Kilted to protest

[parpin]

Hi again,

It's my best friend, the radio announcer, who warned me about that newspaper article about that matter in a local hospital.

These employes are not members of the medical staff (nurses,doctors or lab technicians) but work in the office without any contacts with the public.

To my opinion the management is narrow minded. These guys are stuck with their striped suits and stuff they learned 25 years ago when they studied at the management school.

If you can understand french you can listen to the radio interview I did with my friend on the following link :

http://tinyurl.com/n8fg2b

[Riverkilt]

Ah, kilts at the forefront again!

A thought for your union. Eons ago in high school we protested a new dress code by meeting it - only the clothes we wore that met the dress code were worn in clashing color combinations or obviously obtained at thrift shops.

Our point was that smartly worn and color coordinated garments on the banned list looked better than garments that met the code but that were shabby and poorly color coordinated.

Of course the protest was futile and we lost...but it was fun.

Ron

[Stratherrick]

Riverkilt

Give me a rebel yell!

Good on ya, mate!

Slainte

Bruce

[MartinGrenoble]

... implementation of the policy will take effect this fall, but that it cannot be changed to include kilts.

This should be (more optimistically):

(the dress code) will be changed only to include the kilt.

The writer, who hopes that cooler autumn days will deter the kilt-wearers, obviously does not know that a kilt can also be comfortably warm for the cold season.

Martin

[Smayniac]

Ah, kilts at the forefront again!

A thought for your union. Eons ago in high school we protested a new dress code by meeting it - only the clothes we wore that met the dress code were worn in clashing color combinations or obviously obtained at thrift shops.

Our point was that smartly worn and color coordinated garments on the banned list looked better than garments that met the code but that were shabby and poorly color coordinated.

Of course the protest was futile and we lost...but it was fun.

Ron

I had a roommate many years ago who had attended a private boarding school where students were required to dress for dinner. He related that the freshmen wore their Sunday best for the first week and thereafter made a trip to the local thrift store to do as you suggest. By his story, and I've met other who attended the school who corroborate it, the administration chose not to pursue the policy to its extreme. I don't think kilts ever occurred to them, but it might have been interesting.
Bob

[Highland Logan]

As a former Army guy, maybe someone could explain why you want to put all this effort into breaking the rules rather than trying to follow them and put your apparent extra energy into doing a better job? Now before the flames start, by better job, I meant that no one is perfect, and a better job could always be done if one were to put in more effort or are we all CEO's here and have reached the top of our game.

And for those who feel the need to bend and break company policy, how do you exspect those under you, now or promotions down the road to do as you say?

And in these down and out times, where it seems that there are always 2 or 3 more people ready and willing to do your job, why would you chose to fight over clothes. I mean Health & Safety rules, sure.. but kilts over pants?

Please no eatherial hippy freedom type answers that can never be debated, but real world substantial points we can really discuse.

Frank

[Leprechaun 91]

Fascinating! Now the kilt is a protest item. What a versatile garment.

I thin one might have seen it as such during proscription.

[xena]

I'm afraid I have to politely ask the same question as Highland Logan. Whence cometh the automatic "fight the power" attitude whenever there are rules?

Actually some of the rules sound pretty rudimentary. I quote: "The new policy prohibits tank tops, jeans, hats, leggings and transparent sweaters." None of those items of clothing are what I'd consider professional office clothing in the first place. Especially the transparent sweaters - shudder!

Over the years, one thing I've noticed in office environments is that clothing affects our attitudes and behaviour. People dressed professionally tend to (not always! but tend to...) act professionally. People dressed like slobs tend to act like slobs. I've seen people who, when dressed in a T-shirt and jeans act like idiots, yet those same people, when in business suits, or equivalent, act like consummate professionals.

That being said, I can see Bermuda shorts (or better yet, kilts!) in a shipping/receiving department as not being a problem, but it comes down to how the regulations are written. As I said, I don't have a problem with Bermuda's, but I'd be loathe to work with someone wearing Speedo's. I think I'm going to be ill from just thinking about that! Depending on how they've worded the rules, the same rule that would prohibit Speedo's also could prohibit Bermuda's (or kilts!). That might be the problem.

I know it's traditional for unions to automatically take an adversarial stance against management, but aren't there more important things to agitate for in this world?

[Squeaky McMurdo]

I don't wish to be flamed either, but I can see the administration's point of view here.

Whether or not they have contact with patients, they still have to walk through the building to get to their work area.

I don't think bare legs are appropriate work attire for anyone working in a medical setting. From the neurosurgeon to the janitor. And as a patient who is nervous enough about going to the doctor as it is...I would be loathe to return if I saw anyone with a name tag not wearing pants or a skirt with nylons. It all boils down to the expectation of a professional atmosphere.

--Chelsea McMurdo--

[derosa]

I'm inclined to agree with those who wonder why the protest. I'm a shorts wearer by nature and hated having to fit the dress code at the hospital while doing chaplaincy however there is a need to maintain professionalism. I was permitted to wear a kilt only so long as I wore proper hose so the legs were covered per regulations. The banned items don't belong in most service jobs unless like me you work in a bicycle shop, then most anything goes.