Got hair tested a few months back. It wasn’t my company, but our customer (the oil companies) so we could get a security badge to crew up across their facility. They took all my pit hair from both sides, haha. Is this happening elsewhere?
Just curious/thought it would be worth throwing out there. I passed but I know there are still people around who like to have fun during a long time off.
[QUOTE=50thState;64356]Got hair tested a few months back. It wasn’t my company, but our customer (the oil companies) so we could get a security badge to crew up across their facility. They took all my pit hair from both sides, haha. Is this happening elsewhere? …[/QUOTE]
[B]OMGolll that’s funny. So If you did drugs and then needed to “pass” you could shave, and get a weave in… ha ahh and just for fun … make’em dreadlocks. [/B]
I think its pretty sad (absolutely infuriating actually) that the companies now think they have the right to your PRIVATE information for not only the time you work for them but for many months previous. After all, we are talking about what someone is doing on thier private time that it is SO hard to tell they did that it takes such an invasive test to figure it out. Anyone want to tell me how someone smoking dope 2 months ago had ANYTHING whatsoever to do with a persons job performance today??? Obviously, it doesn;t affect thier job even one nanograms worth or else they would not need these stupid tests to tell anything! So, then someone please tell me how they are allowed to get away with trying to force these tests to be required for any job. Another proof if any more is needed that these drug tests have nothing to do with job performance or safety but everything to do with CONTROL (again).
And, to my knowledge, the hair test is still not approved method for USCG purposes.
Did the follicle tester have to submit a sample too? I’d be concerned that someone who sampled armpit hairs was on drugs.
I am sure that I will be in the minority, but it is probably a good thing. With fuel prices so high, America is watching the Oil and Gas industry closely. Many consider them to be profiteers gouging the populace for their own gain. In this toxic atmosphere, it is imperative that the industry maintain the highest standards and professionalism from the top down.
Furthermore, it should be comforting to the man in the rack that his vessel is drug free. I doubt that anyone perusing this site would claim that the current level of testing is effective at keeping drug users off of boats. Hair testing provides an additional level of assurance to not only the employer but also your coworkers that everyone is in fact clean. Why would you fight what amounts to an additional safety measure?
[QUOTE=50thState;64356]Got hair tested a few months back. It wasn’t my company, but our customer (the oil companies) so we could get a security badge to crew up across their facility. They took all my pit hair from both sides, haha. Is this happening elsewhere?
Just curious/thought it would be worth throwing out there. I passed but I know there are still people around who like to have fun during a long time off.[/QUOTE]
Oh my Gawd … What’s next, pubic hair samples? ~~~ 
~~~
Have we as a culture, as a people, gone totally fascist?
Perhaps …
Papers, I want your Papers !!!
edit to add, I want the US Congress to be pee tested and often …
Sorry Sir, I need a sample, being pee shy doesn’t cut it.
[QUOTE=Phil Brady;64378]
Furthermore, it should be comforting to the man in the rack that his vessel is drug free. I doubt that anyone perusing this site would claim that the current level of testing is effective at keeping drug users off of boats. Hair testing provides an additional level of assurance to not only the employer but also your coworkers that everyone is in fact clean. Why would you fight what amounts to an additional safety measure?[/QUOTE]
Why would anyone fight “what amounts to an additional safety measure?” I’ll tell you why. First of all, drug testing really has nothing to do with safety. As I stated above, when they have to do such an invasive test to tell if you have a few nanograms of THC in your system from months ago, it can not possibly have anything to do with safety! It is about CONTROLLING us on our time OFF the vessel! If it was about safety, they would do some sort of skill test to see if you were up to snuff on actually performing your job tasks and it wouldn;t matter what they found in your system. If they were really concerned about safety they would put more crew back onboard the vessels and stop screwing around with the work hour rules and actually obey THAT particular law! Sleep impared people are just as dangerous if not more so than drug “impared” people, especially when the so called drug impared person has to have a hair test to find a few nanograms and has ZERO noticable effects of any drugs on thier ability to perform thier job!
When all this crap first started back in the 80’s I was working for a company when they came down to the boat and told us all we were going to be taking piss tests. I refused on principle. I was asked why was I the only one refusing the test when I was the only one who was not on drugs? OK, that right there told me all I needed to know. The office already knew who was and was not doing drugs, (so did all the crew onboard), the office didn;t care that the crew got high onboard as long as they did their jobs with no problems, which they DID! None of us had a problem with relaxing a little bit with a beer or whatever at the dock when we knew we weren;t doing anything. I personally felt perfectly safe in my bunk with every crewmember on that vessel. SO, all drug tests did was to waste a bunch of time and money that could have been used in a much more useful way! I do admit, we were on boat with a crew that stuck around. I can see it might be necessary to do these tests (NOT hair test, it goes WAY too far into the past) if you have no idea of how your crew reacts normally. Otherwise, it is a very large intrusion on our privacy. Regardless of whether I pass or fail a drug test, neither has much to do with how I perform my job. Especially when they are doing hair tests that show what you did months ago! SO, you tell me, how in the world does what you did on YOUR time off weeks or months ago have anything to do with the job you do on your job now??? And how does that relate to safety in any way???
