Email Jim at jim.thompson@ipulpmedia.com

By Fos, the Rat

I thought this week I would walk out on the Annual Pulp Rat Convention floor and talk to some who are not being heard by the Great Council.

Hi, I am Fos, from Paperitalo Publications. What is your name?

I am Cyn.

F: What's been going on in your mill?

C: We have this human who hogs all the mill data. They are on some sort of power trip. Everyone else has to go to them to get even the smallest morsel of data they need to do their job.

F: This did not rise to the level the Great Council wants to hear it?

C: Correct. They said they can't do anything about it. But talking to the other rats here at the conference, it seems like it is a widespread problem in many mills.

F: Understand on both counts. Hard to deal with and it is widespread.

C: In our mill, it is particularly difficult because this human gives the impression to their boss that everything is fine. Indeed, they probably think to themselves that everything is fine, that this is how they are supposed to behave.

F: This is a very difficult situation. Probably the safest path out of this is for humans to be asked to be transferred out of this department. Don't say anything about the poorly performing human, just try to get to another part of the mill. If enough do this, it will send a message. Is your mill a union mill?

C: Yes

F: That might be another way. There are paths in your contract to lodge grievances against this person.

Jim interjects: Yes, indeed. Back in the day, I received plenty of grievances!

F: Well, maybe we should talk about those!

Jim: No, no, no. Please move on.

Hi, I am Fos, from Paperitalo Publications. What is your name?

I am Odj.

F: What's going on, Odj?

O: We rats have heard that some finished product is leaving the mill unaccounted for by the mill billing system.

F: I believe we call that theft. Why does this bother you?

O: We rats like our mill. It has been here a long time. We don't want anything to happen to it.

F: Yes, enough theft can destroy a mill. What have you been able to do about it?

O: I was sent here to take the problem to the Great Council, but they don't want to hear our case. Say they have bigger cases and limited time.

F: Where do you think the problem is?

O: The outbound scale house.

F: That ought to be easy enough to fix.

O: How?

F: A bunch of you rats go out there and tear the place up. Chew the computer cables. Wreak havoc. Do that enough and the problem will be discovered.

O: Won't they trap or poison us?

F: That is a danger. I recommend you do this in cycles. Hit it hard for a couple of days, then lay off for a month or so. Keep repeating this cycle. It may take a year or more, but it should work.

O: Thanks.

This is Fos signing off for this week. Isn't it nice to know when the humans are misbehaving, the rats' ethics shine through?

Jim: Thanks, Fos. It is nice to know we can count on the rats when the humans fail.

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