Work Day

                The typical work day lasted on average eight to twelve hours at both company towns and in various shifts. This shifts occurred throughout the day disrupting the family life at home. The work day also depended on the type of occupation. In the case of Astra workers had to work up to twelve hours per day due to a shortage of workers.  

Eigentlich sind das acht Stunden, aber weil immer zu wenig Leute waren, haben sie meistens zwölf gearbeitet. Und Sonntags haben sie dann achzehnstündig gearbeitet, das mal einer frei hatte. [Normally people worked eight hour days at Astra but because there were so few people, workers worked at the minimum twelve hours. On Sundays were free days since they had worked eighteen hour days.]
Marth Jung 1/18/01

              Y.P.F. workers usually walked to work or later used vehicles such as trucks and then buses provided to them by the company as shown below. It was the responsibility of the worker to arrive at work at their designated time despite the difficulties in doing so.

Y.P.F. Worker Train

"...where the museum is where YPF is they[workers] had to go through this hill walking to the other side, in the first years, then there started to be vehicles that took them and transport them from here to there in a truck that didn't have, it was closed, it wasn't a bus it was a open vehicle and they would go sitting down and they taken to the work place."
Juan Ivanoff 1/12/01

      Some workers even travelled to Astra on horse, as Elsa Argentina Babir describes her father doing from their home in Los Tamariscos, seven kilometers outside of Astra:

"[Mi] papá venía a caballo acá, trabaja en Astra y venía a caballo...él venía todos los días a caballo.  Acá hacía su trabajo y se volvía ahí de este por allá."  1/19/2003


   
Workers at Astra

       Through the advancement of technology, the workers experienced a variety of changes within their own occupations. Drilling was one of these areas in which technology greatly changed the working conditions. Juan Sloboda, Cezchoslovakian, a worker at Y.P.F., commented on his father's experience in drilling and how technology effected his job.


Juan Sloboda
Juan Sloboda
The advancements of technology in the oil industry

Video Clip



    
Oil workers at oil derrick
   
The types of jobs offered at the oil companies were drilling, tower assembly, pipe installation, boiler control, repairing tools, producing kerosene, housing, food, medical services  and other jobs associated with running the company town as a self sufficient town in additional to an oil company.
         
              
Bar at Astra  Bar at Astra

For example in 1917 the administration in Astra opened a butcher shop to supply its workers and families with cheaper meat. Similar occupations arose in Y.P.F as Mosconi created a bakery and worker's restuarants during the 1920's.



Antoher occupation typically not associated with the oil industry is that of chauffering. According to Afra Lenzer, a German immigrant to Astra during the 1930s, her brother worked at Astra as a chauffer.




Afra Lenzer


Afra Lenzer
1/17/03
Describing her brother's occupation at Astra.

"My brother was a chauffer. A chauffer at Astra. Chauffer that was. He lead a million trucks for years on end."

Video Clip

              "Mein Bruder war Chauffer. Chauffer im Astra, ja Chauffer war das. Ja. Er hatte camion millionen camion geleitet Jahre lang. "
Afra Lenzer 1/17/03




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