Phim Love Mechanics

[Elwanda Menhennett]

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"You love people to death, and it's refreshing," I remember one of the senior mechanics at the manufacturing plant telling me this, weeks before I quit the job. I had asked him for advice after one of the veteran workers there had called me stupid for running two machines at once to let a team member have a day off. The mechanic told me, "Yes. That is stupid, but that will not change that you are still one of the smartest women I have ever met."

I started working at this manufacturing company because I couldn't go to college as I had planned my entire life. The financing didn't make it at the very last minute. My mother lived paycheck to paycheck and my wealthy father and I didn't get along. There was no way I would take out a loan. Instead, working long hours to pay for an education in video production or filmmaking seemed more appealing. That was the ultimate goal.

I applied to the place my mother had been working for the last 15 years. Many eager to get to meet the quiet, and calm daughter of Irma. I was greeted with warm welcomes by what seemed a majority of older, immigrant workers. The work wasn't difficult at all. Then my patience was tested. Long, just excruciatingly long, hours of doing the same task over and over again were getting to me. We worked seven days a week under extremely hot circumstances. No breaks. "Too high of demand in summer," They said. I would go home after my 8 hours of the third shift, sit in my car, and just cry.

"How come I am doing this? I'm an intelligent woman. I was in the top 5% of my class. I have huge dreams and goals. How could I be stuck on an assembly line and package tortillas all night long? This is an insult to me." I broke down and told a friend of mine. He was disappointed in me and asked, "Why do you say that? Do you feel like you're too good to be working there? Do you realize how insulting that sounds to people who work there?" Immediately I felt embarrassed. He continues, "If you were so smart, you would be taking advantage of that knowledge ANYWHERE you may be. Remember, YOU chose to go that route."

At first, I was bitter. I didn't talk to him for a few weeks. Until one night, I realized he might be right. I was getting asked for help all the time by non-English speakers, and since I had so much energy I was constantly running around. One day, an older woman stated, "You are going to end up a team leader like your father aren't you?" My father worked at this same factory many years ago before starting his business. Being like my father was the last thing I wanted, but seeing his name on a plaque above our locker rooms really hit me. He had beat all other lines in quality, quantity, and safety. I didn't want to be like him, I wanted to be better.

Could the passive, quiet and young Jocelyne be able to accomplish such a thing? My entire life I had been told I wasn't made to be anything more than a follower. I believed it so much that I would purposely put myself in positions of assistance when the chance of leadership emerged. Well, that had to stop. I was to be a director one day. This will help prove myself and others wrong. As well as help me pass the time while I made my financial goal.

There were a few situations I had to assess before I even pursued this challenge. First, most people knew me as sweet, calm, and agnostic. Second, 99% of the leadership there was male and white. Third, many of the veteran leads there hated my father and were really good at their jobs. It was at this moment that 18-year-old Jocelyne said, "Challenge accepted".

Not only did I work really hard at throwing tortilla bags into a box, but I also strengthened my relationships with the workers. Wherever extra help was needed, I was the first to jump in. Whenever someone had an issue with a translation, I was there. Most importantly, I listened to what line workers thought of the leads. Knowing that this would be useful information in the future, I took their pains to heart. I became friendly with the mechanics. When my line lead started training me to operate machinery, the mechanics became very interested. At first, many of them approached me to flirt, but once they saw how serious I was, respect came crashing. These guys would become useful aids in the future.

I was offered promotion after promotion. Until one day, after only being two weeks into my new position, the opportunity came. The line lead revealed he was going on vacation in a week and a half, "You are going to run this line for two weeks by yourself." This was my chance. I, an 18-year-old girl, was going to run a whole line, and be the person to run to in case of problems. The mechanics warned me of the difficulty of running the big machines, while also being in charge of quality checks, paperwork, team member problems, and safety.

