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Translated By The Community Of WWW.MY-SUBS.COM

- Hey, Mel. - Hello, Mayor.

- How are you this morning? - Good, how you doing?

All right.

Tonight, Karen Freeman-Wilson,

the Mayor of Gary, Indiana...

It is my honor

to work with you.

Oh, my gosh.

Attempts to work undercover in her own city.

Good afternoon.

So you gonna be me for the day, huh?

- You ready? - I'm ready.

By adopting a zany alter ego

and wild new look...

Fire will be over by the time I get these on.

The Mayor will go unnoticed

as she meets the people who make her city work.

You can smell the waste.

This is...

poop.

Miss Sheila, he's getting away, Miss Sheila!

All right, all right, I'm gonna get him.

You making us look like a punk.

This stuff gonna make me lose my religion.

While undercover,

she'll find out just how hard it is

to keep the city running.

We just need some great leadership

and better equipment.

And what will happen

when she meets an employee who is disappointed

in her leadership?

Our boss and the Mayor are best friends,

so who can you tell?

Find out next...

on Undercover Boss.

Founded in 1906,

Gary, Indiana, was a leading producer of American steel

for most of the 20th century.

Immortalized by the Broadway musical, "The Music Man,"

and birthplace of the Jackson 5,

Gary was once known as the magic city.

Leading this proud city into the future,

is one woman.

My name is Karen Freeman-Wilson

and I'm the Mayor of the city of Gary, Indiana.

- Hey, Jamil. - Hello, Mayor.

- How are you this morning? - Good, how you doing?

All right, I'll get in here and get some stuff done.

I've served as Mayor for five years.

And I'm the first African American female Mayor

in the state of Indiana.

I was born and raised here

in a working-class background.

My dad worked in the mill.

My mother worked for the NAACP.

Their whole focus was,

"Hey, you need to go to school,

you need to get your education."

And I became the valedictorian

of my high school graduating class.

I went to Harvard

in Cambridge, Massachusetts,

and continued on to Harvard Law School there.

During the summers,

I would work in law firms in the city of Chicago.

And there was always the sense, "Yeah, the money is good,

but this isn't really what you're supposed to do."

You know, it was always,

"You need to go back home."

After graduating, I worked as a prosecutor,

as a public defender, as a judge, attorney general,

and in November of 2011,

I ran for Mayor because I saw a need

that existed in the city of Gary

because of the decline of the steel industry.

The city of Gary was founded by Elbert H. Gary,

who was the Chairman of the Board of U.S. Steel.

When Gary was founded in 1906,

it experienced exponential growth.

Gary had 180,000 residents.

Of course, with the decline of the steel industry,

people lost their jobs,

Because people lost their homes,

they just left the city looking for better opportunities.

And as a result of that,

our population dropped to

77,000 people today.

Our loss of population has been devastating.

We've lost half of our tax base,

we've seen a significant increase in crime.

And we have one of the highest

unemployment rates in the country.

Growing up, I saw Gary at its best.

And to know that Gary can be better,

is really what motivates me as the Mayor of this town.

This is Karen Freeman-Wilson.

This is the beginning of my second term.

During the first term,

we really focused on the citizens,

on whether we were meeting their needs.

And we had to put out a lot of fires during that time.

And now they have hope again.

They have a sense that we can be better,

and that we can be the city that they deserve.

My husband and I live in an area of the city

that is, uh, traditionally called the Horace Mann area.

It is not a Mayor's mansion;

it is the house that we purchased

back in 1997 after we got married.

- What's up? - What you got going?

- Stir fry time again. - Oh.

My husband's name is Carmen Wilson.

Carmen and I met while we were serving

in state government.

- That's enough. Ah! - It'll be all right, trust me.

- Oh! - Coconut oil is good for you.

- Keep you regular. - Whatever.

And that it will do.

Recently, we celebrated 25 years of marriage.

I am probably one of the most

visible Mayors in the history of this city.

So I'm inviting a few members of my staff,

who know what I would and wouldn't wear,

to give me advice,

developing the best disguise.

Hey.

Ready to look at some disguises?

Because I'm really concerned about being detected.

- Get the wigs. - Okay.

Yeah, take 'em out, take 'em out.

