Chapter 40
The First Day
THE THREE HIRING managers on the bridge project met for an early cup of coffee to discuss their strategy. Many attributed the massive resignations to the mysterious caisson’s disease, which brought on pains in the joints for most and severe headaches for others. The rash of recent resignations, however, related more to poor working conditions, which included the sharp rise in temperature from the frigid winter air outside to ninety degrees inside the caisson. An average of one hundred men quit per week and, unfortunately, this past week was above average. The managers needed an immediate plan to add some men to the Wednesday morning shift, scheduled to start in an hour.
The senior manager developed the basic strategy and instructed his two subordinates, “Despite
