Why did all the operators shut down their machines?

Marcus Ned eagerly drove his new company pickup onto the construction site. His employer, Kelso Construction Company, had just assigned him to supervise a crew of 16 equipment operators, oilers, and mechanics.

This was the first unionized crew Marcus had supervised, and he was unaware of the labor agreement in effect that carefully defined and limited the role of supervisors. As he approached his work area, he noticed one of the cherry pickers (a type of mobile crane with an extendable boom) standing idle with the operator beside it. Marcus pulled up beside the operator and asked, “What’s going on here?”

“Out of gas,” the operator said.

“Well, go and get some,” Marcus said.