Okay, okay, it's a little snug.

I don't want to get a headache.

Oh, sister, you don't have headaches.

- You give headaches. - Okay.

- Yeah. - Okay, let's see what we got.

Bam.

Whoo!

Okay, let's try another one.

- Now what's her name? - Uh, Chaka Khan.

Oh, Chaka Khan!

- Okay, we got one more. - One more.

- Okay. - I like that.

- I actually like the dread look. - You like that?

- That ain't that bad. - So we decided on this one?

- Yeah. - Yeah, let's do that one.

- Okay. - Yay.

Whoo-hoo!

I'm going undercover now

because I have a goal that I want to have

100,000 residents in the city of Gary.

And so I want to see what's going on

in the inner workings of the city

to make sure that I am creating the type of city

that would cause people to relocate here

so that we can get to the goal of 100,00 residents.

Throw your hair back like you just don't care.

In order to pull this off,

I'm disguising myself with big hair,

no glasses, and I'm also changing my voice.

So you gonna walk like this and...

Oh, how you doing?

Uh, my name is Sheila.

I'll be going undercover as Sheila.

My employees will think they're on a different reality show.

They have no idea it's really Undercover Boss.

Oh, my gosh.

That is cute.

Today, I'm going to be working as a certified operator

during the night shift at the Gary Sanitary District.

Where, when you flush, things happen.

Essentially, we treat all of the waste water

that comes from Gary so that it can be

discharged into a water body.

I'm here all the time for meetings,

but I've never even toured the larger plant.

I'm hoping to see that we're treating the waste water right.

Because it's important to the health and safety

of our citizens.

- I'm looking for Brandon. - Yes, I am.

- Well, how are you, sir? - All right, and yourself?

All right, my name is Sheila.

I came to work with you.

All right, so check this out,

this is what we do here.

We basically bring the water in,

raw sewage that's coming in out of the city,

we clean it up and put it out into the aquatic life, so...

- Raw sewage from where? - Everywhere.

You wash dishes at home, you, uh, use the bathroom...

- So my dishwater? - Dishwater.

- The other water? - The other water.

She has a wide, bright smile

but she needs to come dressed for the job.

Yeah, you definitely gonna need a shirt.

She still has on jewelry.

You don't need to be cute here.

We at the first stage of when the raw sewage come in.

This is called the Headworks.

Okay.

You can smell the waste.

- That's what that is. - Oh, my goodness.

- I see your facial expression. - Yes, sir.

It stinks in there.

It's over the top for me.

This is the grid box.

- This thing got the hard stuff. - Yeah.

- The dirt matter, the gravel. - Got it.

Everything that's coming out of the household,

even from our own bodies.

This is poop.

This is, essentially, poop.

So what I want you to do,

is take this rake

and level it down.

All right, I can do that.

'Cause it'll get so high to a point

that it starts to spill over.

Okay.

Yeah, I got it now, baby.

How long you been doing this job?

Uh, about eight years now.

Now, I don't want you to be alarmed,

there be little mice and...

snakes and turtles everywhere,

so just be careful.

If I see a snake, I'm out the door, I'm telling you now.

This stuff gonna make me lose my religion.

All right, Miss Sheila, that's good enough.

- Is that good enough? - That's good enough.

So now what we gonna do?

Now we gonna move onto the next area.

Okay.

Right now, you gonna go over there to the primary tanks.

So as we left the Headwork,

it all comes over here now.

- You see this rake here? - Yes, sir.

See that rake right there?

Yeah.

That scoops all the sludge,

pushes it in the middle, and we have pumps

that pumps it to another stage.

These little things over here are called V-notch wheels.

We need to make sure these are clean every day,

so you gonna take this brush right here,

and go in the backside and then go in the front side.

'Cause you gonna do everything from over there

all the way to the end over here.

Okay.

- I'ma get this one. - Mm-hmm.

And then I'm gonna get 'em on the outside.

Okay, now turn the brush a little bit.

- Okay, I've turned the brush. - Mm-hmm.

- So you think you got it? - Yep, I got it, Brandon.

- I'm gonna leave you to it. - All right, all right.

All right.

Now, I don't see no debris.

I tell you what, I see enough to stay out of that.

