- 0 S^» ^OUji -»V-yV- ST> “DVajiT^S
”>'^0. -0-^6 _VS^V>J S-^Lj.-^VyV'O O^VAAOrA "Z-^S
.O^V-^V-* «5kA- ^-^-^.1— -5r'~V-V*-» ZE
r
They’re in it for the pay, working outside
r/c/^c^ +M
a^«3 <»
Women breaking ground in construction
By RHONDA WATTERS
Battalion Reporter
Ask Tommy what his mother
does at her job and his eyes will
light up as he says, “My mommy
drives a big tractor.”
Actually, what Tommy’s mother
drives is even bigger than a
tractor-it’s a 651 road scraper, one
of the largest pieces of road con
struction machinery. Tommy’s
mother is one of the increasing
number of women who are working
in the field of construction.
Construction is no longer a pre
dominantly male world. As
stereotypes fade, women venture
out into many new fields. And more
and more women, both young and
old, are entering the construction
business. Some are in it temporar
ily to make money, but many are
pursuing construction as a career.
Bud Smith is a foreman for
Young Brothers Construction.
Smith has a crew of 20 workers, six
are women. Five women work full
time, about 52 Vi hours a week,
and one works part-time, several
afternoons a week.
“This is the first time I’ve worked
women,” Smith said. “I’m having
really good luck with them.”
Smith said he can’t see any dif
ference in the work done by the
women compared to the work of
the men. In fact, he said, he has
one woman who has worked for
him for nine months who does bet
ter than some of his men.
“The only problem I’d say that I
have is that the guys kind of like to
stand around and talk to the
women more than they would to
other guys.”
Debbie Wolfe, married and the
mother of a 2-year-old son, is one
of Smith’s female workers. She has
chosen construction as a career
and works full time. Although she
can drive all the machinery, she
mostly operates what is called a
scraper, which takes a good deal of
skill to maneuver correctly.
“I don’t like working inside,”
Wolfe said, “and I like working
machinery. My father worked con
struction for a couple years, so I’ve
been around it for a while.”
Like Wolfe, many women said
one of the main reasons they liked
construction was because the work
was outside. They had tried “inside
jobs” and found them unsatisfying.
Another reason they enjoy con
struction is because of the amount
of learning involved.
“I learn something every day,”
Wolfe said. “I’ve learned from CMO
on a 10 scale so far.”
Jackie Berkley, one of Wolfe’s
co-workers, agreed and said
another advantage was being able
to work at one’s own pace.
“You work by yourself and just
do your job,” Berkley said. “You’re
not really rushed.”
Berkley said she plans on stay
ing in construction for a while be
cause the more she learns, the
more money she can make and an
experienced construction worker
can get a job almost anywhere.
One definite advantage the
women mentioned again and again
is the high pay scale.
Sherry Gloyna, has worked con
struction for about three years.
Gloyna said she quit school and
got married at a young age. Later,
after three children and a divorce,
she wanted to go into nursing, but
found the pay wasn’t enough to
support her family.
“The pay is what got me into it,”
she said. “That and the fact that I
don’t like to work inside.”
Now, she works 10-hour days
for the same company her present
husband works for. Gloyna said
she opertates a 651 scraper and is
working up to a blade (the top of
the line for construction workers),
which is what her husband drives.
Gloyna said she will probably
stay with construction because she
enjoys it.
“When I quit,” she said, “I’ll
probably stay home with the chil
dren.”
Betty Wilborn, one of Smith’s
workers and the grandmother of
two children, also enjoys the
money she earns in construction.
“I really like the money because
I can live like I want to live,” she
said.
For all the benefits of working
construction, many of the women
admitted it took some getting used
to.
Gloyna said the hardest thing to
get used to was the weather. Al
though the summers can be hot,
she said, the winter cold is worse.
The weather was one reason she’s
trying to work up to a blade, she
said, because blades have heated
booths for the operator to sit in.
Teresa Wolfe, another of
Smith’s workers, said one thing
she had to get used to was the long
and physically hard work.
“The first two days I was tired,”
she said. “I also had a headache
from the noise.”
Phillips said she got used to it
quickly and although some days
are harder than others, she doesn’t
get as tired anymore and the noise
no longer bothers her.
Another disadvantage to work
ing construction is the dirt. But that
didn’t seem to bother any of the
women workers.
“Soap and water will clean any
thing,” Phillips said with a laugh.
“You’ve got to take a bath any
way.”
Although many people think
women construction workers have
problems getting respect for the job
they can do from their male co
workers, the women said this
wasn’t true.
“The men will stop and help
you,” Marcia Toplin, one of Smith’s
workers said. “They’re really good
about it.”
Debbie Timmons, a physical
therapy student here who works for
H.B. Zachry at the Kyle Field site,
said when she first started working,
she didn’t worry about the men’s
attitudes.
“I took the attitude that I went out
to do my job and if they didn’t like it,
well, they weren’t paying my way,”
she said.
Timmons said she didn’t have
problems with male co-workers al
though she gets the usual harass
ment “like ‘What are you doing
later?’, but I take their kidding and it
doesn’t bother me."
As for the men, many said the
women did a good job, although it
varied with individual women.
Some of the men said at times they
are surprised at some of the things
the women could do.
Another area that would seem to
be a problem for women construc
tion workers is the opinions of hus
bands, boyfriends, family and
friends. But many women said this
wasn’t a problem either.
“My mother had a fit at first,”
Gloyna said. “But now she wants
pictures!”
“My husband is very proud of
me,” Wolfe said. And many of the
women said their husbands and
boyfriends felt the same way.
Wolfe said her husband knows a
lot about construction and is in
Lucy Schell is one of many women
who are breaking a stereotype and
Photo by Sam Stroder
becoming construction workers.
She is working on Kyle Field.
terested in what she does.
For women interested in con
struction, there is a heavy equip
ment school run by the Texas En
gineering and Extension Service
that is free. Anyone can attend the
school that for training in the opera
tion and maintenance of construc
tion machinery. After completing
the 8-week course a placement of
ficer helps the graduates find jobs.
George Berry, an instructor at
the school, said there are women
in almost every class.
“Basically they adapt well,” he
said. “It’s a little different than they
are used to.”
The Brazos Valley Comprehen
sive Employment and Training Act
(CETA), an agency that helps
provide employment training to
qualified applicants, has spon
sored one class of five women
through the heavy equipment
school.
THIS HALLOWEEN
DO YOU WANT TO GO
AS BIG AS A
PUMPKIN
OR
AS SLIM AS A
CUCUMBER
WE CAN HELP!!!
.AT THE
779-6124
You can lose
17-25 pounds
in just 6
weeks!