Steelworker Hangs Tough--4 Jobs in 5 Years

James Patrick doesn’t remember all his home addresses, phone or payroll numbers from the last five years.

It’s hard enough keeping straight the four steel plants he has worked at in four states.

But Patrick, 47, has no confusion about his mission: He wants to hang on to his steelworker’s job long enough to collect a full pension. And with 21 years seniority, he’s still nine years shy.

Patrick spent 15 years at a USX Corp. plant in Baytown, Tex. But after it closed, he hit the road in a circuitous route that took him to jobs in Ohio, back to Texas, to Pennsylvania and, now, to Alabama.

“I’m going to have to work for someone, and since I’ve been with them all these years, I might as well stay on with them,” he said. “I have too much time invested in this one company to walk away from it.”

But Patrick concedes that the separation from his wife--they see each about once every six weeks--and the travel--he logged 150,000 miles on the car he just traded in--have worn him down.

“It doesn’t get any easier,” he said. “I get extremely lonely. Sometimes I get to the point where I feel better when I’m at work. Then you’re doing something and the idea of being by yourself all the time is not on your mind.”

Since his travels began in 1987, Patrick has transferred to three USX plants, worked for another steel company briefly and been laid off.

His family stayed behind because his wife had a job, the couple owned a home in Texas and their twins, now in college, were in school.

Patrick, who rents a $400-a-month apartment 30 miles from his mill in Fairfield, Ala., leads a Spartan life because of his frequent moves. “If I can’t pack it or ship it by UPS, I throw it in a Dumpster,” he said.

On weekends, he goes to church or takes walks alone in a mall. “I don’t make a heck of a lot of friends,” he said. “I don’t hang around any bars.”

If something happens to this job, Patrick says he’ll take early retirement rather than move again.

But he takes in stride his transient lifestyle.

“I can’t dwell on being angry or being mad at anyone,” he said. “I take what’s offered to me and do the best I can.”