DannyBoyinExile

When I quit my last job (the Major’s Utility Squad, on the High Security wing), I knew that it wouldn’t be long before I found another job – and I was right.
Well, I was never “jobless” (they simply assigned me to the laundry), but I WAS “unemployed”. Sadly, the laundry is a dumping-ground for people who have lots of medical restrictions (and can’t work), as well as people who have been fired from other jobs (who WON’T work!). Realistically there are far more people on the roster than could possibly go to work each day. So, unless you are personally hired on somebody’s crew, to do a particular job – you simply don’t go to work at all. (Which is understandable, of course. The LAST thing they want is a few hundred bored inmates roaming around the laundry, wheeling and dealing with each other, or looking for something to steal!)
I, on the other hand, have a lot of skills, enjoy staying busy, and DON’T steal. On one hand, I had to overcome the questions like, “Why’d they fire your ass from B wing?” But on the other hand, I’ve spent YEARS working in the hallway (right in front of the laundry!), so most of their personnel knew me personally, and had seen the type of worker I am. So it didn’t take long for me to get an actual job.
The laundry has its own caste system, like just about any other job, where every level feels that they are above, better than, or more important than the other levels. At the top (if you ask them, anyway) are probably the pressers. Their job is pressing officers’ uniforms – as well as the occasional VIP inmate clothes – and they tend to be the biggest prima donnas in any laundry. I happen to know this for a fact, because I’ve BEEN a presser!
Washer and dryer operators, meanwhile, feel that THEY are the backbone of the laundry. They are quick to point out that the PURPOSE of the laundry is to wash and dry inmates’ clothes, and the pressing of officers’ uniforms is only a perk – which couldn’t be done without them being washed and dried in the first place.
Then there are janitors, whose job is to keep the place clean and tidy, which is equally important – and certainly enough to make THEM feel important.
There are also the clerks, who naturally feel superior to everyone else, due to the fact that they sit in the office with the Captain all day. One of their jobs is doing the typing and filing of the paperwork that gets all the other inmates assigned to their jobs. If any of the other VIPs gets too uppity, or doubts the importance of the clerks – they’ll understand it better when their job is suddenly changed!
At the very bottom of the laundry hierarchy is the folding table – home of yours truly. We separate the socks, shirts, pants, boxers, and towels, fold them, and send them to their destinations. Our job is important in its own way, as it has to be done – but it’s definitely not a job that anyone CONSIDERS important.
Together, we are a family, and keep the laundry functioning. There is as much bickering as you’d find in ANY family, but there is just as much cooperation. We each do our jobs, and work together to get it done.
Someone’s always getting hired, fired, or promoted to another job, so there’s always room for advancement, if you desire. Once people notice that you’re a hard worker, it will only be a matter of time before you’re offered a different job, which represents a different rung on the social ladder. I guess that’s the American Way – even in prison. So says DannyBoy.