Started my new job

As some of you know,I had a layoff pending at work,and I was to be laid off on December 1st,along with 50 others. Because I was on contract with about 20 others,we were/are the first to be let go,while the 30 fulltime staff who are being laid off terminate their positions on Dec 22. Nice Christmas gift eh? "Merry Christmas and happy new year,find yourself a new job and don't let the door hit your ass on the way out."

BTW,for those of you who don't know,I worked at the plant where they made the seats and headliners for the 300C/Magnum/Charger.

Anyways,I quit on Wednesday because I had a job lined up ready to go to. I went in at the end of lunch on Wednesday on my shift to clean out my locker and say my goodbyes to everyone. I was there for a year and a half,made a lot of good friends,loved my job and went 11 months without missing a day of work.

Now,I am working for the same company,but at one of the plants just outside Toronto (Mississauga for you locals) doing injection molding making plastic interior pieces for the Pontiac Grand Prix and Buick Allure. First of all,I am one of maybe 5 white guys I've seen there in the 2 days I've been there. It's like all Asians and Middle Eastern and a few black people. The job is rediculously easy. You work at the same machine for 8 hours and gather the parts it spits out,and you stand there and take a pair of side cutters and snip the pieces off of the 'tree',visually inspect them and put them in a box. I haven't broken a sweat yet,lol.

It's kinda hard though,getting used to working with all the people there because most have pretty poor english skills and I can't understand a word half of them say. I've got a $2/hr pay raise working here,and I'm only on contract at the moment,but they're union,so I could be hired within 3 months and they start at like $15.75/hr with benefits.

Basically,to sum up,if I stay at this job all winter and can save a little cash,looks like my Mazda is going to be well on it's way to being complete for summer '07.

On the downside,I do have to drive an hour and 10 mins each way,and I work straight afternoons 3-11pm. Goodbye social life. lol

congrats on the job.....sounds like a sweet deal...you'll get used to the language barrier, i had 6 mexicans on my cable pulling crew for a year, i got to where i could speak decent spanish (well good enough to communicate & cut up with them) as far as the drive, i've been driving 57 miles one way (@ 1hr 10 min too) for 4 years now, it will take a little getting used to. i would suggest getting a ride you don't care about putting a lot of miles on...... the dodge had 99k on it when i traded it, & the yota is pushing 85k on it now.....

sounds like a decent job, solid pay if you get on with the company, for what your doing.

yeah,heck,even for what I make right now is decent for the work. Tonight,they shut my machine down at 9:15 after making like 2400 pieces and I walked around the plant with a broom looking busy until we went home at 11. How awesome is that? Screwin' the pooch....something I've never really been able to do at my other jobs,lol.

Nytrdr,I drive the Rodeo back and forth. It's a pig on gas,I can't drive over 70mph or I get an oil leak from somewhere,and I've got just a tick over 160k miles or something on it (261k KM if you like the metric system). As much as I love the Rodeo for having the 4x4 when winter hits,the truck is huge and a pig,I think I might sell it off and get something a little better on gas. I've actually been thinking of an older awd Mazda MPV just for practicality purposes. I need some sort of wagon/SUV though for the winter and for hauling stuff and people. I just don't want to spend a bunch of money on another vehicle cuz I'm already $1700 into the Rodeo (including purchase price of 600) and for 1700 I could have already had the Mazda lowered and had new tires and a bunch of stuff done.

Congrats, hopefully U can parlay it into fulltime status.

sounds like U work for Magna or one of its millions of companies. How do you like the smell in the plant? U get used to it, unless its PVC, then your screwed.

I did the whole injection moulding thing myself for about 5 years. I did mould changes, startups, troubleshooting and all that shit. Every now and then I miss it. GL with everything.

Damaz,it's actually JCI. It's on Mavis Rd and the first street south of the 401. Smell wise,there's not really any potent odour. It's mostly ABS plastics there.

Pretty easy work for the money. If I don't get on fulltime there within a few months,or atleast before the end of winter and get some cash saved up for the Mazda,I'll be looking for another job. This isn't the kind of place I'd like to see myself in a few years unless I'm making money in or around the $20/hr range. But hey,we all have to start somewhere. It's a foot in the door,and they already like me because I've had a year and a half at JCI in Orangeville.

best wishes Bro.

I know exactly where your talkin. It used to be called Blackhawk plastics.

yeah,a bunch of our containers and crap there still say Blackhawk on them. It's a fairly new looking industrial area too.

My job keeps getting easier and easier too....my machine was down between 6:25 and 9:30 tonight while they did a mold change.....so for that time I walked around with a broom again. It's great. I'm also beginning to get fluent in Punjabi. lol jk. While I was on my 'sweeping duty' I stopped and chatted to some of the people I work with and some of them (Indian and Asian) are like "are you British? You have an English accent" and I looked at them like Whaaaaaaaaat!?! and then another guy was like "Are you from America? You talk like American." and I looked at him funny and I was like "uh,no I was born in Toronto and both of my parents were born in Canada" and he was like "oh,you don't have Canadian accent,you talk like American"

So...one says I have an English accent,one says I'm American and like none of them can beleive that I was born and raised here. The guy that asked if I was American then asked if I was Native and I didn't quite understand,thinking like Native Indian first nations and then it clicked,like native as in 'canadian'.

This is quite an experience for me,I'm not used to being mixed in with lots of other cultures. I live in the boonies and once in a blue moon you might see someone around here who's not white.