I have a newfound respect

for flushing the toilet.

As far as cleaning the wheels,

I'd give her definitely an F.

- How you doing over here? - I'm doing good.

She was using the back of the brush,

and there's no bristles on the back.

I thought it was just common sense, you what I'm saying?

But that's just my opinion.

Stick it on up with the broom and then just...

yeah, there you go.

So tell about yourself, where you from?

I'm from Nashville, Tennessee.

So, now, you got any kids?

I have two... I have two boys.

They both stay in Marysville.

I didn't... I didn't want 'em to stay here.

You know what I'm saying? But, uh...

get caught up in the environment like I did.

You know how it go, being a young black man in...

in a poor environment.

I done been to jail a couple times.

Uh, you know...

it teaches you things, you know.

Yeah, yeah.

You been here for eight years.

Yeah.

This sound like a pretty good job

for you to stay that long.

I mean, you know, it's, uh...

it's keeping me busy.

I'll put it that way.

I mean, this place is so crazy that

you don't get a chance to move up.

They have favoritism here.

You got people that's been here for three months

and they're already a supervisor.

They don't fix nothing around here.

What's broke out here?

Half of the majority of the things you see,

it's not working properly, it's...

they put a Band-Aid on things.

- Well, why don't they fix it? - Who you gonna tell?

The boss is controlling everything around here.

- She doesn't do anything. - The boss?

- The superintendent. - The superintendent?

- Yes. - So...

All they want to make sure is the money keep coming in

and generating... that's all they care about.

Long as they get they money,

they don't care.

- They don't care. - Now, that's a problem.

Yes it is, yes.

But who can you run to?

Our boss and the Mayor are best friends,

so who can you tell?

- Is that right? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah..

Well, now.

Our boss and the Mayor are best friends,

so who can you tell?

- Is that right? - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Any y'all think you can talk to the superintendent?

We... we tried.

- We tried. - And she won't listen?

Nothing... nothing is getting done around here.

I mean, it's almost to the point where

you want to to give up... I mean, it's like, who cares?

You know what I'm saying?

And they wonder why we walk around here bitter.

And, you know, "I don't want to be at work."

- You know what I'm saying? - I understand what you saying.

Brandon really does not feel like he's a part of the team.

And that's disappointing.

He has no recourse

when he sees things that are wrong as an employee.

That's a problem.

- I see it coming through. - Looks good.

Looks good.

I do know the plant superintendent.

And I need to dig into this and see what's going on.

Today, I'm working at Station 7

with a Gary firefighter.

I know some of our firehouses aren't in the best condition.

But firefighters are really important to our city.

We have a large number of fires and emergency calls.

And I want to make sure our fire stations

are supported in the best way possible.

- Good afternoon. - I'm Nate Carter.

- How can I... how you doing? - All right, my name is Sheila.

- How you doing, Miss Sheila? - All right.

So you gonna be me for the day, huh?

- Well, I'm gonna try. - I'm a firefighter EMT.

So what that means is, I do both,

EMS and fire rescues.

So I'm gonna show you what we do.

And then you'll try to do as I do, okay?

Okay.

Well, first off, I'm gonna need you to look like one of us.

- So I need you to put on this. - Okay.

I'm not trying to be harsh, but...

it's... it's gonna be kind of rough for her, I'll give her.

It's... it'll be really, really, really rough for her.

So I'm gonna show you how we put our gear on.

And the reason we put this stuff on

is to protect us from the heat.

And, you know, every second count.

That one extra second could save somebody's life.

We hear the tone, we come in,

we put our hood on.

Now a hood, like I said, it helps us

protect your ears and your neck from the heat.

And these shoes are heat-resistant.

You pull up your bunker pants,

then slides our coat on,

and then next, I put my helmet on.

Then, I get my air pack.

This is your lifeline.

This here supplies you with fresh air.

And now, the thing about this is,

to be a fireman, time is of the essence, all right?

I'm gonna have you do it.

But you got to do it in under two minutes.

I got to do it in under two minutes?

Yes, ma'am. All right?

- Okay. - We got a house fire.

Go.

Right, make sure you put the hood on,

cover your ear and your neck.

'Cause that's gonna protect you from that heat.

Well, now.

