Really Awful Jobs

I was once a live-in au pair girl. For about three weeks. I had to share a room with the 4-year-old. I could have my choice of bunks, but, the mom recommended the top one, as the child frequently wet the bed ( I already knew that--peeyoo), and it might leak down. The father worked out of town, and the mother was a nurse on a rotating shift schedule. I was 17. I was actually hired as a baby sitter, but, of course, the job included all laundry and cooking and cleaning.

The Cleanroom Manager at Mission Cleanroom Services insisted that my job there was a good one. Apparently, she was basing that opinion on the fact that they paid fifteen cents more per hour than minimum wage. The job consisted of folding cleanroom suits as they came out of the dryer, bagging and sealing them, and packing them up to send out to the cleanrooms that used them. We were supposed to be able to fold and bag a coverall in 8 seconds. Sealing the bags was the worst job. Push, pull, back and forth, with the foot pedal, all day. Like using a seal-a-meal, but you get to push all the air out first. I got fired for being a rabble-rouser. I swear to God, I didn't know that all the women working in there were illegals when I told them about the free English classes at the high school, and the library with its internet access, and large number of books in Spanish. Apparently, Mission Cleanroom Services liked to have their employees as dependent on them as they could be. The place is now run by Cintas, and I don't know if their employment practices are as they were when I worked there.

Then there was TexTek. TexTek was a division of Moll Plasticrafters, and they make the plastic cases for commercial phones. They make other things as well, but if office phones went out of style, TexTek would be history. They have massive machines that mold plastic parts and spit them onto a belt. They travel to the operator, who cleans, trims and packs them as fast as they come down the belt. Occasionally, a part will fall into the heat source inside the machine, and vile odours ensue. There are huge vents with fans under the roof, and the last time plastic was burning when I worked there, I asked the supervisor to open the vents. He said that the front office didn't like the vents to be opened because of the air conditioning. We got into an argument, and I said, "So, basically, the vents are just there for show!" and he said, "Pretty much." He proceeded to tell me that the plastic they used did not emit toxic fumes when burning. Well. SSS was a volunteer fireman, and they were very well trained in the toxicity of burning synthetic materials. Their rule of thumb was; if it's plastic, its smoke is toxic. Period. So I told the Super that, and he informed me that I could stay or go--it didn't make no nevermind to him. So I went. He did chase me through the parking lot, saying, "What? Where are you going? Why are you leaving?" I carpooled to that job, so I had a four mile walk home. I could still taste that nasty plastic in my mouth all the way home.

I was looking for a job when I found that one.

So, what's your all-time worst job?