)

patolmbrjck said:


> I'm a newbie to the site and like it a lot. But I've got to wonder, Is the guy wondering about drinking on the job (a job rated as one of the more dangerous ones), also complaining about not making enough money? A wide awake business man, committed to running a successful business would never even consider it. Questions and practices like that keep our industry in the dark ages, and some working for dirt cheap.



No, Im not complaining about not making enough money. I run my own tree service myself, and like I said in my original post,I worked with the company that seems to look the other way about the drinking when they need some additional help and I have the time.After the last work day and witnessing what I considered very unsafe practises I had decided to "be too busy" next time they call for help,but also didnt want to be an azz about it if its a common practise to look the other way.

I asked the question because I wondered if it was a little more widespread problem than what I realized.I myself do not allow anyone to be under the influence of any substance myself,nor do I drink anywhere but on the back porch at home.

What made you think I was complaining about not making enough money?


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## PFirebird (Apr 7, 2010)

I didn't say you were complaining about not enough money, instead wondering if you did. I know from experience that most bad business practices (drinking on the job, or just doing poor work), show up in the bottom line- not enough money.


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## outofmytree (Apr 7, 2010)

After reading this whole thread I am feeling a little more normal. I have a zero tolerance policy toward ANY drug on my work sites. I also explain this in detail to my guys before they come to work for me. To my knowledge no one has ever breached this policy but they would be walking home with a dismissal slip in their pocket if they did. I am not dying or killing someone else because some druggo/alcho just had to have a hit.


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## PFirebird (Apr 7, 2010)

Sorry avalancher if I sounded like I was being critical to you personally, I wasn't.
It bugs me to hear stories of guys (like you mentioned) with chip trucks full of empties, we have them here too. Homeowners see that enough they think we all are willing to work only for beer money!


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## outofmytree (Apr 7, 2010)

tree md said:


> I guess I was pretty lucky when I started out. I lived with the first guy I started out doing tree work for. I was 21 and moved in with the guy. I think he wanted to keep me around.



But you were just good friends right?


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## tree md (Apr 7, 2010)

LOL, yeah, I guess I should say we were just good friends. His girlfriend also lived there too until she left him to move back to her home in another state.

He always kept a hand around. He took in an orphan kid after I left and went out to work on my own. When He got severely injured on the job and could no longer work he told me to take the kid and put him to work. I kind of inherited the kid (17). We were a pretty tight nit group back in those days.


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## avalancher (Apr 7, 2010)

patolmbrjck said:


> Sorry avalancher if I sounded like I was being critical to you personally, I wasn't.
> It bugs me to hear stories of guys (like you mentioned) with chip trucks full of empties, we have them here too. Homeowners see that enough they think we all are willing to work only for beer money!



No harm done,not ruffled in the least.Welcome to AS!

It bugs me to,but since I havent worked with a lot of different companies like many of you guys, I hesitated to say anything.Figured since it aint my job and I was just temp help it wasnt my place to say anything.All I could do was refuse the beer,mention that I dont drink while on the job, and crack open a Dew instead.Teach by example so to speak.


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## banshee67 (Apr 7, 2010)

stevohut said:


> That is one bigass boom tube on that saw. How does it sound and most of all does the saw just have more bark then bite with that mod.
> 
> steve



its a total joke 
i stole that picture from the internets , but shhhhh dont tell anyone:jawdrop:


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## beastmaster (Apr 10, 2010)

I worked for maybe 3 weeks with a crew that were drunks. They would fall a sleep at lunch and I wouldn't be able to wake them. The grounds man would send a beer up the rope to the climber in the tree. After work before hitting the yard a volley of beer cans or bottles would fly out the window of the trucks I was following. It came to a head when I was working at a grade school, the ground man was drinking vodka from a jar (it was maybe 9:00am)I could see him using his foot to push brush into the self feed chipper, I came down stopped the job loaded up the trucks and went back to the yard. Never went back. Several months later the owner gave me a bad job reference, saying I walked off a job with out finishing. Go figure. Beast.


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## BC WetCoast (Apr 10, 2010)

Carlsberg breweries in Copenhagen is on strike right now because management wants to cut the daily beer ration for the workers from 3 bottles to 1. 

When I was a kid, my dad's shop was located across from Molson's brewery. The workers were given 2 cases (12's) a week and would unlimited access to the tap room at lunchtime.

When I was a young forester in a small town, Friday afternoons, you could count several company trucks lined up behind the pub (we all took the trucks home).


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## tubedyota (Apr 10, 2010)

logging22 said:


> Logging and drinking? Just dont work. Most days im lucky not to get killed not drinking. Couldnt imagine trying to log while drunk. Guess those fellas are just special. And really dumb.



im with u on that, making an already dangerous job even worse. it reminds me of one of my favorite sayings, NO BRAINS, NO HEADACHES:agree2:


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