We got a little problem with these pants.

They might be a little too small.

- Snug is good. - Yeah.

Fire be over by the time I get these on.

When she was putting the stuff on,

she was kind of lollygagging, figuring out

how exactly as it goes.

She wasn't, like, trying to really get it,

so I think the urgency, she was lacking.

All right, well, right now, you're at five minutes.

- Oh, Lord. - That's all right.

We gonna get you there.

There's your helmet, now where your gloves at?

They're right by your shoes.

Sheila happened to be the slowest I've ever seen

get dressed, yes.

All right, you want your time?

Oh, no, I don't want to know my time.

I'll tell ya anyway... I'm gonna tell you anyway.

- Okay, tell me, then. - 12 minutes and 42 seconds.

Oh, Lord, the fire be over by then.

Yeah. That ain't gonna cut it.

It don't take long for someone to suffocate on smoke.

So that's why time is really important.

And plus, just imagine, you get all that stuff on, right?

You at a fire...

come with me.

You found somebody. You got to drag 'em out.

They done passed out from the smoke.

Grab them under the arms like this,

and drag them.

- All right. - Go ahead.

He's really heavy... oh, Lord.

There's that hat again.

Crazy.

Keep on coming, keep on coming.

You still in the house. Keep on coming.

Keep on coming.

You got to get him to our EMTs.

Keep on coming.

Good.

- Whoo! - You tired?

- Yeah! - Oh, no.

You got to go back in there and finish your job.

The fire's still going.

Yeah. Here, here's your helmet.

Don't want to forget that.

I'm feeling a little inadequate right now.

Grab him by the neck?

That's not right.

Under the arm, under the arm.

This is a good argument for going on a diet.

How you feeling?

- Tired. - A little tired?

- Yes, sir. - Well...

I don't know if I'm tough enough for your job.

Matter of fact, I don't think I am.

Whoo!

Okay, well...

we on a fire scene,

and we need a ladder.

All right.

This looks like a ladder to me.

I don't want to break the ladder.

Gonna go right here.

- Right here. - Okay, we gonna go here.

And now I got to get it to tilt up.

Here, now.

Tilt and walk up.

Well, now, I don't know, Mr. Nate.

Here, let me show you, let me show you.

I think you got to be...

Okay.

You a lot taller than me, Mr. Nate.

Boom.

There we go.

Imagine doing that with all that gear you had on.

We take it very seriously.

We feel like the public deserves the best of the best

and that's what we look for and that's what we give 'em.

- That's amazing. - Yeah.

Now, how tall are you, for real?

For real, for real?

With the hair? I'm 6'8".

Did you ever play basketball?

I went to college playing basketball,

that's how I went to college.

- No way. - Yeah.

Now, how long you been doing this?

About four years, now.

Going to a fire and try to save someone's house

from completely losing everything,

or even save someone's life,

it's a... it's an amazing thing.

And sometimes, you know, sometimes the morale around here

might be a little low because working in Gary,

we expected to do the same thing as everybody else,

but with not the same kind of equipment.

And, uh, we might get three or four fires a month.

Compared to another city, they might get

three or four fires a year.

Oh, my goodness.

Unfortunately, Gary, we don't have as much money

as our neighboring cities,

so we're not able to acquire

newer equipment.

Another thing is, we haven't had

that much updates to our stations.

What do you mean, like, the bathroom and stuff?

Like... yeah, like the bathroom or

re-tiling or re-painting.

All that stuff costs money.

And right now, you know,

money, it just ain't there.

We ain't got the money, we can't do it.

When I hear Nate talk about what they have

in other cities, it makes me want to work even harder

to try and bring those things to Gary.

I take pride in my job,

I love being from Gary, and having to work for Gary...

- Yeah. - It's amazing, it's great.

I was totally impressed with his enthusiasm,

his commitment to the job.

I feel very blessed as the Mayor of a city

to have a firefighter like Nate.

This is a great job.

Like anything else, it has its ups and downs,

but there's way more ups than there are downs.

- Coming up... - You letting him get away.

- You making us look like a punk. - It's a lot to do.

Can the Mayor cut it as a cop?

You walking up here like you getting ready to go shopping.

And later...

