Chapter 5

We all had an early night that evening. We were all tired from the concentration, effort, and sheer excitement of the day. Sunday was back to normal, tidying around the house, eating, and my packing for another week away.

The southern trip was much more enjoyable than the northern. Instead of big pipe and fabrication sites. This had a much wider range of visits. There were still pipe and fabrication sites, but several boat building sites as well. The northern shipbuilding had taken a real hit when we joined the European Union, but it had bounced back, down south, with smaller sites, sometimes with just a couple of our members. There were actually several where we had the main workforce but weren’t big enough to call closed sites. That’s why this new project was so important to Cyril.

After lunch, I kissed my princesses and left for the West Country. The week passed pleasantly, the visits were fun and the hotels good. Having a lot of small sites to see, I got a lot more into a day than I did in the north. It did take a day longer, and it was Sunday morning when I checked out of a hotel, in Suffolk, to go home. I had been accepted by most of the sites, and the ones that weren’t so happy were told that there’ll be a new face visiting with the next visit. Nobody was outright rude, but I could tell that something was bothering them.

When I was home and in the arms of Carol, I remarked that this would be the last time I would be off on a long trip. It made her happy and it made me realise what changes were happening. The girls were full of their days with their friends, with them now two of the most popular girls around. It had taken the advert in the teen magazine to make their friends realise that they were, really and truly – “cross my heart” – models.

On Monday, I went into the office and Bernice filled me in on the events of last week. Albert and Raylene had come and spent quite a bit of time with them. Bernice said that she would be happy to work with him, as well as teaching Raylene her side of the work. Albert needed to give a month notice, so it would be a while before he took over.

She had a list of fifteen girls and about a dozen guys who wanted to work at the new site. I think it may have been the lure of the housing that attracted most of them. Suzi had sent a list of four girls and two guys from her site and had said that they would be finishing their two-week notice, soon. That would be the first order of events, to get them on site and settled in. Then we can invite the others, a group at a time.

On my own, last week, I had been able to think quietly about the project. One part of the site we hadn’t spent much time in was the machine shop. When you’re working with large pipes, the only way to get perfect weld is to machine the ends. They came from the supplier with good enough ends to butt together, but turning corners took a lot of work. I had seen a big lathe, a big radial drill, and a big horizontal borer, and made a note to look at these more closely when I was there next. I made an appointment to see Janet, on Wednesday, to see what progress had been made in the two weeks since I was last there. I would have to be there often when the project got closer to production.

The girls lunch on Monday was good. I was welcomed back from my ‘holiday’ and shown some of the pictures from the two shoots. The outside ones, now with a background added, were good, with the Jensen in a few, looking very up-market, draped with models. There were a couple with Carol and me in the background, with the backdrop of horses being ridden past. The inside shoot was sumptuous, with everyone looking like something straight out of a royal dinner party. I guess that was the market they were aiming at. I was only part of the crowd in these, but Carol had a couple where she was part of the main group. Tracy gave me the picture of the four of us, and asked me if I could pop upstairs, in the afternoon.

When I went up to her office, she shut the door and sat me down.

“Jenny, Bernice tells me that you’re a sort of organiser’s organiser for the union?”

“That’s right. We call it the Business Unification Manager, which means I have to bum around the country, sorting out problems for our members.”

“What sort of problems?”

“Well, there aren’t that many, these days. A lot of employers look after their good workers, because finding younger ones is damn hard. I had one case, last year, where the finance manager had stopped using good tea in the canteen, because he thought he could save fifty Euro a week. It cost the company fifty grand in lost production until I served the managing director cups of tea, one old and one new. The water in that district made the new tea almost impossible to drink. The guys were back at work before I left the site, and the finance manager was told to check before he made similar changes. Other than that, it’s mainly problems that members of other unions create, like demarcation problems between ordinary boilermakers and our, highly certified, ones.”

“What’s your future like with the union?”

“I will have several weeks working on a new project on the east coast, then, sometime after that, I’ve been told that I’m in the line to become the Leader of the Union.”

“That’s a big step, what do you think of that?”

