Anyone ever worked as a BRIDGE TENDER?

In Chicago, on the river, you must have political clout along with being in the right Union. I am not sure but it used to be the Electrical workers local134.

You have to work weekends and have a set time for raising and lowering. You also work in teams where you go up and down the river raising and lowering. You don't stay at one manned post all the time.

I am pretty sure that it is seasonal also.

I didn't work there long----they want you to stay awake all night

and those tow boat captains are real pushy about wanting to have that bridge all the way up in time....and the sheriff gets

really huffy if you forget to drop the barricades when you raise

the bridge. But, its a lot of fun taking a wiss off the bridge into

the smoke stacks..........and dropping the barricades and stopping your ex-wife when there is really nothing coming.....

Oh......it's not good when your girlfriend comes to visit at work

and the damn bridge gets stuck at the top.......and then her husband is on the maintenance crew that comes to fix the bridge.............I was ready to quit anyway.

The hours can be all over the place.

Big responsibility.

Weather, particularly hot weather - may affect the expansion of steel and bridge can become stuck in any position.

I don't know anything about it, but if city bridges, I would think it's a nice, politically connected job.

EDIT: Carl B. below...just the city I had in mind with my answer!