Now turn it straight. What're you doing?

She discovers a day at the beach

is no vacation.

And you do this on all the cans, Steve?

Yes, ma'am.

After working with Nate

and hearing that our firefighters are dealing with

four times the volume of calls as other cities,

and not feeling supported,

I went to work with a police officer to see if they are

dealing with the same issues.

We have a large number of violent crimes.

In fact, last year, there were over 50 homicides.

I've actually spent a lot of time

working with the police department.

The things I know about the department

are generally things

that they want the Mayor to know.

So today, I'm hoping to find out what's really going on.

Excuse me, Officer.

How are you?

- I'm well. - I'm Miss Sheila.

- Miss Sheila? - Yes, ma'am.

I'm Shanesha, it's nice to meet you.

- It's my pleasure. - Okay.

It's my pleasure.

So you want to come and learn the job?

Yes.

Today, I'm gonna teach you safety

about traffic stops, okay?

Traffic stops can be very dangerous.

Because you're going to the unknown.

You really don't know what you're driving up on.

So we have to be safe at all times.

Up front, we have Jose,

he's gonna be our little suspect.

- Okay. - Okay?

So, all right.

We got the lights and sirens here, all right?

This is off.

All the way over, it's gonna be on.

- All right. - Then for your sirens...

Stay in a safe distance, stay back.

Driver...

pull into the parking lot.

So we're telling him what he needs to do.

- Okay. - All right.

So now we're gonna get ready to approach.

- Okay. - I'm approaching, right?

I'm watching, I'm looking.

Has any hands popped up? Do I see any additional hands?

No.

I'm gonna stay close to the car.

Okay.

In the event that he wants to try to reach out

with a gun and shoot, he's gonna have to really reach out.

Anybody ever try something with you?

Yes, ma'am.

- Yeah. - Oh, my goodness.

- So are you looking in? - I am.

Okay, go ahead with your right hand,

and slowly reach for your driver's license.

You can hand it to me with your right hand.

Thank you.

Shanesha is teaching me to be safe,

to look out at all times.

Can you please keep your hand on the steering wheel?

Yes, ma'am.

- Miss Sheila? - Yeah.

- Hands kill. - Yes.

When you see her walk up to the car,

you know she is a police officer that means business.

- We back up. - Okay.

- We're still looking, though. - Still looking.

- Let him know you play no games. - That's right.

- All right. - Yeah.

- Got it? - I think I got it.

We're gonna go ahead and let you do it now.

I'm ready when you are.

- You ready? - I'm ready.

Show me what you got.

We gonna get it.

Make sure you stay at a safe distance.

Oh.

- Miss Sheila! - Oh, Lord.

Miss Sheila, he getting away, Miss Sheila!

All right, all right.

I'm gonna get him, I'm gonna get him.

You letting him get away.

All right.

- Miss Sheila. - Yes?

So you would be calling it out, as well.

- It's a lot going on... - It's a lot to do.

I know.

But you have to call it out where he's going, so...

Oh, oh.

Pull into the Subway, operator.

Thank you.

Where'd she get that from?

Who told you to do that? Did I show you that?

I ain't think I did.

Miss Sheila...

you walking up there like you getting ready to go shopping.

I mean, just taking your sweet little time.

Well, I didn't want to bum-rush him.

Well, no, you don't have to bum-rush him,

but you have to have a walk of authority, Miss Sheila.

They got to know you mean business.

- Okay. - Let's go.

- Confidence. - All right.

Good afternoon, sir.

May I have your driver's license?

- Miss Sheila. - Yes?

Don't go reaching in his car.

- Okay. - So they can pull you in.

Would you hand it to me, please?

- Here you go, ma'am. - A little bit further, please.

- Yes, ma'am. - Thank you so much.

I'll be right back.

Yes, ma'am.

You were a little too far out.

Yeah.

So you got to kind of bring it back some.

Uh, you're very bubbly, you know?

And that's okay. You can be nice.

But...

I think you just come off...

like, a little too jolly.

I had high hopes for Miss Sheila.

But, um, you know, she's all nice and all grandma, you know?

I don't know if Miss Sheila has that tough bone.

I'm gonna grab a water, would you like one, too?

- Please, thank you. - All right.