“Actually, that’s been in my thoughts, while I was driving last week. On the one hand, it’s a very good position, with a lot of responsibility, while, on the other, it does mean a lot of meetings at a higher level, even talking to the government. I’m not sure if I would like it, to tell you the truth. I enjoy working with, and for, our working members, with most management eager to discuss things openly. Political types make my blood boil. There were two, on the Board of this new project, who were only in it for themselves and their ego. Luckily, the managing director thought the same as me and we had them walking out of the project at our first meeting.”

“What do you think of our models and photographers?”

“So far, everyone I’ve met has been great. The models are all hard working and dedicated to their craft, while the various crews I’ve seen are also very professional, but down to earth. I expect, that if I’m in the business more, I’ll come across ego-driven prima donnas at most levels. I suppose that most of these would, however, be among the top levels, with everyone knowing what they’re like, but putting up with them because of the money they generate.”

“You’re very astute, you know. There are quite a few like that, but we don’t get to work with those often. They all tend to congregate together, in the big selling magazines. I’m asking you these questions, because I had a long meeting with managers of similar agencies, last week. We get together to talk about the business, over a lunch, every few months. One of the things that came up was the need for someone from the business to co-ordinate the working conditions for our models. With all the girls on our books, we reckon that we have close to two thousand models and crew members. We were wondering if you would like to be a part-time consultant with this. It wouldn’t pay a lot, but we would give you as much work as we could to offset that. The lipstick company, by the way, is negotiating to have you as the face of the brand for a five-year contract.”

“Can you give me a couple of weeks to think it over? I will need to make sure Carol is happy, as I am the main earner in the family.”

“I can tell you, here and now, that your girls will take that role, in the not-so-distant future. The clothing companies love them. Between you and Carol, you have created a pair of photogenic youngsters, who will grow to be beautiful teenagers. I already have three clients who have mentioned ten-year exclusive contracts, to keep them in their adverts as they grow up.”

“I won’t tell them that, until you have something in writing. They’re top dogs among their friends at the moment, but we keep telling them to play it cool, so they don’t get other kids jealous. I’d still want them to try their best, so that they get a good education. I saw that Carol had a few shots in the main group, she’ll be very happy to see those.”

“Yes, she’s good enough to be a foil to the youngsters and adds that link with older buyers. She doesn’t have a future as a face of a campaign, but we’ll give her enough work to be happy. Between you, you will get enough work to leave the union, if you want. I’ll still give you work, even if you reject my proposal. I just ask that you’ll think about it.”

“I’ll certainly think about it, Tracy. It’s an interesting proposition, and I’m going to have to think about how it could even be approached.”

She gave me a folder of the Saturday indoor shoot pictures, and a smaller one with the cars and our minimal additions to the crowd. I was already thinking about the proposition and was in my mind as I drove home. That evening, we all oohed as we looked at the pictures. We chose a few to be framed. Carol said that she would buy a pack of frames for us to use. I might have to put up a couple of extra shelves if this kept up.

After the girls had gone to bed, we sat in front of the TV and I told Carol about the proposal, and the other things I had been told.

“Let me get this straight. You’re likely to get a five-year contract as the lips of the lipstick company, while the girls might get a contract to take them to the end of secondary school. If they’re well enough known, by then, they’ll likely get ongoing work after that. I would still like them to go to university, there’ll be money for that. And now Tracy wants you to be the model’s advocate. How would that work?”

“Actually, I was trying to sort that out, and your use of the word advocate is a good starting point. There would need to be some research, but I would think that most of the models are contractors, handled by their own managers or part of agencies. It’s not as if they have certificates to say what products they’re suited to. Like me, they could have been told what niche the fit into. It’s a much looser grouping than our boilermakers. Then there’s the crew members, a more motley crew you never saw.”

“Have you thought about taking over from Cyril?”

“Yes, that took up a lot of time while I was on the road. I don’t think that I’m the right sort of person for the job. I like to get out and about. Cyril hasn’t had face-to-face time with our members for years. He’s off to London to talk to government departments, meeting with Boards of very large employers, going to dinners and such. I think of a life in that circle, and I cringe. I know he won’t be happy if I turn him down, but it’s just a job situation, not the end of the world. What do you think? You’re a partner in this, after all.”