When I finally got my first week alone as a lead, everything went wrong. Almost burned down an oven! With much disappointment, "Maybe I am not as intelligent as I want to be." That's when my teammates came to my rescue. They comforted me, were patient with me, and motivated me. I felt ready to make them proud. The next week was completely different. So many mistakes were made the week prior, that I suddenly understood how these machines worked. The line ran so well, and we got amazing numbers. The mechanics would come and visit just because it was strange for them not to be called. I remember noticing how proud my teammates were. Every day we beat all the other shifts, they left with more energy and came back excited to work. Apparently, our shift had never made great numbers. The feelings I was getting from doing that job were so great. The feelings of accomplishment when the 50-year-old 1st shift line leads would give me stink eye were everything!

After my line lead came back, I had to return to my normal position. That didn't stop me though. I loved running the big machines so much, that whenever my line lead had problems I would fix them before he had the chance to come over. We eventually got into this cohesive work environment where we co-lead the line. He couldn't speak English very well, so I would relay messages and give tasks to the English speakers. He would also have me help him with paperwork, such as end of the shift reports and shipping reports. I did it all to learn as much as possible because my goal was still to become a line lead one day.

Once a position opened up for line lead, I applied. The shift supervisor made it very clear, "I don't even know why we are having this interview. You're ready for this and are the only one qualified."

As I happily accepted my new leadership position at 19 years old, my new teammates shook my hand excitedly, the mechanics told me I was the smartest woman they had ever met, and all the other shift leads grew curious. I was ecstatic.

Then, I made my savings goal. Which meant I didn't have to work at the manufacturing plant anymore. I could go and follow my dreams. I didn't have to work 12 hour days 7 days a week in the hot summer and suffer through 102 weather. I could finally wear pretty nails, dress up stylish, meet guys, and be a normal young adult.

Of course, I didn't. Not right away. I had learned so much about myself the past year, that I wanted that challenge. I got the job, and that was only the beginning of learning more. I was working third shift, and thought, maybe I can do both!

I worked 10 PM to 6AM and then did my mentorship program whenever I wasn't sleeping or my mentors called me. If I was not on shoots with my mentors at Creative Edge Productions, I worked overtime at the plant. All-nighters became common. It would be worth it one day!

Even though I was doing so well at the manufacturing company, at my mentorship program I became small again. Looking back now, it was probably because I was in a position where I knew nothing. I had a hard time speaking up again. I wanted to stick to the background and observe, but these mentors were not about that. After a few months of working with them, they asked, "What do you see yourself doing in this industry?" With my trembling voice, I replied, "Director". A leader. A vision carrier. A problem solver. A translator of the image to real life.

Now at the plant, I found out that being a team leader was more than just running the machines well, and making good numbers. I kind of forgot about the word team in team leader. This new team had respected me right away. My biggest fear was not getting taken seriously because I was a quiet, young girl, who never cursed at anything. Fortunately, none of that mattered. It was when I would place numbers above the needs of my teammates where things got tricky.

Suddenly, during our line meetings, my teammates were no longer eagerly listening to me or taking our goals seriously. I felt an uncomfortable awkwardness growing between us. I stopped keeping my eyes on the machines and paid more attention to my teammates. They were tired. Even though I would always jump in and help, they were struggling to keep up. Had I become that line lead everyone gossiped to me about?

Confrontation has always been difficult for me. Growing up in a narcissistic household makes one really avoid uncomfortableness. It was so hard gathering the courage to talk to each one of my teammates separately, and causally, to really get an opinion of what was going on. The conclusion came to this: You run the line really fast, and we work 7 days a week. We are tired.

I took all this information, and carefully made plans. These plans were to help us get numbers, but also not cause irritation. I chose the speed of the machines depending on whether it was worth breaking records or not. The break rotations were carefully chosen. We came up with plans as a team on who gets a day off on weekends. I would make it regular to talk to my teammates and get to know them as coworkers and people. If anyone had an idea or suggestion for the line I would act on it immediately. My new goals were to make my teammates feel valued for their work. The line huddles were much less stressful after this.

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