So you saw a little bit today

about traffic stops.

Yeah.

There's a lot more that comes along with being

a police officer.

The danger that's there.

The long hours that we have to work.

The side jobs that we have to pick up

to provide for our families.

We actually don't make as much

as some of the surrounding agencies,

which is kind of unfortunate, because you are

putting your life on the line every single day.

- Yeah. - Here in Gary, we work hard.

Some agencies may have two calls a day.

Where I may be averaging 20 calls.

- 20 calls? - For one shift.

Wow.

This city, what was, you know, once booming,

and it kind of took a turn.

But I'm so optimistic that we can get that back.

Now, I'm not sure everything that it's gonna take

to get it there, but I know that

you have to invest in safety.

Because no one is gonna want to come here and invest

when they don't feel safe.

- That's true. - We have a great department.

Our officers are good.

We just need some great leadership

and better equipment.

For starters, we could use some brand-new cars.

How old is this car?

Um, I want to say this is a 2010.

- Well, it's about six years old. - Okay.

That's kind of old.

It's just a lot that comes along with the territory.

You know, we... we know that.

It's just, um, when you have to work all those hours...

there's supposed to be a minimum of 12 officers working a shift.

Some days we don't have 12.

I was born and raised in Gary, I have a lot of pride for Gary,

a lot of... a lot of hope.

I mean, that's... that's why I'm still here.

I've always known

that police officers have a difficult job.

My experience with Shanesha confirmed that

it's ten times harder than I thought it was.

They're literally laying their lives on the line everyday

with equipment that is not the best.

That's a grave concern for me.

I want to take a look at what we can do as a city

to improve our police force and give them

the support they deserve.

How 'bout we go over there,

and I'll show you some other things.

- All right. - Okay?

Let's do it.

Today, I'm going to be working

with the beach cleanup crew

at Marquette Park.

Marquette Park is one of my greatest opportunities

to enhance tourism in the city of Gary.

However, this is one of the areas, quite frankly,

that we get the most complaints.

The beach isn't clean,

the garbage cans aren't in the right place.

So I'm gonna see for myself.

Excuse me, I'm looking for Steve.

- I'm Steve. - Oh, hey.

- How you doing? - How you doing?

- My name is Sheila. - All right, Sheila.

I've been with the city for 25 years,

and today, we're gonna be running the beach cleaner,

we're gonna be working on the beach.

- Oh, my goodness. - Yes.

Normally...

I would have a bigger machine out here,

which is called a pay loader.

Since the city did not pay the bill,

I don't have it... they repossessed it.

And it's gonna make the job a little harder than normal.

Well, why would it be easier than this?

Because it has power steering,

and has bigger tires, and it's easier to steer.

It was my understanding that we had that pay loader

a long time ago,

and so the first thing I'm going to do

is ask, "Why haven't we gotten that pay loader?"

That needs to be a priority.

- Are you ready? - I'm ready, Steve.

- I'm ready. - All right.

To start it, you turn the key.

Throttle up.

Raise the agitator.

All right.

- Just hang on tight. - All right, I got it.

You slow it down gently.

And then take it back.

Lower to neutral.

So now let's switch spots

and give you a try.

All right, now.

Remember, you got to raise the conveyer.

The other way, the other way.

There you go.

Now throttle up a little.

Take your time. Take your time.

Now you're gonna go... watch where you're going,

'cause you're gonna keep going straight back over there.

Okay... oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

- It's ain't that easy, is it? - Okay... no it is not.

It takes two hands to operate.

You got to steer it with one

and then the controls, you got to operate with the other hand.

You know, you got to be coordinated enough to do that.

I don't know, I don't know if she's gonna be able to

tough it out.

Gonna run into a problem.

Go up a little, go up a little.

Keep it on the grass.

You got to always watch your back wheel.

Now turn it straight, turn it straight.

- What're you doing? - Uh.

I was, like, so nervous,

because I'm sitting there,

praying that I don't accidentally hit something.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Stop it.

You see, the beach is very clean.

This is our pride and joy.

This is why we pick all the debris up

that's around the beach.

Take the cans...

And we're going to the next one.

All right.

And you're gonna be on your own.

And you do this on all the cans, Steve?