“I’m just glad that you’ve thought about it, and not just taken that path as a career option. I would hate it to have you coming home in a funk, especially as it would be a period in the girl’s lives when you will need to be there for them. Let’s sit on it, for a while. That project, on the coast may be a blessing in disguise. You’ll be out of that office, with a new person in your seat. When you do resign, it wouldn’t be a big thing, and Cyril will just have to stay on a while longer.”

“The thing is, what do we do about me? I can’t stay as Jenny for ever, without some help. While I’m at the site, or working with the agency, it shouldn’t be a problem for a few years. Are you happy to be married to a cross-dresser? “

“Don’t you worry your beautiful head about that, my darling Jen. The main thing is that we know who we are. If it takes you going out in skirts to make our lives better, then it doesn’t matter to me. You’ve been happier as Jenny than you were as Jen, and good things keep happening to us. We have our family, and it doesn’t matter if we don’t have any more. If you had a full sex change, we would have to spend a bit on sex toys. In the meantime, you and I are having a renewed honeymoon and it’s wonderful. I love you, no matter what you wear. As far as help goes, we need you in the salon, again, to be fitted with the full range of enhancements and another waxing. I’ll give them a call to set it up.”

Tuesday saw me pop into the office, to check things were running smoothly, and picked up our list of interested people for the new site. Then I drove to Hull and the project. On the way, a convoy was going the other way, with huge blades for wind turbines, heading for the Dales. That made me think about that sort of thing. When I got to the site, I sat with Janet and Alex and showed them our list, so far. And then I broached the new thought.

“Janet, on the way I saw a convoy of turbine blades, heading for a wind farm. With you here, on the east coast, with a brand-new site, I wondered if you had spoken to wind farmers about work. You would be ideally placed to supply high-quality towers. The blades come in from overseas, so do the turbines. The bases are made on site, and the towers can be made anywhere. The North Sea has a lot of areas where wind farms are being planned. It could be a good earner.”

“Funny that you mention that. Our client for pipework does dabble in that stuff, but it didn’t come up in discussions. I’ll ask him to give me some specifications so I can give him a quote. We would have to set aside a finishing area where they could be properly painted, and the ends would need to have accurate mounting plates.”

“I had thought that I would take Alex and spend some time seeing what the machine shop needs to bring it online. We could get a specialist in to talk about what’s available for that sort of work. The new storeman should have knowledge of tooling that would be needed, but the two of us can look at the spaces that have been wasted, over the years. I know that there were a few old lathes that they used, back in the fifties, that should go for scrap. Did you have much left in the budget for that sort of thing? It would be easy to spend half a million on new machinery, so we had better make sure that the old equipment is up to the job.”

“Good thinking. Alex, can you go with Jenny, today, to make notes. Jenny, can you get in touch with the experts and get someone in to look at the equipment. It wouldn’t do to be off and running and then have a bottleneck with machining. Lunchtime, Jenny, I’ll meet you in the canteen. We have signed a catering company, who have a small crew improving the kitchen and serving meals for us and the contractors we have on site. You’ll see a lot more around as they get things prepared.”

When Alex and I got to the machine shop, the first thing I did was to look at the metal plates on the machines that gave the suppliers name, as well as looking at the electric motors and pumps that gave the last firms that did maintenance. I rang these and discussed what I wanted with the various managers. By mid-morning, we had been joined by three engineers from the different suppliers, all eager to help. The machinery supplier was contracted to bring in a small crew to clean, oil, and adjust the existing machinery, while the others would be sending the technicians in to overhaul the pumps and motors. We did find a large area with older machinery that had seen better days, but never removed, and the machinery supplier gave me a number to call of someone who would take them away, and even pay us for the privilege.

When we sat down with Janet, Alex was able to give her a list of what we had achieved. Barring rolling up our sleeves and getting stuck in with kerosene sprays and stiff brushes, there wasn’t much we could do. I wasn’t ready to chip any nails for the cause!