[QUOTE=Phil Brady;64378]I doubt that anyone perusing this site would claim that the current level of testing is effective at keeping drug users off of boats.[/QUOTE]
Hey, you’re the one that took all my pit hair aren’t you? It was quite a moment we shared, I hope you remember it as fondly as I do…
xoxoxox
Mandatory testing for welfare recipients! Not professional mariners!
[QUOTE=JP;64381]Why would anyone fight “what amounts to an additional safety measure?” I’ll tell you why. First of all, drug testing really has nothing to do with safety. As I stated above, when they have to do such an invasive test to tell if you have a few nanograms of THC in your system from months ago, it can not possibly have anything to do with safety! It is about CONTROLLING us on our time OFF the vessel! If it was about safety, they would do some sort of skill test to see if you were up to snuff on actually performing your job tasks and it wouldn;t matter what they found in your system. If they were really concerned about safety they would put more crew back onboard the vessels and stop screwing around with the work hour rules and actually obey THAT particular law! Sleep impared people are just as dangerous if not more so than drug “impared” people, especially when the so called drug impared person has to have a hair test to find a few nanograms and has ZERO noticable effects of any drugs on thier ability to perform thier job!
When all this crap first started back in the 80’s I was working for a company when they came down to the boat and told us all we were going to be taking piss tests. I refused on principle. I was asked why was I the only one refusing the test when I was the only one who was not on drugs? OK, that right there told me all I needed to know. The office already knew who was and was not doing drugs, (so did all the crew onboard), the office didn;t care that the crew got high onboard as long as they did their jobs with no problems, which they DID! None of us had a problem with relaxing a little bit with a beer or whatever at the dock when we knew we weren;t doing anything. I personally felt perfectly safe in my bunk with every crewmember on that vessel. SO, all drug tests did was to waste a bunch of time and money that could have been used in a much more useful way! I do admit, we were on boat with a crew that stuck around. I can see it might be necessary to do these tests (NOT hair test, it goes WAY too far into the past) if you have no idea of how your crew reacts normally. Otherwise, it is a very large intrusion on our privacy. Regardless of whether I pass or fail a drug test, neither has much to do with how I perform my job. Especially when they are doing hair tests that show what you did months ago! SO, you tell me, how in the world does what you did on YOUR time off weeks or months ago have anything to do with the job you do on your job now??? And how does that relate to safety in any way???[/QUOTE]
JP. I’m in total agreement with you. I’ve got a few thoughts to post but now it’s supper time, check-out my profile, a hint to what I firmly believe, this nation of ours is heading into total fascism. Most of our electorate would not understand a Hitler from a Sir Winston, it’s THAT bad. We are, in what I sincerely believe, becoming a nation of dummies, programmed to be such.
JP:
Didn’t you and I discuss this one already when we were on watch together last year? 
Borh the assets/vessels and the liabilities for damage in case of accident have become so high value that the owners not only need drug and alcohol free operators but they also need operators who can make “rational” and “responsible” decisions; and there is the problem: the owners have decided that anyone who smokes dope or hits the local trailer park meth lab is not acting rationally or responsibly.
In the end, since the assets are their property they can decide on their own definition on rational and responsible behavior.
[QUOTE=Sweat-n-Grease;64387]JP. I’m in total agreement with you. I’ve got a few thoughts to post but now it’s supper time, check-out my profile, a hint to what I firmly believe, this nation of ours is heading into total fascism. Most of our electorate would not understand a Hitler from a Sir Winston, it’s THAT bad. We are, in what I sincerely believe, becoming a nation of dummies, programmed to be such.[/QUOTE]
WAIT a minute. It is NOT the government that is demanding these tests it is the Nazis at the company you work for and their lawyers. They want to use something you MAY have done one year ago to shift blame and responsibility from themselves.The companies are the fascists though I do blame the government that the voters elected for letting them get by with this crap. Where are the unions in all this invasion of privacy? Oh, they don’t exist in most areas of the industry any more and they have caved to the fascists in the others. The “Patriot Act” was the beginning of the end for individual rights and privacy in the USA. A former president stated shortly after 9-11 stated. “They hate us for our freedom”. He then proceeded to take away our freedoms via the Patriot Act [a misnomer if there ever was one]. Who won?
