In 1974 Peggie Carlson was a struggling college student in search of a high paying part-time job. She had heard that the big Minnesota utility companies were looking to hire women so they could comply with Affirmative Action policies. She submitted an application to Minnesotaegasco and was hired. Carlson's experiences as the company's first black, female pipefitter trainee are detailed in her new book "The Girls are Coming--From the Front Lines of the 1970s Blue-Collar Workforce." The book details Carlson's rise from Minnesotaegasco meter reader to pipefitter. She found her meter reading job too risky--her life was threatened several times. She was then hired by the company's Buildings and Grounds crew--where her color and her gender made her stand out.