Page 133 - MY STORY

Using the company car also allowed us to enter the

facility property, which could prove helpful for direct
physical access to work areas. So, on this particular day, I
checked out a company car from the Santa Monica

carpool, drove it into our facility and proceeded to load up
the trunk with a stack of sheet metal to be formed into
domes at our Torrance facility.

I knew that I was violating a union rule that required
shipment of material between plants to be accomplished

by Teamsters Union drivers in Douglas Company trucks,
but I did not want to wait for up to a week, or more, for all

the property transfer paperwork to clear the bureaucratic
hurdles that would further impact our schedule.

On the way out of the plant property, the gate-guard

inspected the car and asked that I open the trunk. When
he saw the stack of sheet metal in the trunk, he pointed

out that I was violating a union rule, and requested that I
return the sheet metal back to where I had gotten it. I
acted a bit indignantly pointing out that this was a high

priority job, and could not wait for all the paperwork to be
completed and approved and I was therefore obligated to
deliver the material as quickly as possible to our Torrance

facility site.