Catalog / Zines / Work Stories #1

Work Stories #1 36 pages, 1/2 size, copied (3 oz) * OUT OF STOCK *

There are just certain aspects of work that we don't talk about in our home lives - and Jesse Heckman wants to change that. He does construction work in Brooklyn and hears the most lame-brained stories and anecdotes spewed from the mouths of his co-workers. As you would expect they talk about women as objects for their pleasure to which the author does not know how to react. He also shares stories of hauling out metals to the scrapyard for profit, frustrations with the boss on the construction site, and on the job injuries.

"'She's got a 351 Cleveland. That baby can haul!'

Is a man supposed to love a woman like he loves a machine? I want to believe this is all shop talk. Maybe it's all a front. Maybe there is a little bit of Jeff Ott in each of them."

 
"I cringe when a zine attempts to speak for the working people... Jesse, in his inaugural issue of Work Stories, avoids the pitfalls of using his experiences of working in a crappy construction job to act as a voice for working people. His stories, often funny and insightful, are written about his experiences and his relationship to work and his co-workers, rather than the experiences and motivations of his co-workers. The difference is subtle but crucial, he doesn't pretend to tell anyone's story but his own, and at that he succeeds. He does a great job of using his experience to illustrate larger issues about class and labor in a personal and approachable manner. I can't get behind the Billy Joel lyrics reprinted within, but the anecdotes that range from hanging sheet rock, management nit-picking, and scrap iron, to dirty jokes and workplace safety are interesting and intelligent. Its refreshing to see someone write about work and class without throwing in tired IWW cliches, dangerous assumptions, and marxist idealism. Great work with a tricky subject." ~ Casey Ress, MAXIMUMROCKNROLL (February 2007, #285). Lucas Heckman
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