I am a railroader in the cucked state of MI. I do not drive trains, I work on railroad crossings and signal systems. I work outdoors by myself 99% of the time out of a truck that I drive home every night.
Last Friday the FRA (federal railroad administration, like the FAA but for trains) mandated an emergency order in response to Biden's mask mandate EO that went into effect yesterday:
Basically all railroad employees are required to wear masks at all times while at work regardless of where we are or what we are doing, yes even me working alone outdoors in remote locations. They go even as far as to say that while eating or drinking we can only lower the mask to take a bite or sip and then must raise the mask to chew.
Whats worse that that is they have also stated that if we are caught in non-compliance by and FRA inspector, we can be personally fined and removed from service. They will also fine the railroad, which is turning my management team into mask nazis out of fear of the company being fined. Every railroad employee in the US is subject to this bullshit, regardless of state policy; even states without mask mandates.
We had a very long drawn out conference call to address this and it got super heated and myself and many of my co-workers were threatened should we even attempt to push back. Management has made it clear that they will be out looking for us along with the FRA. Basically, the only thing that can save us is our union(s) as a whole, petitioning the FRA to drop the emergency order... I'm not holding my breath.
My morale is so far below sea-level it isn't funny. I love what I do but in a matter of a weekend, I now hate it. Rules are one thing- but threats of dismissal and personal fines seem way over the line and even illegal really. Thanks for letting a cornered pede use his last few gasps of air to vent!
Can you just get the lightest one layer piece of fabric and get used to wearing it on your chin until you see someone coming near you?
Gosh why the down vote? The guy needs to earn a living and it may be tough to find something else!
Wasn't me! But good suggestion, still better than full compliance IMO. At least I wouldn't be laying down completely.
I went to the fabric store the first week of mask wearing in stores here in commiemass. I bought the lightest flimsiest piece of cotton gauze fabric and made a mask. You can worry a hole in it easily with a finger. It gets used to buy groceries only and you can almost see my whole face behind it. It breathes and no one says shit to me when I'm forced into wearing it. I made it so big it gaped along the sides and drapes at my ears since I made the earpiece of the same fabric. It falls down onto my neck all the time and oops doesn't make it back up unless harassed.
Way back when I used to play nice and wear one in stores and the first person I saw without one caused mine to come off. Then after I stopped seeing ANYONE without one I said screw it and stopped wearing them altogether. Michigan is really bad. Really depressing that we will probably be one of the last states to get rid of the mandate. Normalcy would be a breathe of fresh air!
Etsy and EBay have people selling masks you can breath through for just this purpose, if needed.
Getting a medical exemption might just solve the problem for you though, look into finding a doctor who will give you one. Start by just telling them you have one. If your boss demands to see paperwork tell him you’ll get it to him as soon as possible. Since there is no official paperwork for this purpose, find an online fake form and make it yourself.