For the rest of the week, I was on the coast, working with Alex on various problem areas. On Friday, Janet was very excited when I arrived. She gave me a hug and told me that the wind farm tower question had received a warm welcome from her client, and that they were negotiating a contract to supply them. She said that the spare yardage on the site was being considered for turbine storage, and that she was negotiating to put up a large shed to store and prepare the turbines. It was an opportunity to use the extra space. The site had been set out when a lot of things were done by manual labour, and the new lifting and transporting methods that Janet was putting in made a lot of extra space left over.

Of course, all of this was going well beyond what Cyril had envisioned. I had already met the small team of draftsmen, in the new drawing office, who were busy taking the specification drawings and producing detailed shop floor drawings to go on site. They had a couple of new computers with Computer Assisted Design packages. I had read drawings all my working life, but these C.A.D. programs went over my head.

We were into the realms of a workforce with specialist machining, electrical, painting, assembly, and general metalworking. All of which had their own unions. I spoke to her about that, and she said that we would be the oversight union, to act for the workers on the Board. She had already allowed for an office in the main administration building, and another out on the site, for Suzi. All thoughts of an all-girl force were now in the past, but it would be a site that girls would be happy to work in, and guys would have to respect, or leave. I suggested that we set up a meeting, soon, with the organisers of the other unions, to set out a code of conduct that we could all be happy with. That became my main job for the following week.

I stopped in at the office on the way home, to see what was happening. Bernice was handling things and told me that Raylene would be in the office from Monday, to learn all she could, while looking for somewhere for them to live. I told her that I would be meeting with other unions and wouldn’t be in the office, at all, during the week. She directed me to a note, on my desk, and I read that Tracy wanted to see me if I could. The note was from yesterday, so I told Bernice to have a good weekend and call me if there were any real problems, then went up one flight to the agency.

Tracy wanted me to know that the agency managers were having an impromptu meeting, for lunch, next Wednesday, and I was invited to hear what they were thinking, now that they had started thinking about doing something positive. That was all right, as it gave me the two days before, and the two days after, to organise something with other unions. There were only a couple in our area, and I would have to go down south for the others. She then told me that the next lipstick advert would be in the magazines next week, along with the first from the two shoots we were at. She told me the magazines to look out for, gave me a hug and an envelope with the details of the venue and a cheque, stapled to a printout of who earned what.

I had a quick look at that while I was waiting at a set of lights and was pleased to see that the Jensen had earned itself a couple of hundred Euro. She had been right, as the bulk of the cheque was split between the girls, with a bit more for Carol, and me making the same as the car. This was becoming a good enough income to need a word with our accountant.

That evening, as we settled into our usual places on the settee, Carol asked me how things were going. I told her about my upcoming meetings with the other unions, including the fact that I would be away Wednesday and Thursday evening. The agency lunch was just north of London, and I would stay south for my next union meetings, to come home on Friday.

We had a very quiet weekend, after the hectic ones of previous weeks. We did the market again and it was lovely. We spent time as a family, with me being much more involved than I had been before dressing. It was like something maternal had been switched on, with me sometimes being ahead of Carol with watching the girls.

On Monday I made the final arrangements for the end of the week, and saw a couple of the local union leaders, inviting them to visit the site on the following Monday. When I told Janet about my plans for the end of the week, she told me that her husband would also be in the city, and that she would talk to him about meeting me. On Tuesday, I met with the other local union leaders, also giving the invitation to a site inspection on Monday. I rang Janet with that information, and she told me that her husband would take me to dinner, at his favourite place, on Thursday evening. She said that he was looking forward to meeting me.

When I got home, Carol called the salon to get me in, first thing on Wednesday, and then told me that I had nothing to wear at the restaurant I would be going to. I packed for the two nights away, putting the bag and a couple of garment bags in the car. Wednesday morning, we took separate cars, and I wasn’t long in the salon, mainly a new hairdo. I followed Carol to a new shop, where we quickly chose a new dress, the like of which I had only seen at fashion shoots. A quick stop at a shoe shop, and I gave Carol a hug and kiss, then left to drive south, for my working lunch.

Marianne Gregory © 2024