Do you all think I was being Racist??????

[Chris79761TX]

I am a safety man for a major oil producing company. Which being the safety man alone makes people hate you already. i mainly cover oil rig moves and setup. I was on a rig move and the Rig Manager for the company that owned this rig told the rig moving company we need to communicate in english. So there is no miss communication and we all understand what is going on so none of his guys get hurt. That was all okay and all agreed. Plus the fact it is actually State Law. Well after numerous warnings from the Rig Manager that we all need to speak english no more spanish while moving the rig. We had 2 people under a center section of the rig checking pins and hoses. The moving company starts speaking spanish and the truck pulled againest the center section. Now this center section weighs 60,000lbs and slides out. The Rig Manager says this is the last warning we are speaking english here so everyone knows what is going on. Well the Truck Pusher ( is the same as a foreman for those who do not know oilfield talk) stops all his guys and an argument evolves. And all work stopped the truck Pusher comes over and starts yelling and arguing I stated I can make this whole situation clear State Law and company policy is english needs to be spoken to avoid injury and miss communication. WELL HOLY CRAP the rig manager and I were accused of being racist and they called the offices saying I yelled profanity and yelled racial slurs at them. I only stated law and policy NEVER NEVER did I yell or cuss or say any racial slur. Now I am under investigation of being racist and might lose my job. We told them we don't care if they speak spanish on their breaks and amongst themselves then but when moving the rig we have to speak english. Okay now before all this started there were only 2 guys that did not speak english and they were working on another end of the location all the others spoke english. But after all this happened and the ones who spoke english chose not to speak english and all of a sudden didn't speak english anymore.

 

[kitchener rider]

tell em you'll cut their pay,, watch how fast they learn to speak english... i am so tired of this stuff. we have it here wether its french or spanish, i have no problem telling people to speak english in my company.

 

[kitchener rider]

btw i dont think its racist

 

[mistaforty]

Wow thats a tough situation. Working around firearms i can appreciate the need for safety and I can see where someone speaking another language during a move of that magnitude can cause problems in comm should an emergency arise. Unless you have prior allegations I dont see you losing your job but thats still not somethin you want on your record...If they didnt speak english how did they know you were swearing and using racial slurs? lol. Well good luck. Any investigation should turn up nothing and from what youre saying you are backed by policy and state law. So...no

 

[Eddy Castellanos Aymat]

I speak Spanish and from Wat ur saying I personally don't think ur a racist. They understood the position when they got the jobs n warnings. I will say its hard sometimes not to speak Spanish even under laws n rules, it just come natural but when dealing with oil rigs I would try harder to speak English instead of calling people racist.

Trust me I'm not white wash or anything! I'm 100% Hispanic n love my people but I don't think you a racist from Wat I read.

 

[newman]

No you weren't being racist.

I don't know why they should tell lies about you.

Hope you sort it all out.

 

[Eddy Castellanos Aymat]

Sorry I meant you are NOT a racist on the last part.

 

[Eddy Castellanos Aymat]

Agreed^

 

[Busa Brian]

You're not racist by any means in my eyes..

 

[chrisjp]

i would assume your company is intelligent enough to have the employees sign a "understanding of the rules" paper... if not..certainly do so in the future...and no...not racist...race has nothing to do with safety by everyone understanding communication spoken during a safety issue

 

[sanket_420]

you were not being racist at all, if anything you were looking out for safety for the crew on the job including yourself. If they cant understand and appreciate that then they dont need to working on big rigs like that where a minor mistake can cause major damage even leading to unwanted accidental deaths under your hand. You'll be fine.

 

[BUSA CRUSEN]

I hate when people have to play the BS race card to hurt people that did absolutely nothing.

 

[ditchdr]

Rules are rules, Give thme one warning, then they do it again FIRE them. They can go speak what ever thay want somewhere else. Safety is job 1, no if ands or buts. Also with them willing ot make the first call to the office saying how rude you were only showes guilt in my eyes

 

[HeadRush]

You're exactly right, nobody likes the "safety guy" on the job. However, the company and state laws back up the reason for your main issue. I used to drive trucks and have worked with riggers moving heavy equipment, and can completely understand the safety aspect. Everybody can hate you because it's your job to keep them safe, but the only way they can do that is if they're alive. Keep your spirits up, you weren't being racist at all.

 

[BlondeOnaBusa]

Racist? heck no. The question here is how far will this investigation go and will the company believe you or them. I wish you the best to luck and hope the sons of motherless goats get some kind of reprimand for their actions.

 

[m_ridgeway]

Run em off, theres people that have the specific job to write checks and it wont bother them to write two more cause people dont want to follow the rules.

I work in oil/gas too and its so irritating to watch all these people working that can't even speak english. Im about over working in south texas

 

[dadofthree]

They need to distinguish race from ethnicity. But either way I don't see the racism. I can only imagine you would have reacted the same if the crew spoke German or French, etc.

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

Not racist.

But even if it was its the rules. They dont like it don't work there.

 

[Strife]

Record them not following the rules, let alone the law?

 

[Tm@nFL]

Not racist...
Document what happened and hope for the best.
It is rig manager and you that were accused. Two reports are better than one.
I am sure this is not he first time this has happened.

Good Luck