[QUOTE=tengineer;64419] Where are the unions in all this invasion of privacy? Oh, they don’t exist in most areas of the industry any more and they have caved to the fascists in the others.[/QUOTE]
Yup, this is a union job. Glad I pay those dues every month…
[QUOTE=heavyseas;64386]Mandatory testing for welfare recipients! Not professional mariners![/QUOTE]
How about this, heavyseas, mandatory testing for all federal employees, all members of Congress, plus their staff, and the Black Robes with their staff.
[QUOTE=richard8000milesaway;64398]JP:
Didn’t you and I discuss this one already when we were on watch together last year?
Borh the assets/vessels and the liabilities for damage in case of accident have become so high value that the owners not only need drug and alcohol free operators but they also need operators who can make “rational” and “responsible” decisions; and there is the problem: the owners have decided that anyone who smokes dope or hits the local trailer park meth lab is not acting rationally or responsibly.
In the end, since the assets are their property they can decide on their own definition on rational and responsible behavior.[/QUOTE]
Do their decisions regarding rational and responsible behavior include their very own decision to fight adequate rest rules, proper manning and failure to adequately maintain their vessels? Why not test these greedy people who accept no responsibility except for their own pockets. Is the mariner totally responsible for every penny pinching decision made by the folks giving themselves millions in stock options and ridiculous salaries? Why is the mariner held to a higher standard than those who direct their work and working conditions?
Here’s one for y’all…Went through USCG inspection in Brasil…Rcvd and 835 because the Brasilians are not subject to drug/alcohol testing, but yet they can work on US flagged vessels. From what I understand, it violates their rights. Go figure!
[QUOTE=JP;64381]Regardless of whether I pass or fail a drug test, neither has much to do with how I perform my job.[/QUOTE]
I Disagree. There is little doubt that chronic drug and alcohol abuse leads to decreases in motor skills and cognitive ability, and people who have consumed drugs recently are more likely to do so again.
[QUOTE=JP;64381]SO, you tell me, how in the world does what you did on YOUR time off weeks or months ago have anything to do with the job you do on your job now??? And how does that relate to safety in any way???[/QUOTE]
Regardless of when illegal drugs are used, they are still illegal. I think that an employer is reasonable in drawing a negative conclusion about a mariner’s fitness to work from a positive drug test, even if the positive resulted from consumption far prior to employment. I can only speak with certainty about my own opinions, but, given the choice, I would rather work on a boat that could be certified drug free to a higher degree of certainty.
Other posters keep bringing up their rights to privacy. I feel very strongly about the 4th amendment and the rights associated with it, but it offers protection only from the state and state actors. Private employers have every RIGHT to hire the individuals that they feel are most likely to perform their job to the highest standards. There may be some characteristics that an employer is barred from considering when making decisions on employment, but engaging in illegal drug use is not one of them. You as a mariner have every RIGHT to work somewhere else.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think hair test results are DOT tests. Meaning that their results are not reported to the USCG. Does anyone know if this is the case?
That makes perfect sense!
[QUOTE=Capt Brian;64426]Here’s one for y’all…Went through USCG inspection in Brasil…Rcvd and 835 because the Brasilians are not subject to drug/alcohol testing, but yet they can work on US flagged vessels. From what I understand, it violates their rights. Go figure![/QUOTE]
Yeah, to the best of my knowledge, the USA is the only country that mandates drug testing of mariners. Other nations (at least those flags I deal with) believe what a mariner does when not onboard is his or her business. It isn’t like the US has the lowest accident rate or anything, we just have the most invasive and profitable industry built around watching people urinate.
I’ll go along with the idea of a quickly rising tide of American fascism. We have become a shining example of what the old timers from 1930s Germany drooled about creating.
[QUOTE=Steamer;64433]Yeah, to the best of my knowledge, the USA is the only country that mandates drug testing of mariners. Other nations (at least those flags I deal with) believe what a mariner does when not onboard is his or her business. It isn’t like the US has the lowest accident rate or anything, we just have the most invasive and profitable industry built around watching people urinate.
I’ll go along with the idea of a quickly rising tide of American fascism. We have become a shining example of what the old timers from 1930s Germany drooled about creating.[/QUOTE]
The really scary part is the average US citizen, like the German citizen of the 30’s, seems to think this is all just fine.
Giving up your liberty and privacy for someone else’s idea of security and safety is an excellent way to lose both. It’s a slippery slope.