- Yes, ma'am. - How far does the beach go?

Usually, we go all the way down to Wells Beach.

Hell, this is a lot of stuff in here, Steve.

And this is heavy.

Tell you what, if I catch somebody

leaving something out,

they gonna have hell to pay.

These people know good doggone well.

They out here, they see the cans,

they too trifling to use the cans.

Now let's move on to the next barrel.

On to the next one.

You got gloves on; I'm gonna let you pick that up.

- That's, uh... - It looks like a little bird.

Yeah.

What we did today is nothing.

Here we go again.

I just don't think she would be able

to handle the beach for the whole day.

This is not for the faint at heart.

She'd probably quit.

So what do you think about the job?

This is a tough job, Steve.

When I first started, we had a ten-man crew.

Ten men?

Ten... ten men doing this job.

And now we're down to two guys doing this job.

And, uh, we ain't had a pay raise for almost 15 years.

I been making $13.24

since 1991.

- Oh, my God. - 25 years.

Steve, you are a dedicated man.

That's why I work so many jobs.

To keep it going.

Once I get done with them, I go home

and take care of my wife and all that.

What's going on with your wife?

Uh, she's got COPD, and gots a heart disease.

How old is your wife?

Uh, 59.

- Oh, my goodness. - But love her to death.

Trying to get her a heart so I can keep her around longer.

Fighting to keep her going.

Keep pushing it.

Her medicine, when I, uh, go to the pharmacy,

runs me, uh, $450.

- Oh, my God. - So I do my best.

Steve is the poster child for resilience.

I'm ashamed, because our administration

has really done a disservice to him.

13.25 an hour?

To work in the blazing hot sun with insufficient equipment?

This just is not fair to anyone.

If I am Steve, I'm thinking,

that I am not a high priority

for the city, for the Mayor.

They don't really care that much about what I do.

We have to do better.

I have to do better.

What we gonna do next, Steve?

I got to go to all the way to Wells,

it's over 12 miles.

Lord have mercy.

- All right. - All right, now.

Coming up,

the Mayor meets with her employees.

What's going on, Mayor?

How will they react

when she reveals her true identity?

I just wanted you to know that I'm Sheila.

Sheila?

Oh, really?

What I learned this weeks is that

I need to fight even harder to give our employees

the tools they need to do their jobs

so that we can make Gary the city we all want it to be.

I know I can't use taxpayer dollars to give gifts,

so I've spoken to some people in the private sector

and raised some funds so that I can let our employees know

how much I appreciate their hard work.

- Hey, how are you? - Ms. Wilson.

Get out of here.

- Are you surprised to see me? - Yes, ma'am.

What's going on, Mayor?

What did you think about Sheila?

She would need practice.

She wasn't tough enough.

All right.

I just wanted you to know

that I'm Sheila.

Sheila?

Oh, really?

Miss Sheila, aka, Karen Freeman-Wilson.

You look different.

Have you ever seen the show Undercover Boss?

- I have, yes. - That's what this is.

So...

You did good with the hair.

Shanesha, I was truly impressed with you

as an officer, and obviously with you as a person.

I was born and raised in Gary. I have a lot of pride for Gary.

You know, and again, we have a great department.

We just need some great leadership

and... and better equipment.

You really hit home with me when you were

talking about the equipment.

So as you know, the city of Gary really doesn't have

a lot of money.

But I understand the importance

of certain things.

And so, I've made some decisions

that will allow us to make these investments.

So, Shanesha, the city is going to purchase

50 new police cars,

which is a $1.1 million investment

in our city's police force.

It'll get the guys going.

Yes, ma'am.

And one of the things that also struck me,

the number of people on each shift.

The minimum staffing is supposed to be 12.

That isn't the case.

Because of that experience with you

and because of the fact that

you have ideas that I may not always hear,

that are important...

Okay.

I'm gonna make it my business

to sit down with employees all over the city

on a routine basis.

You're gonna be first on that list.

I appreciate that.

The last thing is,

hearing you talk about your family,

and even to hear you talk about a side job now,

that's a lot of working.

Mm-hmm.

So I want to send you and your family on vacation.

All expenses paid.

Oh, wow.

Nice.

I really appreciate that.

