Working outside one perk of flagger profession
Neither a college degree in computer science nor the school of hard knocks as a bartender prepared Stephanie Baldwin, 45, for the task of traffic flagging in construction zones. Working in the building and tavern business from St. Croix to Hawaii, Baldwin didn’t get the opportunity to be run over on the job until starting as a flagger for Eclipse Traffic Control in Coeur d’Alene this year.
The job can be dangerous. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 872 workers died in construction zones in 1999, the last year of record keeping.
Flaggers must complete a training course to earn a certification card, which is valid in Washington and other states besides Idaho. Private construction flaggers are required to wear bright yellow vests with matching hard hats, while Department of Transportation Flaggers wear orange shirts or vests.
Stephanie Mutch, Baldwin’s boss, says Baldwin is an excellent worker who “knows how to set up projects and is a great multitasker.” Mutch asks drivers to use their turn signals and to follow the flagger’s instructions.
Baldwin enjoys much about the daily grind, saying her goal is to “try and make sure traffic gets through with no one getting hurt.”
What is your job title? “Flagger.”
How long have you been doing this? “I flagged 10 or 12 years ago, then ran heavy equipment. I just got back into flagging this year.”
How did you choose this line of work? “My neighbors told me about an opening.”
Are you paid: (a) well; (b) more than you are worth; (c) slave wages, (d) could be better? “The pay is very good, but with what we have to deal with sometimes, they can’t pay us enough.”
What is the best thing about your job? “Great crews to work with and working outside in the summer is usually nice. Eighty percent of the public is great – they give you a wave and a smile.”
What is the worst thing about your job? “The other 20 percent of the public! Having to deal with road rage – some people just don’t realize we are just trying to keep everyone safe. There should be a law prohibiting drivers from using cell phones in construction zones, as they just don’t see the workers. Bad weather is also a problem. It was blowing so hard once this spring during a rainstorm that I was wet on one side of my body and dry on the other. Gnats and other insects are a nuisance and bees are really attracted to the color of these vests.”
Do you plan on doing this job (a) until retirement; (b) until something better comes along? “I would like to get my degree in construction management, but I will stick with this at least until I’m out of school. Then I’ll see what happens from there.”
Do you have any on-the-job funny stories? “On a project near Lewiston, I was flagging out in the middle of nowhere, in front of a house. A man came out of the house, buck naked, and began working in his garden, unaware that I was there. There are plenty of stories I can’t tell. Every day it’s a comedy just watching human beings.”
Any bad experiences? “When working on a project in Wallace, an 85-year-old man wanted to drive over brand new pavement that hadn’t set. He got very mad at me when I told him no and he tried to run over me twice during the next two days. Once he was going about 60 miles per hour and came within inches of me. The police wanted me to testify against him, but I felt it would be like throwing my grandfather in jail. The police didn’t allow him out of his house until the construction project was over. Just last week someone tried to run over a flagger on this site. She hasn’t returned to work.”
If there was a movie made about you and your job, what actor should play you? Baldwin’s boss suggests Jodie Foster, as “She is an action-movie type of actress.”