I may have a tough exterior,

but inside, I am just... I am freaking out.

I'm totally excited about what's gonna come for the city.

I'm just super excited

to be on the Undercover Boss.

Like, I watch this show.

Nate.

One of the things that you mentioned

was sort of the conditions of the house.

We haven't had that much updates to our stations.

All that stuff costs money.

And right now, you know, money, it just ain't there.

We ain't got the money, we can't do it.

One of the things that I'd like to do

is to get the house remodeled.

I mean, any little bit will be great.

All of the upgrades and investments,

the amount will be close to $20,000.

They gonna lose it.

Not only are we gonna do the station on Grand Boulevard,

for the next six or seven years,

it's my goal to do one a year.

Oh, man.

This will really make the guys feel great.

Nate, there's one more thing I want to tell you.

I know you played basketball.

Yes, ma'am.

Nate, I want to send you,

all expenses paid,

to the NBA All-Star Game.

Oh, for really?

Good tickets, not the cheap seats.

That's amazing. That'd be great.

All of this is worth almost $10,000.

I'm trying to contain myself.

Never would've thought, four years ago

the Mayor swore me in;

four years later, she was telling me

that she was inspired by my actions.

- 6'8" Nate. - Yeah.

I'm gonna definitely let the guys know about the remodel.

I'm gonna say, "Yeah, 6'8 Nate, hooked y'all up."

It's a great feeling.

Brandon.

I know that you think that

the plant superintendent and I are best friends.

They don't fix nothing around here.

Well, why don't they fix it?

Our boss and the Mayor are best friends,

so who can you tell?

While I respect her greatly,

we are really not close friends.

I want you to feel like you're being heard.

So we're going to dinner.

Me, you.

You get to pick the place.

Whatever suggestions you have,

we are listening.

I was really encouraged

by your discussion about your sons.

- Mm-hmm. - So here's what I'd like to do.

I'd like to create a college fund

of $5,000.

- Wow. - For your sons.

Wow. Thank you so much.

And I'd also like to give you

$2,500 to help take care of your family.

That's crazy.

Thank you, Ms. Wilson.

Here's the thing that I want you to really understand.

When you came out of prison, you had a choice.

And you chose the right path.

Thank you.

I go all over the place.

Talk to all kinds of folks.

There are other guys out there

at a crossroads.

Mm-hmm.

The may go left; they may go right.

And I want to know

whether you're willing to go

on the speaking circuit with me.

I don't have the credibility that you have

that will really help a whole lot of folks

turn their lives around.

I hope so. I got you.

Whenever you need me.

- All right. - Can I get a hug?

Thank you so much.

- Of course you can get a hug. - Thank you so much.

I really do appreciate it, you don't even understand.

I thought the Mayor listened to everything I had to say

and I thought she listened to the issues.

It definitely feels good that she

recognized that I made a change,

and it's a blessing.

It really is, man. It really is.

It's a blessing.

Steve.

You know, we talk about Marquette

being our jewel, right?

Right.

And we've not really treated it that way,

in terms of giving you the equipment.

And quite frankly, we're not treating you

as being very valued.

And that has to change.

Normally, I would have a bigger machine out here.

Since the city did not pay the bill,

I don't have it... they repossessed it.

Steve, we're going to invest in a beach comber.

Okay.

That is much newer than that '91 relic.

I would love it.

Guarantee, I'll keep it maintained;

there ain't a problem in that.

You told me that you had not had a raise.

I am going to give

you and your coworkers the ten percent raise.

Thank you. Thank you.

Might get rid of a couple jobs.

You talked about

your wife's health challenges

and her health needs.

She was diagnosed with the heart disease.

So here's what we're gonna do.

We're going to set up a medical fund

so that over the next two years,

you will have $10,000 to use

for your family's health needs,

which means that you'll be able to

pay for any medicine.

Thank you. So much.

Thank you for being such an integral part

of Team Gary.

You are an inspiration, not just to me,

but I'm sure to everybody in the park department.

Thank you.

I can't get no happier than what I am right now.

I would be able to take care of my wife more

and it would make my life a whole lot easier.

And I mean, I can finally, finally,

in my life, I can get ahead of myself.

- God bless you. - God bless you.

All right.

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